Lawrence Hamm

Lawrence Hamm was born on December 24, 1954, to Grayce and Lawrence Sr. in Washington D.C. and his father, Lawrence, was a truck driver. Each summer, he would travel to Georgia to see relatives via the Silver Meteor Amtrak train, where he had formative experiences with Jim Crow laws. For example, he recalled instances where his family were informed by the conductor that they had to move to the rear of the car mid-trip, as soon crossed train crossed the Mason–Dixon line and laws of segregated travel went into effect. Hamm graduated from South Seventeenth Street Elementary School. Hamm was 12 years old during the 1967 Newark riots, the destruction and fires of which he witnessed on his front porch with his grandfather. He recalled the two of them discussing his grandfather's experiences with racist Allied French soldiers while overseas in Germany as a soldier in the Great War. == Activism ==

During Hamm's first week at Newark Arts High School in the fall of 1967, he witnessed an altercation onstage between the student government president and the principal. The student was dragged away from the podium after repeatedly violating the principal's instructions not to talk about the war in Vietnam. The experience was among many formative experiences that would inspire Hamm to begin organizing. By the time he was a senior, he organized student protests and sit-ins, The Student Federation produced a list of 27 demands to the school board, including improvements for school facilities and greater student involvement in decisions that affect their education. Over 400 supporters attended the board meeting in favor of the resolution. He returned to Princeton in 1974. The same year, along with People's Organization for Progress, he organized and led a 12,000-person Newark George Floyd protest against police brutality, which was also fronted by Newark mayor Ras Baraka and featured speakers and dance activism. The New York Times stressed the peaceful aspect of the protest and its successful de-escalation, citing community members' memories of widespread violence during the 1967 Newark riots. Hamm has been vocal about his opposition of Trumpism and its desire to establish minority rule. He stated to the New Jersey Monitor,"Dr. King said our country, the United States of America, is ‘the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.’ That was true in 1968, and it is true today. Genocide is being carried out before our very eyes. And if the United States government does not use the leverage that it has, we are going to be drawn into another forever war." As chairman of the POP, Hamm organized the Martin Luther King March Of Resistance in Newark on January 18, 2025. The rally and march took place at the Essex County Courthouse's 2021 Martin Luther King Statue, located on MLK Boulevard in Newark, New Jersey. It had at least 500 participants, Endorsing organziations included the NAACP, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Latino Action Network, Bethany Baptist Church, Make The Road New Jersey, International Black Women’s Congress, Seton Hall University, American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch, Occupy Bergen County, National Black Political Convention, Black Lives Matter, New Jersey Working Families Party, Our Revolution, International Action Center, Newark activist Tamika Darden-Thomas's Gregory Thomas Foundation, and the A. Philip Randolph Institute. == Personal life ==

As of 2024, Hamm's family lives in Montclair, New Jersey. He is a father of three daughters and enjoys jogging and running. He has named his parents (as well as Amiri Baraka, Kenneth A. Gibson, Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) as his greatest influences. == See also ==