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As social change movements rise among communities , healers, artists, educators and organizers are emerging. As the roots of white supremacy and systemic poverty are being revealed, creative alternatives and campaigns are emerging to meet present needs and organize for long lasting solutions.  

What is your role in the movement? Many are seeking to deepen their skills and practice for community organizing, mobilizing, and leadership. Join members of the Kingian Nonviolence Coordinating Committee for ten weeks of learning, practice, and community building. Learn and apply strategy tools, invest in your own development as a community leader, and build relationships with other nonviolence practitioners. 

Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation was codified from the philosophy and methodology of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the leadership of the King era - the Civil Rights and Freedom Movement. The codifiers of the Kingian approach wanted community leaders to have more than the “I Have A Dream” speech at their disposal. They wanted us to be able to cause the same powerful outcomes that our movement elders worked to accomplish. 

Purposes

• To ground participants in the Kingian Nonviolence approach and legacy
• To equip us for current organizing work by practicing specific organizing and mobilizing tools 
• To build a long lasting Beloved Community social change leaders

Eligibility: Anyone who has participated in a “two-day” or “16-hour” core workshop in Kingian Nonviolence is eligible to participate in this training. If you have questions about your eligibility please contact the organizing team at [email protected]. 

Certification: This is a LEVEL TWO training in the Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation curriculum codified by Bernard LaFayette, Jr., and David Jehnsen. Participants who already have Level 1 (Training of Trainers) certification from any Kingian institution and who successfully complete the course will be eligible to receive Level 2 Certification in Kingian Nonviolence. Participants who complete the program and had no previous Kingian certification will receive a Certificate of Participation. 

Format: Three-hour weekly meetings via Zoom.  Between each class session, plan for 1-2 hours of community-building activities or reflection/application to your own organizing context. Some weeks there will be readings, multimedia, or other activities. There will be 1-2 light research assignments on social change movements which will be required for anyone seeking Level Two Certification. 

Content: The course draws material from the comprehensive text of the Kingian Nonviolence approach, the Leaders Manual: A Structured Guide and Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence: The Philosophy and Methodology. The facilitation team will present 1-2 strategy and organizing tools per session, with time for application to your own cases and communities. Please join us in experimenting and playing with these tools so we can refine them and apply them in our organizing today. Topics: 

• The Organizing Process 
• Common Denominators of Community 
• Nonviolent Social Action Research 
• Social Group Approach vs. Psychological Approach 
• Rights & Duties vs Responsibilities
• Constructive Program vs Direct Action Campaigning
• Framing the Issue
• Social Dynamics of Nonviolence: Aggression/Conciliation, Top Down Bottom Up/ 3rd Force Organizing;  Leadership Development  
• Who Are You Trying to Reach? 7 Categories of Opinion (the Spectrum of Allies); 6 categories of leaders  
• Six Steps Strategy/Planning: Information-gathering, Education, Personal Commitment, Negotiation, Direct Action, Reconciliation 
• Strategic Perspectives: Campaign-building & 8 Stages of a Movement 

Cost: We operate using a gift economics perspective, which will be explained more during the workshop. Learn more here.  There is not a set fee for the training. During the training, the organizing team will transparently share the cost to produce the course and as they are able, with no set requirement, participants will work together to cover those costs. Some may be able to donate, others may not; some may be willing or able to raise funds. Make a donation here.