non-violence

On Tuesday, November 9th, the Campaign for Nonviolent Schools hosted the Youth Power Summit. Over 200 students from 45 schools came together for a day of youth led workshops and dialogues.

Workshops included 'Bias Violence: Overcoming Divisions in Our Schools'; 'Know Your Rights'; 'Restorative Justice: Tools for Peace'; 'School to Prison or School to College' and 'Nonviolence: Power that Heals.' Each youth led workshop was designed to arm students with knowledge and concrete tools to take back to their school.

Yesterday, taxi drivers and their allies gathered for a prayer vigil to honor the taxi drivers who were recently victimized by the Philadelphia Parking Authority and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Members of many different organizations from across the city were there to demand justice for the drivers and their families. Religious and community leaders took the megaphone to send a message to the PPA that this kind of worker mistreatment won't be tolerated by the people of Philadelphia. Photos here.

Shania Morris, a rising high school freshman, represented Philadelphia Student Union at the vigil. She spoke about how this kind of harassment, especially when looked at alongside the long hours and constant mistreatment faced by taxi drivers, constitutes a form of structural violence similar to the kind faced by young people in our schools and communities.

Members of PSU recently traveled to Harrisburg PA to meet with students from Harrisburg's William Penn High School and engage them in our Campaign for Nonviolent Schools and our Campaign for Equitable School Funding. We led a participatory workshop that explored the root causes of violence in our schools and communities. We also talked about conditions inside our schools, and students from both Philly and Harrisburg agreed that underfunding of schools is a root cause of many of the problems we face.

By sharing our experiences, students came to the realization that the problems we see in our schools are not isolated to our own districts; that the struggle for a high quality education is a statewide struggle. In this radio piece, we hear from Harrisburg students about conditions in their school, their views on violence, and how PSU's Nonviolence workshop affected their perceptions.

On, Tuesday April 20th around 2pm, Philadelphia Student Union conducted a 3-minute action. In only 180 seconds, we showed the power and leadership that young people have when we are organized for non-violence.

On MLK day over 600 people from all walks of life took the first step towards creating a just and peaceful school system. Now it's time for the next one.

PLEASE NOTE: THE DATE OF THIS EVENT EVENT HAS BEEN CHANGED TO FEB. 17TH AT 4PM, DUE TO THE SNOW ADVISORY.

Date: January 18th (Martin Luther King Day)
Time: 3pm
Location: 440 North Broad St. (School District Headquarters)

Dr. King spent his life using non-violent organizing to combat violence and violent systems and institutions.