How to Speak Truth to Power
Workshop # 47
Heather Brutz
Want to work for change in the world? Passionate about peace, social justice, and the environment? This workshop will teach you some basic techniques for working for social change. We will consider the effectiveness of different strategies, as well as the consistency of those strategies with our beliefs as Friends.
Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 15; Lecture 5; Discussion 40; Experiential 40
Required Reading: Friends' Peace Witness In A Time Of Crisis
High school & AYF only
Full Description
This workshop is a basic introduction to different methods that young people can use to work for social change. This workshop will consider both spiritual questions about the ways in which we wish to work for social change as well as more practical questions about which methods we believe are most effective.
This workshop will start with general topics that are more spiritual and then move into more specific ways that people can work for social change. However, the spiritual questions that we consider in the beginning of the workshop should continue to influence the ways in which we think about later topics as well.
We will consider the following queries in detail:
1. In what areas do I feel lead to work for social change? What social or political topics inspire passion me? Does my experience or identity as a Friend influence my viewpoints on these topics?
2. How do my actions while working for social change mesh with my beliefs as a Friend?
While considering the first query, historical perspectives on social issues that Quakers have worked on will be brought up for perspective and consideration, as well as the issues that contemporary Quaker organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), are working on. Short readings from Catherine Whitmire’s book Practicing Peace and materials from AFSC and FCNL will be used.
While considering the second query, we will also consider related queries, together with related readings from Practicing Peace and Friends’ Peace Witness in a Time of Crisis (compiled and edited by Friends World Committee for Consultation). These queries are
1. Are my actions while working for social change non-violent? How do I define non-violent? Do my actions promote non-violence? What do I see as the advantages of non-violent action? What are my reservations about the use of active nonviolence in my personal life or as a strategy for social change?
2. How do I deal with anger in the face of injustice? Am I able to feel anger without that anger turning into hatred? What criteria do I use for distinguishing constructive conflict from destructive conflict?
3. What does it mean to “love one’s enemy?” How do you strive to love your enemies?
Keeping in mind the themes from the above queries, we will begin to examine specific ways that people have worked for social change and discuss them, considering both the spiritual dimensions of those actions as well as the logistical or practical dimensions of those actions. We will examine whether we believe that certain actions are consistent with our beliefs as Friends and also discuss which actions we find to be most effective, whether that be for spiritual reasons or practical reasons. Some of the methods of working for social change that we will discuss are consumer activism, lifestyle choices, direct service (in one’s own community or abroad), the arts, protest, direct non-violent civil disobedience, communicating with or through the media, writing to Congress, lobbying, voter registration, and participating in forums such as candidates forums. We will also discuss the logistics of how one can do some of these actions.
After we have discussed different examples of ways that people have worked for social change, the participants in the workshop will examine their own lives and consider the ways in which they feel led to work for social change.
The format of this workshop will be a combination of worship and worship sharing (about twenty minutes a day), journaling about the queries (about ten minutes a day), discussion and analysis of different ways of working for social change, role-plays of different scenarios that one might encounter while doing different actions for social change, presentations about different ways people have worked for social change, and readings. Each day will be a mix of the above activities.
