Nonviolent Direct Action Training: a Student Perspective
By Andrew Kimble, STH ’19
During the weekend of March 24, a group of STH students, accompanied by Professor Tom Porter and Dr. Judith Olsen, traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, to participate in nonviolent direct action training at The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence (ISPN). The two-day training session brought together a diverse group of community members, activists, and scholars who engaged in deep conversation about nonviolent direct action as a form of resistance. Through different exercises, we gauged our individual capacity to be nonviolent and discussed past social movements that implemented nonviolent direct action strategies. The myriad perspectives helped to create a dynamic dialogue which ultimately ended with everyone walking away invigorated.
In addition to providing nonviolent direct action training, the ISPN makes a conscious effort to employ formerly incarcerated persons as they reintegrate into society. For example, our instructor, Sal, shared a story about a poor decision he made when he was seventeen that led to several years in prison. While in prison, he promised to make a difference in the community once he was released. Sal knew that other teenagers were likely to make the same or similar mistake, and extending his wisdom may help prevent such misfortune. His leadership and insight were on full display during our nonviolent direct action training, and served as a reminder that people do learn from their mistakes and must be given a second chance if they are willing to make the proper transformation.
In conclusion, one of the highlights of the training sessions was stepping into the shoes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the height of the civil rights movement. We were asked to prepare a response to the Alabama clergymen’s letter to Dr. King in 1963. In essence, the Alabama clergymen called for a halt to the demonstrations and the practice of civil disobedience while asserting that those fighting against racial discrimination should be patient in their demands for social change. Dr. King’s response, known as the Letter from Birmingham Jail, is a poignant statement articulating the urgency of the demonstrations and calls for civil disobedience. The following is my brief response to the Alabama clergymen. It was a challenging yet wonderful experience to think from Dr. King’s historical, social, economic, and political location.
Clergymen,
The sense of urgency behind our efforts to ensure equal rights and access to the vital structures and institutions of society for all Americans will never be delayed by a call for “law and order and commonsense.” For those are the three things that currently stand in the way of our freedom and empowerment. The current laws are not suited to guarantee the protection and advancement of people of color; the order is oppressive; the commonsense you refer to is the sense of which community—your community—which does not represent the various groups of oppressed peoples. Your individual and collective intelligence suggest that you are capable of understanding why we feel the need to press forward with tremendous speed. Our survival is at stake, and for those of us whose minds stay on freedom, each day offers another opportunity to bring forth the Kingdom of God. Slowing down, to us, is “unwise.” The poverty and discrimination we experience is “untimely.” I urge you to consider our plight. Life is precious and your help in securing equal rights and access to the vital structures and institutions of society for all Americans would be greatly appreciated. Our activity will not cease until our goals are fulfilled.
Yours truly,
Andrew Kimble