Photo Credit: History in HD

Organizing powerful and effective nonviolent campaigns requires regular training in nonviolent discipline for all volunteers. To powerfully and effectively wield nonviolent action, it is imperative that all participants maintain nonviolent discipline to keep their actions kind and compassionate, even when faced with threats and violence. In this article, we will explain why nonviolent discipline is vital to the success of nonviolent movements. Then we will explain three often-overlooked, but immensely helpful training tools for nonviolent campaigns that we will discuss in this article.

Why is Nonviolent Discipline so Important?

Nonviolent discipline is the ability to remain nonviolent and free of bitterness in the face of verbal and even physical violence. Why is nonviolent discipline important? Because it allows what nonviolent strategist Gene Sharp coined “political jiu-jitsu” to occur. Jiu-jitsu is a martial art that uses the attackers force against themselves. Because of this reversal, the attacker's greater size and strength only hurts them more.

Political jiu-jitsu is a tactic whereby we utilize our opponent's best weapon — violent repression — to undermine their sources of power and strengthen our own. It occurs when we bravely and nonviolently endure unjust and sometimes violent treatment while maintaining nonviolent discipline. Cruelties committed against loving and kind people appear reprehensible, inhuman, and monstrous to most people. Outraged by our opponent’s repressive attacks, those who learn of it withdraw support from the violent opposition, become more open to our demands, and often start giving their support in both tangible and intangible ways to our campaigns. This reduces our opponent’s power while bolstering our own.

During the U.S. civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, people read the stories and watched on TV how nonviolent demonstrators—who were often singing freedom songs, or peacefully kneeling in prayer—were blasted down streets with high-pressure water hoses, attacked by police dogs, verbally and physically accosted by mobs of segregationists, and jailed for kindly yet bravely breaking unjust segregationist laws to fairly demand equal treatment and dignity under the law.

These scenes of repression against loving and nonviolent people triggered the mechanism of political jiu-jitsu. These monstrous acts of repression stirred the consciences of many Americans, who ended up sending donations, supporting civil rights activists, and joining the civil rights movement. The more repression peaceful activists faced, the more their ranks and coffers swelled. The more repression loving activists faced, the more pressure was put on the government to create new laws such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act which banned segregation and employment discrimination and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibited literacy tests and other discriminatory practices in voting, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of property.

Dr. King described political jiu-jitsu on an individual level like this:

<< When for, decades, you have been able to make someone compromise their dignity by threatening them with a cruel and unjust punishment, and when suddenly they turn upon you and say: "Punish me. I do not deserve it. But because I do not deserve it, I will accept it so that the world will know that I am right and you are wrong," you hardly know what to do. You feel defeated and secretly ashamed. You know that this person is as good a person as you are; that from some mysterious source they have found the courage and the conviction to meet physical force with soul force.>> [NOTE: The << >> denote that out of love for all life, deep respect for Dr. King, and without changing his intended meaning, we have paraphrased (follow link for details) Dr. King's words in an effort to make them more inclusive.]

In Dr. King's book Stride Towards Freedom, he explained political jiu-jitsu on a society-wide level like this:

American Negros must come to the point where they can say to their white [siblings], paraphrasing the words of Ghandi: "We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we cannot in good conscience obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children; send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities and drag us out on some wayside road, beating us and leaving us half dead, and we will still love you. But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process.

Knowing that this is a tall order, he adds:

Fortunately, however, the success of this method is not dependent on its unanimous acceptance. A few [activists] in every community, unswervingly committed to the nonviolent way, can persuade hundreds of others at least to use nonviolence as a technique and serve as the moral force to awaken the slumbering national conscience.

You can be one of those few activists in your community who is "unswervingly committed to the nonviolent way" and serve to inspire those around you to remain nonviolent and loving so that your movement is able to use the powerful tactic of political jiu-jitsu effectively to undermine your opponents while strengthening your movement.

On the flip side, if the repression we face is responded to with hatred, self-righteousness, violence, or cowardice, it makes it easier for people to question our motives and ignore the moral force of our arguments. People who do not want their consciences roused, will look for any excuse to ignore the issue. "A bottle was thrown at the police? Then the protesters were asking for the rubber bullets, teargas, and jail time they got," might think many in the general public. Thus, when we respond to repression with hostility, we still endure the repression, but our movement gains few, if any, benefits from it.

This is why Rosa Parks encouraged all people act with integrity:

If you want to be respected for your actions, then your behavior must be beyond reproach.... This is how you gain the respect of others. If our lives demonstrate that we are peaceful, humble, and trusted, this is recognized by others. If our lives demonstrate something else, that will be noticed too.

As nonviolent activists, we need to teach each other the concept of political jiu-jitsu. We need to be on the lookout for political jiu-jitsu happening on either a macro and micro level and then share these examples with each other.

When activists see, know, and experience the power of political jiu-jitsu, they become inspired and willing to bravely endure the suffering while maintaining nonviolent discipline. They now know with confidence that this is the price they need to pay to help liberate those they love from the chains of oppression: be they humans, animals, ecosystems, or our planet's climate.

Amazing Tools to Foster Nonviolent Discipline: Pledges, Role Playing, and Freedom Songs

Now that we appreciate why nonviolent discipline is essential for nonviolent movements to succeed, let's turn to examine three, often-overlooked, but immensely helpful training tools to help activists maintain nonviolent discipline. They include:

• Pledges: A written list of commitments that volunteers and activists agree to, often by signing their name to it. The pledges are written so prevent misunderstanding, aid in accountability, and allow people to easily refer to their agreements. Pledges can also be referred to as agreements, creeds, credos, commitments, and various other names, and in this article we use these words interchangeably. Often there is an "entry level" pledge that all volunteers in the campaign agree to. In addition, there exist "advanced pledges" for people engaged in high-risk, front-lines activity such as civil disobedience. Many affinity groups within a movement often craft their own pledge as a way to clarify the expectations of behavior for all members in the affinity group.

• Role playing: Rehearsing potentially stressful, tense situations to learn how to respond to them compassionately free of ill-will, hatred, and judgment. This is especially important for front-line activists who will endure ridicule, name-calling, threats, and physical abuse at the hands of opponents and police. Activists who have been on the front-lines can use their experience to accurately role play the most aggressive opponents or police that are encountered at direct actions, while those in training practice responding lovingly in ways that help them connect with the opponent and de-escalate the situation. As a safety precaution, those in training can use a safe word to signal the need to immediately end the exercise if it is too much for them.

• Freedom songs: Freedom songs have lyrics that inspire courage, compassion, forgiveness, justice, peace, and reconciliation. The song lyrics remind us of our values and our desire to create a beloved community where all people, animals, and ecosystems thrive. By singing freedom songs at meetings, trainings, rallies, marches, and other activities, supporters are routinely reminded of the values of the movement. This repetition is necessary to help movement participants embody these values.

In the rest of this article, we will look at the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s in Birmingham, Alabama for examples of how they used these tools. Unless stated otherwise, all of the quotes in this article come from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's book Why We Can't Wait.

The Use of Pledges as Training Tools

Many affinity groups use pledges to clarify the expectations they have of their group members.

In parts of the U.S. civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, protesters were required to sign a pledge in order to volunteer for the movement. During the height of the sit in protests in Birmingham, Alabama, nightly mass meetings were held nightly to explain the philosophy and methods of nonviolent direct action and recruit volunteers. As Reverend King wrote:

Every volunteer was required to sign a Commitment Card that read:

I HEARBY PLEDGE MYSELF--MY PERSON AND MY BODY--TO THE NONVIOLENT MOVEMENT. THEREFORE, I WILL KEEP THE FOLLOWING TEN COMMANDMENTS:

1. MEDITATE daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.

2. REMEMBER always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation--not victory.

3. WALK and TALK in the manner of love, for God is love.

4. PRAY daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.

5. SACRIFICE personal wishes in order that all men might be free.

6. OBSERVE with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.

7. SEEK to perform regular service for others and for the world.

8. REFRAIN from the violence of fist, tongue, and heart.

9. STRIVE to be in good spiritual and bodily health.

10. FOLLOW the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.

I sign this pledge, having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.

This pledge encouraged all who took it to set loving intentions to practice compassion, kindness, wisdom, and courage every day. It reminded them to do the inner work necessary to train their mind and heart to embrace love and goodwill, while rejecting judgment, hatred, and resentment. It showed them how they could create the beloved community, by having every action they took be motivated by love.

Those who wanted to partake in marches, rallies, and civil disobedience received further training and were required to accept what Dr. King called the "nonviolent creed in action: to resist without bitterness; to be cursed and not reply; to be beaten and not hit back."

This advanced pledge helped ensure that demonstrators would keep nonviolent discipline in the face of violent repression. As with all pledges, signing them is voluntary. People who did not sign the pledge were still welcomed to participate in the movement in supporting roles that were less risky and not on the front-lines.

Out of deep respect and admiration for all that the civil rights movement has done to advance the creation of the beloved community, and in solidarity with civil rights activists past and present who continue to create the beloved community, the Boundless Love Project has created a Beloved Community Pledge modelled after the Commitment Card above. We have adapted it to be nonsectarian so it can be embraced by all people of all wisdom traditions, be they religious or secular. We also encourage all people, be they activists or not, to take this pledge and help create a global beloved community where all life thrives. Please read over and consider taking the Beloved Community Pledge.

Role Playing Helps Train in Nonviolent Discipline

People who took this advanced pledge were given additional training. This training often came in the form of role playing the verbal and physical abuse they might face at an action, while they responded according to the nonviolent creed. Here, Dr. King describes the process in his own words:

Towards the ends of our mass meetings...[we] would extend an appeal for volunteers to serve in our nonviolent army. We made it clear that we would not send anyone out to demonstrate who had not convinced [herself or] himself and us that [she or] he could accept and endure violence without retaliating. At the same time, we urged the volunteers to give up any possible weapons that they might have on their persons.... We proved that we possessed the most formidable weapon of all--the conviction that we were right. We had the protection of our knowledge that we were more concerned about realizing our righteous aims than about saving our skins.

Those who volunteered to be on the front lines were required to attend intensive training. King explains:

The focus of these training sessions was the socio-dramas designed to prepare the demonstrators for some of the challenges they could expect to face. The harsh language and physical abuse of the police and the self-appointed guardians of the law were frankly presented, along with the nonviolent creed in action: to resist without bitterness; to be cursed and not reply; to be beaten and not hit back. The S.C.L.C. [Southern Christian Leadership Conference] staff members who conducted these sessions played their roles with the conviction born of experience.

The "frankly presented" harsh language and physical abuse included role playing sit ins at segregated lunch counters. In these role plays, a volunteer would sit on a stool while many other activists role played a mob of angry people who surrounded them, hurled rude and abusive language at them, ashed cigarettes on their heads and poured sugar, salt, or ketchup on them. Then someone would hit them, and they would be dragged off of their chair onto the floor. They trainers did their best to make the experience as real as possible without hurting the volunteer too much. (Watch an example of these role plays here from 31:00 to 33:00 minutes).

Given the intensity of these trainings, it is important to give volunteers a safe word so they can tap out if it is too much for them. After such intense trainings the volunteer would have a more visceral sense of what it might feel like to endure a chaotic and violent encounter. They will also have a better sense of their own ability to remain nonviolent in the face of such abuse.

Because these role plays can be harsh, it is important that the trainers and other volunteers offer the volunteer lots of support, kindness, and friendliness before and after the role plays so they do not take the violence they endured personally.

Dr. King admits that not everybody could meet the high standards required to serve on demos:

Not all who volunteered could pass our strict test for service as demonstrators. But there was much to be done, over and above the dramatic act of presenting one's body in the marches. There were errands to be run, phone calls to be made, typing, so many things. If a volunteer wasn't suited to march, [she or] he was utilized in one of a dozen other ways to help the cause.

One of the strengths of nonviolent movements is that everyone can participate. There are many roles that need doing, but reserve the front lines roles for people who are well trained in nonviolence and are solid in their nonviolent discipline.

Freedom Songs Reinforce Our Values and Inspire Courage

The final training tool we discuss in these articles are freedom songs. Again, Dr. King’s words on the subject:

An important part of the mass meetings was the freedom songs. In a sense they freedom songs are the soul of the movement. They are more than just incantations of clever phrases designed to invigorate a campaign; they are as old as the history of the Negro in America. They are adaptations of the songs the slave sang--the sorrow songs, the shouts for joy, the battle hymns and the anthems of our movement. I have heard people talk of their beat and rhythm, but we in the movement are as inspired by their words. "Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Stayed on Freedom" is a sentence that needs no music to make its point. We sing the freedom songs today for the same reason the slaves sang them, because we too are in bondage and the songs add hope to our determination that "We shall overcome, Black and white together, We shall overcome someday."

I have stood in a meeting with hundreds of youngsters and joined in while they sang "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round." It is not just a song; it is a resolve. A few minutes later, I have seen these same youngsters refuse to turn around from the onrush of a police dog, refuse to turn around before a pugnacious Bull Connor [the Commissioner of Public Safety who opposed civil rights demonstrators using violent police repression] in command of men armed with power hoses. These songs bind us together, give us courage together, help us to march together."

Again, not all songs are freedom songs. The lyrics and tone need to inspire bravery, community, togetherness, and reconciliation. Songs that demean, ridicule, or judge our opponents, or anyone else, are not freedom songs. Songs that are sung in a spirit of hostility and mean-spiritedness are not freedom songs. The lyrics and tone sung must embody the values of the movement to be a freedom song.

Check out our freedom song resource page for more information on freedom songs to use in your movement.

Parting Words

Dr. King asserts, "Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in human history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the [person] who wields it. It is a sword that heals."

If we want to wield the immensely powerful force of political jiu-jitsu to unlock the chains of oppression that bind both the victims and the perpetrators of abuse, we need to maintain nonviolent discipline in the face of repression of all kinds.

To help members of our movements maintain nonviolent discipline we need to teach them what political jiu-jitsu is and help them to be on the lookout for it happening within the movement. When people see and understand that courageously and peacefully enduring violent repression benefits the cause, they will find the inner strength to remain loving despite the injustices they suffer.

To further reinforce nonviolent discipline, we need to use pledges to clearly communicate our shared values and behavioral expectations of our movement members and affinity groups.

To prepare those who will be doing frontline activism to maintain nonviolent discipline, role playing is vital. This will help train us to lovingly respond to verbal attacks and physical violence with courage, dignity, and free of ill will. For those of us who can't do it, we learn that the frontlines are not the best place for us in the movement and we participate in other ways.

Finally, freedom songs help reinforce our siblinghood with all humanity, feeling beings, and the plant who sustains us. They inspire courage and commitment, reinforce our values, and during protests and direct actions signal our loving nature to the police, bystanders, and media.

Help other understand the power of political jiu-jitsu and use these powerful tools of pledges, role playing, and freedom songs within your movement to help everyone maintain nonviolent discipline. Then your movement will be a strong, powerful, and effective "sword that heals."

Wishing you boundless courage, love, and success!