Peace​ Quartet

 

For this week's training session, we were delighted to once again have the opportunity to meet with FOR-USA's Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, Lucas Johnson. As a mentee of Vincent Harding, Lucas had a great deal to share with us about the nuances in the movement and struggle for black freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training on Non Violence and Media for Nonviolence with Lucas Johnson and Bryan Farell

 

 

 

On Friday, November 01, 2013 we had training on Non Violence and Media for Nonviolence. We started the day by learning about non-violence and resilience in the example of American Civil Rights Movement between 1955 and 1968. The facilitator of the session, Lucas Johnson, who identifies strongly with the tradition of freedom fighters who engaged in what is often known as the American Civil Rights Movement, designed the session by dipping into history, giving information on the general situation before and during the civil rights movement, the circumstances that ripened the acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience at the time. We were also informed on the strategy of non-violence and resilience used by the movement participants, certain successes of the movement (Civil Rights Act 1964; Voting Rights Act of 1965), and challenges and dangers faced by the black community as well as the white community during the movement. Looking at the problem through historical lenses gave us a clearer scene of the movement which was useful in better analyzing the situation.

 

As a matter of fact, the civil rights movement which defines one of the most important chapters of American history is not only a great example of struggle for equality and justice of American society, but also is as a great example of non-violence movements all over the world. Reflecting on the civil rights movement, I once again came to realize how much there is in history for us to learn from. I believe that history is the best teacher and beacon for the future. Unfortunately, most time we avoid looking back, thinking we are better than our predecessors, but as a result we end up trying to rediscover the wheel. During this time, what we lose instead is the great source of knowledge and experience, which can be so useful for us to avoid making the same mistakes.

The training on nonviolence also emphasized for me the role of the leader, in this case Dr. Martin Luther King, who stood up even at the expense of his life for the rights of the voiceless.

Reading Dr. King’s speech “Beyond Vietnam”, I witnessed his ingenuity and courage. However, it was quite surprising for me to hear about people’s attitude towards this speech at the time. I learned that people, both in the African American community and the white community, did not approve Dr. King’s involvement into the movement against the War in Vietnam, arguing that it was not his business, as he was the civil movement leader, and politics was not something he had knowledge and expertise at.

 

Now, reflecting on his speech thoroughly I think that at the time those people who heard Martin Luther King’s speech against Vietnam war and turned away from him, actually did not listen to the content of his speech, as the mere topic of the speech was enough for them to judge him. What they missed though was seeing that Dr. King was still fighting against racism, as the war in another country was another form of racism and the people to be sent to the war zone were majorly chosen from the poor and the black community members. The disease of social systems that makes things meaningless and causes conflict comes from disregarding original intent. That was what Martin Luther King was trying to make people aware of with his speech against the War in Vietnam. Dr. King was calling America to go back to the original intent of the United States of America: “The same and equal justice to all men no matter what their religion, theirpolitical beliefs, or their class. Peace, trade and friendship with all nations, but alliance for war with no nations”. His speech, his callings meant a lot and still mean a lot. I believe that if we could take one moment of our life and read his callings and think on what those words meant indeed, it would be enough for us to make the world a better place.

 

On the second half of the day, the fellows were introduced to Bryan Farell, editor of the Waging Nonviolence website. Farell gave us a brief introduction about himself and the website he is working for. We learned that Waging Nonviolence, which has been reporting on people-powered struggles since 2009, covers the dynamics of nonviolent conflict, which are often ignored or misunderstood in the news. This website of Waging Nonviolence initially started as a blog, but at the moment operates as a website, functioning as a source for original news and analysis about struggles for justice and peace around the globe.

 

After introduction of the website, the session continued on with the comments and questions raised by the Fellows. Taking into consideration that, historically, media has played and is still playing a major role in forming the state of mind of majority, and unfortunately in many cases it has been used for mean purposes such as accelerating violence, maintaining conflict etc., it is very important for us peacemakers to use this powerful tool to spread our idea of peace to the world to contribute for a more peaceful world.

 

What I particularly liked about the session was the idea of creating an alternative for your purposes. I mean in a world where mass media’s being controlled by major powers in the world, it is really hard to make any major changes in the work they are doing. It is only through alternatives that we are given an opportunity to make our voice heard and spread the word. In the end Bryan Farell offered his support for the work of the fellows.

 

 

• Nurana Rajabova

 

Check out Waging Nonviolence! http://wagingnonviolence.org/