Resistance has been an essential part of democracy. And the Higher Education Inquirer has reported on a number of nonviolent actions taken by college students and workers across the US. We have also recognized the brutal physical and economic violence that has been a part of US history and social structure and a major contributor to the ineffective counter-violence that has sometimes resulted.
According to the Albert Einstein Institution, "far too often people struggling for democratic rights and justice are not aware of the full range of methods of nonviolent action. Wise strategy, attention to the dynamics of nonviolent struggle, and careful selection of methods can increase a group’s chances of success."Nonviolent strategies include three broad categories: (1) nonviolent protest and persuasion, (2) noncooperation (social, economic, and political), and (3) nonviolent intervention.
A list of 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action is posted on the Brandeis University website. The list is based on Gene Sharp's Methods of Nonviolent Action (1973), but this document is not exhaustive. Strategies and tactics may need to change with what works in these times: with new technology and greater understanding about how humans think and behave.
Historical Examples
In the early 1940s, James Farmer, a Howard Divinity School graduate, with students from the University of Chicago established the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), an interracial group focused on nonviolent direct action for civil rights.
The 1960s were recognized for student activism, including the
formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), at Shaw University. This organization, and people like Ella Baker, were an
essential part of the civil rights movement.
In the 1970s and 1980s, divestment campaigns were an important part of the campaign against South African apartheid. Protesting for divestment against private prisons has also occurred on US campuses.
Most recently, there were a number of campus occupations to protest the destruction of Gaza and the mass killing of civilians. And protests about climate
change have been visible on a number of campuses for years. In these cases, we can expect more serious conflict to occur if these issues are not sufficiently addressed.
As always, we appreciate your comments and constructive criticism.
Related links:
Black Study, Black Struggle (Robin D.G. Kelley, Boston Review)
A People's History of Higher Education in the US?
Student Nonviolent Coordinating CommitteeModeling civil unrest in the United States: some historical cases (Bryan Alexander)
One Fascism or Two?: The Reemergence of "Fascism(s)" in US Higher Education
US Higher Education and the Intellectualization of White Supremacy
Democratic Protests on Campus: Modeling the Better World We Seek (Annelise Orleck)
Wikipedia Community Documents Pro-Palestinian Protests on University and College Campuses
Rutgers University Workers Waging Historic Strike For Economic Justice (Hank Kalet)
Terri Givens and “Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridge Racial Divides”I Went on Strike to Cancel My Student Debt and Won. Every Debtor Deserves the Same. (Ann Bowers)
DEBT STRIKE! (Debt Collective)
