Reading holiday books on Christmas Eve was always a tradition that I enjoyed growing up. With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to make a list of Christmas books that had characters from different backgrounds. Hopefully, this list will give people ideas on what books to read or buy next for the children in their lives. Here is the list: 

Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano

"It’s Christmas Eve and Mami has bought a delicious roast for a Christmas feast. But, oh no! It’s too big to fit in the oven. Jose and Papa need to find an oven big enough to cook Mami’s roast. As they walk from door to door through their apartment building, no one seems to be in the Christmas spirit. So they head down the street to find someone willing to help, and only when they do, lo and behold, the scent—the magical smell—of dinner begins to spread, and holiday cheer manifests in ways most unexpected."

On November 18th, OEP distributed its bi-annual newsletter. This newsletter featured as a Kingian Nonviolence resource for the OEP community. Through curated articles, interviews, and book excerpts, OEP hoped to give a guide to the community on the meaning behind Kingian Nonviolence, and how to create a local beloved community at home. You can find blog versions of the newsletter as follows:

Introduction - KNV Origins: An Interview with David Jehnsen

Principle 1 - Nonviolence as a Way of Life for Courageous People

Principle 2 - The Beloved Community is a Framework for the Future

Principle 3 - Attack Forces of Evil, Not Persons Doing Evil

Principle 4 - Accept Suffering Without Retaliation

Principle 5 - Avoid Internal Violence of The Spirit

Principle 6 - The Universe is on The Side of Justice

You can also find the full PDF version of the OEP Fall Newsletter here.

an Interview with David Jehnsen

Interviewed, Collected and Written by Matt Guynn

Together with Bernard LaFayette Jr., David Jehnsen authored the Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation curriculum to codify what they learned from working with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Civil Rights Movement organizers. David is a member of Living Peace Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio. Matt Guynn interviewed David to learn more about the roots and vision of Kingian Nonviolence. 

Written by Dr. Joan May  T. Cordova 

Believing that the universe is on the side of justice is an affirmation of faith: “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see" (1). Faith enables us to stay focused on visions for a more just world, sustained by the belief that as we join generations who’ve struggled for liberation, justice will eventually win. All who embody nonviolence must hold on to faith - not merely in a contemplative way - but to draw on faith that fuels the work of resisting unjust conditions. Listen to music pulsing in movements for justice: Buoyed by faith, people sing new lyrics boldly declaring freedom while drawing spiritual strength from voices and acts of resistance together, determined to transform institutions.  

Written by Curtis Renee 

The summer going into my senior year of high school I was introduced to Kingian nonviolence, as a part of a youth summer enrichment program/job.  I remember learning the principles and feeling like “ This can’t be real,” “ Only certain people can really be nonviolent.”  I had no idea what it meant to avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence.  How do you avoid violence when it is all around you?