Peacebuilding &conflict transformation A ... - Peaceworkafrica

▶ Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this everin flesh and blood walked upon this earth.▶ He was the spokesman for the conscience of all mankind.▶ He was a man who made humility a simple truth; more powerfulthan empires.Another celebrity of nonviolence was Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “Nonviolencemeans avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violenceof spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” MartinLuther King Jr. was deeply influenced by Gandhi and interpreted his understandingin the context of the segregation struggle in the US and the US war policy. “Peace isnot when there are not tensions, but when justice rules.”Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), a Baptist minister, became a civil rightsactivist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped tofound the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president.King’s efforts led to the 1963 ‘March on Washington’ where he delivered his‘I have a Dream’ speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision ofa color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators inAmerican history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the NobelPeace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination throughcivil disobedience and other nonviolent means. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinatedon April 4th 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. By the time of his death in 1968,he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War 7 .Julius Nyerere (1922–1999), Tanzania’s first president (1962–1985) was one of Africa’sleading nonviolent activists who via nonviolent struggle led his country to independencefrom British colonial rule in 1961. Consumed in peace work, he drew immenseinspiration from Gandhi’s principles. He is known for his vision of socialism in Tanzania“… to build a society in which all members have equal rights and equal opportunities;in which all can live in peace with their neighbours without suffering orimposing injustice, being exploited, or exploiting; and in which all have a graduallyincreasing basic level of material welfare before any individual lives in luxury.” 8 Onecondition to reach this goal was to capacitate his citizens. The mass literacy campaignsincluded both children and adults. From his point of view, education stretchesfar beyond the classroom. “It is ‘anything which enlarges men’s understanding, activatesthem, helps them to make their own decisions, and to implement those decisionsfor themselves’”. 9Nyerere, known as ‘Mwalimu’, the Swahili name for teacher, was one of the firstpost‐colonial African leaders to voluntarily step down from office. Thereby settingthe democratic stage on which other African leaders like Nelson Mandela of SouthAfrica would later follow.3 . N o n v i o l e n c e f o r l i f e – s o m e a c t i v i s t s 197