Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com

 

SALISBURY — Learning strategies of nonviolence, reviewing and discussion were all on the agenda for the Kingian Nonviolence workshop last weekend.

This second workshop was held June 7 at the Rowan County Democratic Headquarters on West Innes Street in Salisbury with 14 in attendance including co-facilitators Joyce Nash and Danesha White.

A time of introductions was taken with Nash asking each person to tell their name and where they are from and what has given them hope.

Longtime residents of the area, as well as newcomers, were there and shared answers ranging from the rallies being held to more people being engaged, more young people becoming involved, a consistency of the involvement, Democrats being elected and getting hope from one another.

Nash shared some of the background of the Kingian Nonviolence curriculum telling that it is “based on the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and shortly before his death, one of the last things he said to one of his associates, Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr., was, “Now, Bernard, the next movement we’re going to have is to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence.”

She noted in an email that Lafayette worked with David C. Jenson and they developed a curriculum for Kingian Nonviolence. The two founded the U.S. Institute for Peace and have provided training for a number of groups.

“Kingian Nonviolence emphasizes the importance of training and practice, so we can develop the skills to recognize, understand and transform conflicts away from violence and towards healing,” shared Nash.

During the workshop they reviewed and discussed the six principles of Kingian Nonviolence and brainstormed ideas of how they felt and how they spoke to each.

The six principles are, nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people; beloved community is the framework for the future; attack the problem, not people; accept suffering without retaliation on behalf of the cause to achieve a goal; avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external violence; and the arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

In speaking about the first principle, White said, “It’s really easy to react off of emotion, but it’s braver to know yourself and react and do what is right.”

Referencing the second principle, Nash noted how they are based on King’s teachings and that “much of this is counted on very religious terms,” adding that Dr. King was himself a preacher, a religious leader.

Acknowledging that she appreciated one of the participants speaking about looking at people compassionately, Nash said that much of this they were speaking about “rests on a foundation of compassion not only for others but for ourselves.”

Conversation continued as participants shared their thoughts about the remaining principles including comments about when you hurt others you are hurting yourself and how many see people as the problem and the need to “champion a solution and encourage people.”

As the time of reflection on the various principles concluded, Nash said she was glad as she gets something new from hearing them.

She said that one of the first questions she often comes across is does nonviolence work, and following the review, the group discussed the strategy of nonviolence and they explored why nonviolence is effective using the book “Why Civil Resistance Works” by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan.”

In sharing about the book, she said that “their research shows that nonviolent resistance movements are nearly twice as likely to be successful as violent movements because nonviolence attracts larger numbers of participants.”

As they spoke about the different strategies, they covered why nonviolence works, and Nash shared a statistic about this, saying that it was found “in all of the mass movements that they studied, it only takes 3.5 percent of a population engaged in sustained nonviolent protests to create change.”

Nash also shared that “nonviolent campaigns are often creative in their use of protest, art and even humor,” and the attendees brainstormed alternative choices “for nonviolent protests that draw attention to injustice and create opportunities to engage our friends and neighbors in conversations.”

More people can join in, she said, including older people, younger people, children, those who are disabled or able bodied.

“Nonviolence is an open door,” said Nash, “whereas if you have a violent resistance block, not everybody is going to be able to join that.”

Therefore, this is a large strategic advantage for nonviolence, she added.

And with the larger number of people, more ideas come about as well as new information and ways to approach that would not be possible if it was “limited to a violent resistance,” said Nash.

She also pointed out that research has shown that “nonviolent movements are more successful to have democratic governances after their success rather than violent movements.”

The workshop concluded with several training exercises and practiced remaining nonviolent and nonreactive in protest settings.

The group “ran through real-life scenarios to explore options for de-escalation and develop strategies for maintaining nonviolence during upcoming events,” said Nash.

Several rules were provided for the exercises including no slurs or hate speech, telling that if you’re not sure, don’t say it; secondly, no physical contact; and lastly, anyone could step out of the exercise at any point.

For those wishing to to learn more about future workshops, they are encouraged to follow the Rowan County Democratic party on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up for the Voters Speak newsletter at RowanCountyDemocrats.com.