(00C) Realm 02 – Movement

The Realm of Movement Nonviolence

In the embedded circles of our research template for nonviolence research, “movement” is located between the wider realm of “struggle” and the narrower realm of “campaign.” The Realm of Movement invites inquiry into aspirations and efforts that persist for decades, perhaps generations. Here we give three examples: Abolition, Women’s Suffrage, and Indian Independence.

Douglass: “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?”

In this 1852 speech, the legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass calls out the “bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy” of a national holiday that celebrates freedom and independence. (Black Past)

Stanton, et al.: “Declaration of Sentiments”

This 1848 resolution of the First Women’s Rights Convention, declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal.” (National Park Service)

Note that the names of “the gentlemen” follow the names of the women. Frederick Douglass was there.

Gandhi: Hind Swaraj or Indian Independence

Mohandas K. Gandhi drafted this tract in 1909 aboard a ship that was sailing from England to South Africa. Here he argues that Indian immigrants in South Africa had developed a power called “satyagraha” (or nonviolence) that was the appropriate method to use in securing India’s independence from Great Britain. Chapters 13, 15, and 17 address “What is True Civilization?,” “Brute Force,” and “Passive Resistance.” (pdf format at mkgandhi.org)

AFSC: Speak Truth to Power

Here is an easy-access html version from quaker.org. There is also a scanned copy of the 1955 pamphlet by the American Friends Service Committee (warning the pamphlet download is 34 mb.) According to Mechling and Mechling: “This text warrants our attention not just because many commentators considered it the most ambitious and carefully argued pacifist statement of the twentieth century. We see Speak Truth to Power as the first rhetorical ‘moment’ in a new sort of social movement that emerged after World War II.” (Mechling, E. W., and J. Mechling. “Hot Pacifism And Cold War: The American Friends Service Committee’s Witness For Peace In 1950S America.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 78, no. 2, May 1992, pp. 173–96. America: History and Life with Full Text. p. 175).

PS: Bayard Rustin was reportedly on the drafting committee, but asked that his name not be included to avoid controversy.

Further Inquiry

What past movements inspire you?

What are key source texts?

What ongoing movement inspires you today?