Two GYF students learn nonviolence techniques at King Center

By Yan Yang

With the purpose of reducing all forms of personal and community violence, the King Center and Emory University organized The Kingian Nonviolence Teaching and Education Certification for Adults and Youth from July 26 to July 30 at the King Center’s Freedom Hall in Atlanta. Two students from Greening Youth Foundation, Lapetra Bois and Brittany Briscoe, got the opportunity to participate in this program because of the leadership qualities they demonstrated during an internship with GYF.

At the end of the week, Lapetra also received a lovely surprise—because of her completion of the training, she was awarded an all-expense-paid trip next June to South Africa, where the King Center has another center for nonviolence.

The week fused extensive discussions, debates and lectures. Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. and Captain (retired) Charles Alphin, Sr. talked to the students about ways that violence affects the world and its communities. Martin Luther King, III, also attended this training to talk about alternatives to violence.

“He asked me, ‘How are you doing?’ and I said, ‘I am doing GREAT!’ with a big smile,” Lapetra said excitedly. “You do not have this kind of chance so much in your life.”

King told the students that when he was young, he chose to go to Ebenezer Church and be immersed in love, instead of using violence. He also he did a great deal of community service to give back to society. These stories motivated students to be young leaders in reducing violence.

In addition, students had to participate in several debates on such topics as “alternatives to violence” and “how to help the community reduce violence.” Through the sharing of opinions, the students gained a deeper understanding of the philosophy and methodology of nonviolence, as well as skills that they could apply in the future to reduce conflicts.

“I was nervous when I presented, but eventually I overcame the fear,” said Lapetra.

In fact, one goal of the training was to prepare students to conduct a four-hour presentation to their peers and middle school students. The debates helped students improve their presentation skills to achieve this goal.

More than 100 people attended the training, some from as far away as New York. Students communicated with each other extensively to understand their diverse backgrounds and life stories. In the teambuilding activities, Brittany was shocked to find out that some of the peers had friends who were killed in conflicts. This helped the students realize how serious is the issue of violence and urged them to reduce the violence in their communities.

During their internship with GYF, Lepetra and Brittany had actively participated in debate exercises and discussions on teen issues. The Kingian Nonviolence training sharpened their thoughts on current issues and equipped them with skills and motivation to deal with conflict in nonviolent ways.