High school students in Lexington and Thomasville, North Carolina came together in the spirit of nonviolence in hopes of ending the violence and rivalry at their football games. Students from these competing schools organized roundtable discussions to find what was at the root of the rivalry between them. They discovered that it has passed down by previous generations and that the violence is largely a result of these previous generations attending their games. However they as students did not feel different or superior to their friends in the other high school. In other words, they refused to own the competition, citing Martin Luther King, Jr.:“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external violence, but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”
What did they do as action? They wrote op-eds for their school papers and their local community newspapers on ending the rivalry and peace. They organized classroom discussions. They declared the theme of the spirit week before the big game as “it is just a game.” But it won’t stop there. The students plan to continue organizing in this spirit until the day that it is no longer necessary.
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By: Metta Center
We provide educational resources on the safe and effective use of nonviolence, with the recognition that it’s not about putting the right person in power but awakening the right kind of power in people. We advance a higher image of humankind while empowering people to explore the question: How does nonviolence work, and how can I actively contribute to a happier, more peaceful society?
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