Nonviolence Legacy Project-Tucson AZ-

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Comment by Amanda Shauger on November 12, 2009 at 1:28am

Well, Dr. Bernard LaFayette just tore it up at his presentation on November 11, 2009. He spoke in front of a standing room only crowd of over 100. Good to see so many Tucsonans, Phoenicians, Tijuanans, Californians, etc. gather to learn some nonviolence history and techniques. This was a public talk but it also served as the kick off for a Level 1 Fast Track Class.

Looks like we are going to have some more trainers in our midst.

Comment by Callie Poole on October 18, 2009 at 12:04pm

i agree with amanda....i was only at the training for a few hours yesterday, but all the trainers and participants were doing a great job & really seemed to have their hearts in it! great experience!

Comment by Amanda Shauger on October 18, 2009 at 3:29am

Tucson Core Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence is in full effect this weekend. Marcela, Nick, Miss Lori, Josue, CJ and Ann are doing a good job of training us.

There is still going to be one more opportunity to take the training on November 7 & 8 in preparation for the Level 1 fast track training with Doc LaFayette on November 11-15.

Comment by Amanda Shauger on August 20, 2009 at 11:03pm

Hi NVLP Team & Graduates of the Kingian Nonviolence Training!
Here is an invitation to our upcoming community celebration and presentation. We are distributing and mailing these invitations to everyone who helped support the formation of the NVLP. Let me know if you want some invitations to give out to friends and family and please feel free to share this email. We hope that many of you can join us on August 30th and reconnect with this youth-focused, nonviolence leadership project.

JustPeace, Ann
Nonviolence Legacy Project


Invitation to a Multi-Media Community Event

Living the Dream: Nonviolence in Action

Sunday, August 30, 2009 – 3 to 5 PM

Ward 3 Council Office – 1510 E. Grant Rd.

(parking in rear of building or on Vine St.)



Sharing Stories, Songs, Lessons & Pictures

from the 2009 Summer Nonviolence Institute

at the University of Rhode Island’s

Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies



Presented by Tucson’s Certified Youth Nonviolence Training Team:

CJ Cabarle

Josue Calderon

Miss Lori LeChien

Marcella Marin

Darren Phillips



Offered in gratitude to all the organizations & people who have supported the creation of the Nonviolence Legacy Project and helped send our intergenerational team to Rhode Island to become certified as nonviolence educators & organizers.



Please RSVP

(call 991-6781 or email ann@cultureofpeacealliance.org)



“The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Comment by Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa on August 6, 2009 at 3:38pm

Greetings everyone. Please send me your favorite peace quote...it can be your own words or from someone else (please include who said it). I want to create a power point peace program.

Comment by Amanda Shauger on August 1, 2009 at 4:23am

Hey Tucson Nonviolence Legacy Project! How is your summer going? Ann just asked me to post this information about Every Voice In Action's 2009/2010 Youth Crew. Now is the time to nominate yourself if you are interested in this opportunity. The form won't copy real well here, so you can email Ann azyellott@aol.com or call her at and she can email you a copy.


Every Voice in Action Foundation
2009/2010 Youth Crew
SELF NOMINATION FORM



Every Voice in Action Foundation is a private foundation with a mission to “ignite and support youth voice, infusing the community with the unique perspective of young people.” Our Youth Crew, now in its 10th year, plays a critical role by providing Foundation staff with insight into the issues facing youth today. Youth Crew members conduct Every Voice in Action’s annual grant round. They decide what issue to fund, create a Request for Proposals, review proposals, and grant $50,000 to local nonprofits and schools. New this year, Crew members will visit and evaluate the programs that are recipients of the grant round. They will also research community issues and develop action projects of their own. The Crew meets every Thursday from 4:00 – 6:00 pm during the school year and also has two weekend retreats (mid-September and early January). You can find more information about Every Voice and the past Youth Crews at www.everyvoicefoundation.org.

Please note: You will be asked to attend an Information Session on either Wed., August 26 or Thurs., August 27 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at Every Voice’s office (2851 N. Country Club Rd.) where you will meet Crew members and learn more about the program.

To nominate yourself for Every Voice’s 2009/2010 Youth Crew, please complete the following information:

Name:

School (if applicable): Grade: Age:

Address: City: Zip Code:

Phone Number: E-mail Address (if applicable):


How did you hear about this opportunity? ___________________________________________________________________________________________

What do you think you will get out of their participation on Every Voice’s Youth Crew?




What do you think you will bring to Every Voice’s Youth Crew?




Signature: Date:

All self nominations must be submitted to Every Voice in Action Foundation by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2009


You can send us your nominations by mail (2851 N. Country Club Rd., Tucson, AZ 85716),
fax (615-2112) or e-mail (danielle@everyvoicefoundation.org).

If you have any questions, call Danielle at 615-2100.

Comment by Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa on July 24, 2009 at 10:41pm

Haven't posted in quite awhile. Some of us made it to Rhode Island this July and are now certified. We can meet this Sunday, July 26 at my home about 2pm to hear about the training, talk about upcoming Family Fun(d)raiser, etc. Just email me for more info: khalsa@dakotacom.net

Comment by Margaret Palmer on July 24, 2009 at 12:52am

Welcome back from RI everyone!!! Hope the training was perfect!! Bless

Comment by Amanda Shauger on June 17, 2009 at 7:10pm

Let's pull together and help our Tucson Youth to attend Summer Nonviolence Institute at the University of Rhode Island!

Contact: Ann Yellott, Ph.D.
Nonviolence Legacy Project / Culture of Peace Alliance
255 E. Jacinto St.; Tucson, AZ 85705
520-991-6781 (cell); azyellott@aol.com

Support Tucson Youth in Living the Dream of Nonviolence:
 
The Nonviolence Legacy Project (NVLP) is a collaborative effort of several local organizations, initiated by the Culture of Peace Alliance (COPA) to create a youth-led nonviolence training and direct action team for Tucson.  COPA , as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (ID # 86-0707194), is seeking sponsors to help send three youth and two accompanying adults from Tucson to the University of Rhode Island this summer for advanced nonviolence training with civil rights pioneer Bernard LaFayette, Jr.. Dr. LaFayette was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bernard LaFayette was with Dr. King on the morning of his assassination when Dr. King noted that the next movement was to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence.
 
Our youth leadership team will join with other youth and adults from around the world who are becoming certified nonviolence trainers. Tucson's youth leadership team will return and provide nonviolence trainings in our community.

You can help these young people achieve their goal of becoming nonviolence trainers:
1)     Become a sponsor. We welcome any level of sponsorship. Each tax exempt donation made to COPA provides crucial support to  young Tucsonans attending this internationally recognized Summer Nonviolence Institute at the University of Rhode Island.
2)     Use your Frequent Flyer Miles to book a round-trip plane reservation (Tucson-Providence) for one of the youth leadership team going to Rhode Island.
3)     Bring your car to one of the car washes  that the youth are holding on Saturday, June 20 & June 27 – at AutoZone, 2180 E. Broadway (Plumer & Broadway).
4)     Forward this request for sponsorship to a community organization or business that would be proud to support this project.
COPA seeks to raise $5200 to cover the total costs for the five-person team of youth and adults to attend the Summer Nonviolence Institute (this includes airfare, training fees, lodging at the University of Rhode Island, and meals). Tax exempt donations may be addressed to COPA, and mailed to the address noted below. Or call/email us and we can arrange to pick up your donation.
All sponsors will be acknowledged at all events and on promotional materials when appropriate. There will be a community celebration when the youth return to share their success with donors. This celebration will be part of a Family Peace Festival being planned by the youth team for August.
Help see that the legacy of nonviolence gets passed to these young leaders!  They are eager to live Dr. King’s dream of peace and nonviolence for themselves, their friends, their family and all of Tucson.

"At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.


Background

The Nonviolence Legacy Project (NVLP) is a collaborative effort of several local organizations, initiated by the Culture of Peace Alliance to create a youth-led nonviolence training and direct action team for Tucson. At a time when youth violence has reached epidemic proportions in our country, it inspires hope to know that increasing numbers of young people are wanting to learn about nonviolence as practiced by civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and César Chávez.

During Phase One of the project, 180 middle school, high school, and college age youth were introduced to nonviolence as a courageous way of life by civil rights pioneer Bernard LaFayette, Jr. and his associate, Jonathan Lewis, National Nonviolence Trainer with the Gathering for Justice. Dr. LaFayette was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bernard LaFayette was with Dr. King on the morning of his assassination when Dr. King noted that the next movement was to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence. Bernard LaFayette has spent his life carrying out those instructions from Dr. King by conducting nonviolence trainings across the US and around the world. The NVLP brought Dr. LaFayette to Tucson in February 2009 to help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP and to launch Phase One of this youth nonviolence leadership project.

During Phase Two of the project, 26 youth and young adults participated in a two-day Core Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence training in April and another 16 youth and adults completed this core training in June. Graduates of the two-day training are now eligible to attend advanced nonviolence training with Dr. LaFayette and colleagues at the University of Rhode Island in July.

Comment by Amanda Shauger on June 1, 2009 at 3:16pm

Federal Trial Against Humanitarian Begins Monday

Who: No More Deaths volunteer Walter Staton
What: Federal misdemeanor charge of “knowingly littering”
Where: DiConcini Federal Court, Congress & Granada - Room 5A
When: Trial begins Monday, June 1 at 9:00 am, gathering of supporters at 8:15 am

Contacts: Walter Staton: 520.240.1641
Attorney William Walker: 520.622.3330

‘Deadly Border Policy Must Come to an End’

Local humanitarian volunteer, Walter Staton, is being charged with knowingly littering after putting out gallon jugs of water intended for migrants crossing remote areas of the Sonoran desert last December on Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. He was cited by Fish and Wildlife Service officer James Casey, along with three other volunteers from the Tucson-based humanitarian group No More Deaths. The charges against the other three volunteers were dismissed by the US Attorney’s Office.

Officer Casey was assisted by three US Border Patrol agents, including one of their helicopters, to track and cite Staton. Officer Casey confiscated eight jugs of water that was put out for migrants, and then seized another six gallons of water from the group’s vehicle.

The group of volunteers was carrying out empty water jugs and other trash at the time of the citation.

The trial against Staton is set to begin at 9:00 am, June 1 at the DiConcini Federal Court House in Tucson. Magistrate Jennifer Guerin will preside over the trial, which will include a 12-member jury.

Approximately 20 bodies of migrants have been recovered from Buenos Aires since 2002 (see map below) with many more deaths occurring just outside the refuge’s boundary. Dehydration is often a factor in the deaths that occur along the border.

Staton will try to defend himself on moral grounds, although the US Government has filed motions to preclude him from testifying to his intent. “I am moved by my faith as a Unitarian Universalist to be engaged in this work along the border. It’s an important social justice issue to be in solidarity with the courageous people who leave so much behind to try and build a more dignified life for themselves and their families,” Staton said.

No More Deaths recognizes that the root causes of migration lie in environmental, economic and trade inequities. Coupled with a border enforcement policy that focuses on deterrence, the result is a death toll of more than 5,000 people along our southern boundary since the mid-1990s.

“The United States is enforcing a border policy that intentionally pushes people out into the Sonoran desert to try and deter them from coming to America. It is a deliberate policy of death since people will come to find jobs and reunite families regardless of the deterrence,” Staton said, who has volunteered with No More Deaths for five years.

The trial is expected to last most of the week. Rev. Robin Hoover, president of Humane Borders and Ed McCullough, retired dean of the College of Science at the University of Arizona, will both be called as witnesses for Staton’s defense, which is being presented by attorney William Walker.

While the water jugs are a key part of No More Deaths’ humanitarian work, the group recognizes that it is treating a symptom of a much larger global issue.

Staton, who recently returned from a delegation to Germany, Malta and Italy with other humanitarian volunteers, sees parallels in the deterrence strategy used to prevent refugees and migrants from entering the Unites States and the European Union.

“Militarized borders are not a solution to the growing numbers of people on the move around the world. It’s time we bring this era of deadly border enforcement strategy to an end,” Staton said.

Fellow volunteer, Dan Millis, was given a similar littering citation in February, 2008. His case is currently being appealed to the 9th Circuit Federal Court.

No More Deaths will continue with providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in the desert around Arivaca and at border aid stations in Agua Prieta, Naco and Nogales. The group is also continuing its work documenting human rights abuses of migrants in US custody, and is actively working with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to create a set of custody standards that will protect detainees held by the Department of Homeland Security.

The mission of No More Deaths is to end the death and suffering of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border in the Sonoran desert. The group first began direct humanitarian operations in the summer of 2004. Hundreds of volunteers come to Arizona each year to participate in No More Deaths’ humanitarian projects. No More Deaths is a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson.

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