“Peace Circles” is one of Black Women for Positive Change’s initiatives for October, the month of nonviolence “Peace Circles: Promoting voice and collaboration among students to create a violence-free future.” This initiative encourages community mediation centers to host events utilizing restorative peace circles as a means to give voice to children, teens and young adults by fostering dialogue, understanding, building community, and working towards peaceful resolution to conflict. Youth, in partnership with adults, will be co-designing the conversations and co-writing the scripts. They will then co-lead the circles they design.
Project participants are encouraged to commit to actively promoting this mission to other organizations with the goal of maximizing outreach. The goal is to have a Peace Circle in all 50 states during the month of October beginning October 1st through 31st.
Every organization that signs up to host an event will receive a toolkit. Sign up at: www.monthofnonviolence.org
Renata Valree tells us more about Black Women 4 Positive Change Peace Circles below.
Black Women 4 Positive Change hosts “Circles of Peace: Uniting Children for a Violence-Free Future.” Creating a violence-free future is an important goal and providing children with a platform to express themselves through restorative (peace) circles is a powerful way to empower them toward that goal. Restorative circles have proved to be effective in addressing conflicts and promoting healing in communities and schools.
Restorative circles have roots in indigenous traditions and have been used as a community-building practice for centuries. The concept gained wider recognition and adoption in the Western world by the 1990s as a response to addressing conflicts and promoting healing in communities and schools.
Restorative circles involve bringing individuals together in a circle format, where everyone has an equal voice and the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe and respectful space. These circles provide a structured process for addressing conflict, discussing difficult issues, understanding perspectives, and finding resolutions. The focus is on building empathy, fostering dialogue, and developing a sense of interconnectedness among participants. Restorative circles offer a way to heal, build relationships, and take collective responsibility for creating positive change. They have been implemented in various settings, including schools and community organizations, to promote accountability, empathy, and personal growth.
During the Black Women for Positive Change, Peace Circles will be taught, conducted and shared to to gain insight into the experiences and needs of children, allowing for better understanding and support towards creating a future without violence. The event will foster dialogue, promote understanding, build community, and seek peaceful resolutions. Topics such as how children experience violence, the root causes of violence, its consequences, strategies for addressing violence, and envisioning a future devoid of violence will be discussed.
