Kingian Nonviolence & Conflict Reconciliation
A six week online journey into the nonviolence legacy & philosophy of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Kingian Nonviolence
How do we approach and heal conflict in our movements, organisations and communities?
How do we create the Beloved Community in a culture increasingly partisan and divided?
In a burning, climate changed world, is nonviolence really an option?
In our world today, over 50 years since the passing of Dr King, nonviolence holds more urgency than ever.
This Kingian Nonviolence program is for anyone seeking a more just & regenerative world, holding the tensions of this time.
Why I run this training
Hey, I’m Laura. I’m an activist & coach bridging systems thinking with self-work.
I’ve been passionate about nonviolence in its myriad of forms for several years. I have experience as an NVDA (nonviolent direct action) trainer, and have been an active organiser of nonviolent protest.
It was Kingian Nonviolence however, the teachings of Dr King, that I found to be life changing. It deepened my practice and capacity to be a generative force for nonviolence in this world, and I am immensely grateful.
Nonviolence matters to me for a few reasons.
First, because I have lived experience with rage and violence.
For many years of my adolescence I had no skill or space to reconcile the conflict in my life. I didn’t know how to work with anger, how to move beyond the binary paradigms of right and wrong, good and bad, and into healing.
I was violent towards myself and others, and I’ve seen first hand the painful effects this has in psyches, soul and community.
Part of my journey has been to make nonviolence a sacred commitment in my life.
And secondly, because nonviolence is one of the most transformative tools we have for remaking the world. In a world with as much injustice, pain and trauma as ours, nonviolence is as much a spiritual response to the crises we face as a strategic one.
Because violence can never unmake violence.
Only nonviolence can offer a space for a new, transformative response to conflict in our lives, communities and world.
I received my certificate as a trainer of Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation from the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies in 2023.
What is violence?
Definitions of violence can be subjective, however this training offers a deep lens. Dr King spoke to the ‘triple evils’ of poverty, racism and militarism, and this training understands violence can be both structural and systemic, as well as physical, emotional and spiritual. Violence can also be directed towards self, others and the world.
Conflict as Neutral
In Kingian Nonviolence, conflict is considered two things: neutral and inevitable. It’s a natural response to the tension that can arise with difference. It’s how we respond to conflict that matters, and that gives it the potential to be generative or destructive.
This course considers personal conflict, but also widespread social conflict. How can we learn to view and respond to conflict from a new perspective?
The Root
Our world is at a powerful choice point.
Ongoing racial injustice, the climate crisis, widening inequality and the threat of global violence highlight the deep urgency for social healing and collective transformation.
Kingian Nonviolence is a model of nonviolent conflict reconciliation, born out of the philosophy & teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the organising strategies of the US Civil Rights Movement.
Shortly before Dr King’s assassination, he would call out to Dr Bernard Lafayette, then National Coordinator of the Poor People’s Campaign, that the “next movement we’re going to have is to institutionalise and internationalise nonviolence”.
Dr. LaFayette would take those words, and with David Jensen, another US Civil Rights activist, consider them Dr King’s final instructions and create this Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation training curriculum.
About The Training
We live in a world rapidly destabilising. With climate change impacting everything from supply chains to food systems to living conditions, heightened conflict is certain to be a feature of the future.
How we respond to conflict – within our movements, community and world – is the deep work of the nonviolent leader.
The Kingian Nonviolence & Conflict Reconciliation training takes place online, with 90 minute Zoom calls, over five weeks.
Week 1: You’ll get to know your cohort and dive into the big question of what is violence, and what is nonviolence? This week you’ll have readings of Dr King’s to discuss.
Week 2: You’ll learn types and levels of conflict, empowering you to generatively engage and respond. This week will also dive into the Six Principles of Kingian Nonviolence, and you’ll have further readings of Dr King’s to explore.
Week 3: This week will dive into the Six “Steps” of Kingian Nonviolence, as well as studying both Dr King’s and present day nonviolent campaigns.
Week 4: Role Play, simulations and group discussion abound!
Week 5: Explore the possibility & practice of the Beloved Community, and what it takes to create in this time.
The Six Principles of Kingian Nonviolence
Principle One: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
Nonviolence is not passive non-resistance to injustice. It’s active, vocal and rises to the occasion. Nonviolence is a path for the courageous to challenge the social inequities of our culture.
Principle Two: The Beloved Community is the framework of the future.
Relationship is the foundation and the glue of social transformation. It is what we must always be striving for. The Beloved Community is one in which all life can flourish, and conflict can be reconciled without violence.
Principle Three: Attack forces of evil, not persons doing evil.
Or said another way, we look upstream to focus on systems and root causes rather than individual actions or players. To paraphrase an Extinction Rebellion principle, we are all products of a toxic system, and no one individual is to blame.
Principle Four: Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve a goal.
Embracing suffering is not the same as martyrdom or victimhood. This principle speaks to the importance of sacrifice, and recognising that when we willingly embrace suffering, we can also channel its powers of redemption and transformation.
Principle Five: Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence.
Nonviolence isn’t just about our external actions, it’s also an embodiment in our thoughts, words and actions. The ways we treat ourselves matter as much as we treat others, and if we’re to end the cycle of violence, we must also end the violence within ourself.
Principle Six: The universe is on the side of justice.
That there is an underlying value of nonviolence, aligned with universal principles. The Golden Rule within all the world’s great religions points to compassion, nonviolence and justice. For the nonviolent leader, this principle recognises that nonviolence is both the means and ends, and that we make the path by walking.
Dates & Details
Kingian Nonviolence is run through live & interactive 90 minute Zoom calls over 5 weeks.
Sessions are recorded if you cannot make them live. It is recommended you allow about 1 hour for readings & material in weeks 1, 2 and 3 outside of class time.
Wednesday, February 28 2024
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
(11am, February 29, AEDT Sydney)
Wednesday, March 6 2024
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
(11am, March 7 AEDT Sydney)
Wednesday, March 13 2024
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
(10am, March 14, AEDT Sydney)
Wednesday, March 20 2024
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
(10am, March 21, AEDT Sydney)
Wednesday, March 27 2024
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
(10am March 28, AEDT Sydney)
Who’s this for?
This program is open to changemakers, activists and all those who know another world is possible.
This particular Kingian Nonviolence training will be run with a climate justice lens in mind, to help deepen the practice of nonviolence and the formation of the Beloved Community in the face of the climate crisis.
Laura has a unique way of getting down to the basics and helping you search deep into your soul to find answers.
Pricing
This five week program is priced at $500 AUD (approx $330 USD).
Price, however, should not be a barrier to anyone wanting to participate.
There is therefore a sliding scale available for anyone who may need it.
You can use the code #nonviolentleadership at checkout to change the price. If you require this option, I invite you to pay within your means & spirit.
Questions?
Who created this training?
“Now Bernard, the next movement we’re going to have is to institutionalise and internationalise nonviolence.” Dr Martin Luther King called out these words to Dr Bernard Lafayette Jr shortly after giving his famous “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech, and just hours before his assassination.
Considered his final instructions, Dr. LaFayette would take those words, to “institutionalise and institutionalise nonviolence,” and with David Jehnsen, another US Civil Rights activist, create this Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation training curriculum.
I was fortunate to receive my training, including certificate to run this program, at the 24th Annual International Nonviolence Summer Institute at the University of Rhode Island.
Why climate justice?
There is no climate justice without racial justice (or gender justice, or economic justice…), and to quote Dr King, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Climate justice and action is one of the greatest callings of this time, and nonviolent climate movements some of the most active today. This course has added a climate lens to help inspire and activate the principles of Kingian nonviolence for all engaged in the movement.
Will the sessions be recorded?
Yes, all sessions will be recorded. You will also receive some pre-reading materials and video.
What is your refund policy?
Refunds are not available for a change of mind. If you are not able to participate in the program due to special circumstances, please reach out to discuss.
Contact Me
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