Be Part of the Movement
Nonviolent Louisville is born through the efforts of anyone willing to explore or recommit to methods that cause no harm in their personal and community life.
Nonviolent Louisville Gathering and Affirmations
Thursday, October 1, 11:00am – 12:30pm, Gathering at Muhammad Ali Center (144 N. 6th Street, Louisville, KY 40202)
YOU are invited to be part of expanding this new city-wide Nonviolent Louisville Movement that is committed to creating our Beloved Community.
This monthly gathering features: Charles Booker sharing wisdom about creating a more compassionate and nonviolent city and state; Nonviolent Louisville organizers explaining how to be a pledging organization; and affirming two local groups that are creatively using nonviolent strategies for life’s conflicts. Refreshments served.
Please Register for this Free Event HERE.
Pictured: Tami Combs (L) offering Christine Brinkman (R) and Ellie Davenport (Middle) of Louisville Grows a Nonviolence Affirmation at the September 3 gathering.
Twelve Days Toward Peace 2026
September 21, International Day of Peace to October 2, International Day of Nonviolence
Morning Practice for Nonviolence: Daily, 7:30-8:00am, via Zoom. Set an intention to expand nonviolence in your heart and actions each day, guided by a community peacemaker. Register.
12-Hour Vigil for Nonviolence: Wednesday, Sept 23, 8:00am to 8:00pm, In-Person at DGCEC. Each hour is hosted by a different group and marked by meditation, song, poetry, or prayer. Join at any time you are able.
Louisville’s Arms of Compassion: Friday, Sept 25, 12:00 - 12:30pm, via Zoom, to stand in solidarity with those who have lost someone to murder and to take a pledge of nonviolence. Link: [email protected].
Tibetan Momo and Movie Night Featuring the Documentary “The Welcome Table”: Friday, Sept 25, 5:30-8:00pm, DGCEC. This 2026 documentary is free. The Momo Dinner must be pre-ordered online. Info and Register.
The Buddhist Practice of Non-Harm with Geshe Rapgyal: Tuesday, Sept 29, 6:30 – 7:30pm, DGCEC and via Zoom. Learn more about the ancient practices of non-harm which serve as the foundation for Buddhism. Explore altruistic mind and compassionate living from a philosophical + practical perspective. Register.
International Day of Nonviolence – Planting of a Peace Pole and Committing to Nonviolence: Friday, Oct 2, 10:00am, Trager MicroForest at Founders Square, 501 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40202 We will install a peace pole with “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 8 languages, hear from community leaders, and deepen our personal and city-wide commitment to building a culture of nonviolence. Register for updates.
3 Session BOOK DISCUSSION OF NONVIOLENT: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love by Rev. James Lawson, Jr. and Emily Yellin facilitated by Terry Cozad Taylor and Jeremy Jackson
3 Sundays, September 20, 27 and Oct 4, from 2:00 - 3:00pm, at Chestnut Street Family YMCA (930 W. Chestnut Street, Louisville, KY 40203). Read more and register for this free event.
What is Nonviolence?
“Nonviolence is an active and creative power for justice and the well-being of all that employs neither passivity nor violence.
Nonviolence is a process that seeks to break the cycle of escalating and retaliatory violence, to reach out to the opponent and potential allies, to focus on the issue at hand, and to reveal more clearly the truth and justice of the situation. Nonviolence is organized love.”
– Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service
Whether civic or personal, movements using nonviolent means are two times more effective in reaching a goal, in a third of the time, and research shows that it is ten times safer than efforts that use violence.
Nonviolence is a powerful tool of the courageous!
Explore more about this newly launched city-wide movement. Our site has everything you need to get started... find pledge/resolution samples, as well as other support materials, or contact the Steering Team: [email protected].
How Does Nonviolent Louisville Work?
#1: Create Your Nonviolence Pledge / Resolution
Begin by envisioning the kind of world you want to live in. Peaceful. Harmonious. Kind. Compassionate. Respectful. A place where everyone has enough and can live on a healthy Earth.
It is easy to join!
Sign a personal pledge at NonviolentLouisville.org or create a resolution, pledge or proclamation of your organization’s intent to expand nonviolence. View samples from other groups on the website.
Consider making a three, five, ten year commitment to actively examine your personal and community attitudes, practices and structures, to work on transforming hearts and minds toward a culture of peace, and a nonviolent society that is free from war, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction.
#2: Cultivate Your Committed Nonviolent Organization
Connect with practical, effective, and diverse resources and classes for creating more harmonious relationships, for dealing with everyday conflicts, and for generating a more just and caring society.
Be inspired by great teachers and practitioners of nonviolence from the past and present.
Empower your family, friends, coworkers, or community members to join you. Share resources.
Take a Personal Pledge of Nonviolence - Complete the form below, and we will send you the Pledge Form.
I pledge to help build a culture of active nonviolence by learning the wisdom and practical skills about this constructive path between passivity and violence.
I commit to striving to live a path of nonviolence by
- transforming my violent thoughts into thoughts of benefiting others,
- avoiding violent words that harm or humiliate others,
- resisting fighting back even if I am provoked,
- refusing to bully anyone or allow anyone to be bullied,
- choosing forgiveness, tolerance, and patience as my regular response to others’ violence,
- and adopting a compassionate mind and loving-kindness toward others.
I will join others who are practicing nonviolence by doing what I can in the global movement to abolish war, end poverty and racism, and stop the destruction of the earth.
I will help grow Nonviolent Louisville to foster a more just, peaceful, and nonviolent city.
Roots of Contemporary Nonviolence
Mahatma Gandhi, often considered the father of contemporary nonviolence, taught nonviolence (ahimsa in Sanskrit) as the vital force within that power he called Truth Force (satyagraha). He lived by truth and nonviolence which he considered as two sides of a coin.
Literally, Ahimsa means lacking any desire to kill, to be utterly harmless, not only to oneself and others, but to all living beings. Ahimsa is more than not doing violence or an attitude; it is a whole way of life. Therefore, ahimsa extends to all living beings and the protection of the environment.
Gandhi used the word ahimsa to mean avoiding causing physical injury, as well as mental states like destructive thoughts and hatred, unkind behavior, harsh words, dishonesty, and lying.
In addition, Gandhi believed that ahimsa carries a positive energy, compelling people to work for justice, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and free those who are wrongfully imprisoned.
Visit mkgandhi.org.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. studied Gandhi’s teachings and methods, convinced that nonviolence was the only just way to change. He applied the principles in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, creating the most effective nonviolent movement in the history of our country.
Dr. King envisioned and called for growing a Beloved Community where there is space for everyone.