Organizers & Facilitators Organize Peace Circle at Old Executive Office Building for DC and Maryland High School Students with Greg Jackson, Deputy Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. (Left to Right) Organizers/Facilitators of Peace Circle: Dr. Stephanie Myers, National Co-Chair, Black Women for Positive Change, Debra Budiani-Saberi, Peace Circle Facilitator; Greg Jackson, deputy director, White House office of Gun Violence Prevention and Jamal Jones, Peace Circle Facilitator.
For 13 years, Black Women for Positive Change (BWFPC) a multi-cultural, intergenerational, inter-faith organization of Women and Good Brothers, has sponsored annual Days, Weeks and Months of Non-Violence, Families, Voters Rights and Opportunities. During October 2024, the 13th Annual Month of Non-Violence organized violence prevention activities in the USA, nine States and the District of Columbia, Humphries Army Base, in South Korea, and overseas in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Malawi, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ghana. Sponsors of the Month of Non-Violence are Everytown for Gun Safety, the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI), National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), Positive Change Foundation, 100 Fathers Inc., Trusted Inc., and other supporting organizations.
The first Day of Non-Violence began in 2012 when Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old boy was murdered on his way back to his father’s house from buying a soft drink at a Convenience Store. The tragedy sparked a national outcry of anger towards violent crimes committed against Black youth. In a joint statement BWFPC Co-Chairs Dr. Stephanie Myers and Honorable Daun S. Hester said, “Trayvon’s murder enraged us so much that we focused on the racism, anger, hatred and violence our youth are facing. We started our Non-Violence initiative with the goal to ‘Change the Culture of Violence in America, and the World’. We promote awareness about how to de-escalate violence, resolve conflicts and manage anger in homes, schools and communities in America, and overseas.”
The Month of Non-Violence opened with “7 Days of Prayer Against Violence and for Democracy,” led by BWFPC Chaplain Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds, author of the biography of Coretta Scott King, and Rev. Oliver Buie, Pastor, Bel-Vue Community Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles, Calif.
The Month of Non-Violence included a Peace Circle at the White House with Greg Jackson, Deputy Director, and Sarah Wiener, Policy Coordinator, White House Office of Gun Prevention. They sat in a Peace Circle with 16 high school students from five high schools in the District of Columbia, and Maryland. The Peace Circle was led by professional facilitators who helped students to engage in impactful conversation with Mr. Jackson, a victim of gun violence.
The students expressed their experiences with violence to Mr. Jackson and he requested that they submit ideas to him for violence prevention. Jeannette Mobley, Peace Circle Chaperone with Black Women for Positive Change commented, “It was shocking to hear the students talk with Greg Jackson about violence they had personally witnessed. Greg was able to connect with the youth as they shared distressing situations, they had experienced. The students said they appreciated the opportunity to talk honestly with him.”
The Month of Non-Violence, Families, Voters Rights and Opportunities encouraged organizations to address key themes ranging from violence prevention, domestic violence, bullying, voters rights. and Opportunities as Alternatives to Violence. Events included an anti-bullying event with 1,116 students at USA Humphreys Army Base in South Korea; to a ‘Stop the Violence Walk and Summit,’ in Birmingham, Alabama; De-Escalation of Violence Training, in Charlotte, North Carolina; ‘Focusing on the Election’ Forum, hosted by NAFCM in Kentucky; and a webinar on Suicide Prevention; led by the New York Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association.
There were forums on “Dispelling Myths in the Black Community’ organized by the Baltimore Chapter of Black Women for Positive Change and anti-violence music and drumming concerts at Howard University. In Africa, there were workshops on “Stopping Gender Violence”, in Malawi; Peace Circles in Liberia; and Anti-Bullying workshops in Lagos, Nigeria. There was also a global forum with Artificial Intelligence experts, that addressed the “Opportunities and Perils of Artificial Intelligence, coordinated by Dr. Barbara Reynolds.
Listing of all events is at www.monthofnonviolence.org
Featured image: Organizers & Facilitators Organize Peace Circle at Old Executive Office Building for DC and Maryland High School Students with Greg Jackson, Deputy Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. (Left to Right) Organizers/Facilitators of Peace Circle: Dr. Stephanie Myers, National Co-Chair, Black Women for Positive Change, Debra Budiani-Saberi, Peace Circle Facilitator; Greg Jackson, deputy director, White House office of Gun Violence Prevention and Jamal Jones, Peace Circle Facilitator.
