Calling Institutions of Higher Education to Join the Quest for Social Justice and Peace

Calling Institutions of Higher Education to Join the Quest for Social Justice and Peace ELAVIE NDUR A George Mason University The Virginia Tech tragedy in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16, 2007, deeply wounded many unsuspecting individuals, families, and communities. Amid rushing emotions of pain and grief, bewilderment and confusion, fear and nervousness, and even powerlessness, reactive questions about what went wrong and how college campuses can strengthen security characterized ensuing conversations. Less frequent were broader social questions around which local, national, and international conversations should be constructed to help develop nonviolent dispositions and build peaceful communities. In response to the tragic massacre, I wish to draw on my experiences with interethnic con- 345

Harvard Educational Review flict in the African Great Lakes region, particularly in Burundi, and with intercultural tension in the United States, to discuss how institutions of higher education could help create a nonviolent society and a world culture of peace. School violence at any level is symptomatic of a larger and more complex problem in schools and society. Creating safe learning communities requires individual and collective willingness to uncover societal issues that lead to violence (Goldstein, 2005), such as pervasive injustice, marginalization, and other forms of oppression. We must seek and hold firmly onto the pillars of nonviolence, which are truth, harmony, brotherhood, justice, fearlessness, and the capacity to sacrifice, as taught by historical and contemporary champions of peace and nonviolence such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela (Ndura, 2006a). Violence, social justice, and peace are complex constructs. Francis (2006) distinguishes between direct violence, which is physical, emotional, and psychological; structural violence, which refers to deliberate policies and structures that cause human suffering, death, and harm; and cultural violence, which denotes cultural norms and practices that create discrimination, injustice, and human suffering. Within the educational context, a concern for social justice means looking critically at why and how our schools are unjust for some students (Nieto, 2000, p. 183). In the broader societal context, social justice embodies essential and transformative principles of equity and access to all opportunities for all people, regardless of cultural background, ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation. Peace means more than the absence of war. It implies human beings working together to resolve conflicts, respect standards of justice, satisfy basic needs, and honor human rights... [It] involves a respect for life and for the dignity of each human being without discrimination or prejudice (Harris & Morrison, 2003, p. 12). As we struggle to make sense of the Virginia Tech tragedy and countless other incidents of brutal violence in the United States and the world, it is important to explore the connection between injustice and violence from both a local and global perspective in order to understand our individual and collective responsibilities in the quest for a just and peaceful society. Yet, the discourse of hope and societal transformation should not be derailed into cycles of blaming rhetoric, as these would risk deepening the wounds caused by unjust losses. Instead, such discourse should be grounded in a genuine desire and commitment to expose painful realities in order to deal with them more effectively and constructively not just for the benefit of the wronged, but for the common good. Societal patterns of intolerance and discrimination are prevalent in many culturally and ethnically diverse communities. For instance, in the African Great Lakes region, Hutus and Tutsis continue to struggle with interethnic conflict and violence decades after independence. The United States is continually challenged by the structural integration of its people of color, particularly its African American population, more than a century after the Emanci- 346

Symposium: Voices for Peace pation Proclamation. I therefore concur with Zúñiga and colleagues (Zúñiga, Nagda, Chelser, & Cytron-Walker, 2007), who argue that we live in a society challenged by enduring social divisions and inequalities. Hence, our challenge as educators and citizens is to build enduring systems that recognize and legitimize difference, even as we construct overarching national and global identities that incorporate the voices, experiences, and hopes of diverse national and world communities (Banks, 2006). We cannot successfully grapple with this challenge until we are willing and courageous enough, for example, to acknowledge the destructive impact of Belgian colonial policies and practices and the resulting Tutsi hegemony on Burundi s and Rwanda s history of interethnic violence and genocide. In the United States, we must be prepared to admit that systemic poverty and racism continue to impact people of color, particularly young Black males, in devastating ways (Gassin, Enright, & Knutson, 2005). We must face painful truths and acknowledge our responsibilities in creating and supporting social systems that devalue, oppress, and annihilate so many of our nation s youth, thereby subjugating them to a destructive life of meaninglessness, hopelessness, and lovelessness (West, 1993). As King (2002) warned, there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair (p. 105). What is the role of institutions of higher education in restoring social justice and hope for disenfranchised populations and creating a culture of nonviolence and peace? As the groomers of the national and global elite, these institutions should labor to prepare citizens whose commitment to true democracy and justice will empower them to improve their own lives and their communities (Kincheloe, 2004) by working to dismantle systems of oppression and effect positive societal change. I shall highlight three main ways in which colleges and universities could contribute to the quest for social justice and peace both locally and globally. First, institutions of higher education should demonstrate a focus on human interdependence across their curricula and programs. It is rather ironic that in many countries, such as Burundi and Rwanda, the educated elite are often the instigators and perpetrators of destructive interethnic conflict and violence due to their lack of a constructive unifying vision for their people and nations (Ndura, 2006b). Similarly, in the face of persisting and pervasive inequities in education, health, economic advancement, and the justice system in the United States, it is difficult not to wonder whether the country s elite possess the necessary social consciousness to further the common good in policy and practice. To what extent do institutions of higher education foster an understanding that all life is interrelated ; that we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny ; and that whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly (King, 1986, p. 254)? To what extent do they help future political leaders, chief executive officers, educators, and other professionals realize that we are a global family 347

Harvard Educational Review and that because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature (Dalai Lama, 2002, p. 126)? To what extent do they remind us that the life of each one of us is connected with those around us (Hanh, 2002, p. 127), regardless of cultural background or physical distance? Second, institutions of higher education should prepare citizens to become supporters and defenders of social justice. Citizens who support and defend social justice reject politically correct discourses that promote individual and structural hypocrisy, and they courageously dedicate their talents, time, and resources to the development and implementation of programs aimed at the eradication of racism, classism, sexism, and other forms of oppressive injustice. They are agents of peace who labor to build diverse communities devoid of fear, tension, and suspicion. Third, institutions of higher education should develop and support teaching, research, and outreach agendas that are socially constructive (Spence & Makuwira, 2005, p. 28), meaning that they are designed to effect positive change in local and global contexts. Thus, college classrooms and campuses should become critical educational spaces where students and teachers are empowered to explore and transgress the internal and external influences (Goldstein, 2005, p. 34), such as discrimination, violence, and war, that shape teaching and learning. To expand on McKnight s (2004) idea, colleges and universities should help to bring about intercultural and intracultural peace by engaging educators and students in critical and active life-analysis activities to facilitate the understanding of their individual and collective narratives. McKnight explains that critical and active life-analysis engages participants in a deep exploration of their individual and collective perceptions and experiences in safe pedagogical spaces, thus fostering intersubjective understanding and justice-minded reparation (p. 6). Such engagement would help students and educators understand their own narratives and foster cross-cultural or intergroup appreciation and validation, thus helping to lay the foundation for peace-building (Bretherton, Weston, & Zbar, 2005; Ndura, 2003, 2006c; Opotow, Gerson, & Woodside, 2005; Quezada & Romo, 2004). Social justice is central to the quest for nonviolence and peace. Education from a peace-building perspective empowers students and educators to develop the necessary dispositions and take action to foster affirming, peaceful coexistence and to contribute to positive societal transformation (Johnson & Johnson, 2006; Synott, 2005; Tyler & Bretherton, 2006). True peace, King (1986) contended, denotes the presence of justice, goodwill, and brotherhood. In many communities, such as the African Great Lakes region and the United States, the roots of human conflict and violence run deep into decades and even centuries of injustice perpetrated by systems of exclusion, domination, and oppression. We must work together to reclaim our hope in the future of humanity because it will be made through the struggles of human beings (Weiler, 2003, p. 3). Hence, in the midst of college campuses 348

Symposium: Voices for Peace frenzy to bolster physical security and improve emergency-related communication (Strauss, 2007), we need to pause and re-collect ourselves. It is time to ponder how we can advance the cause of social justice, validate human interdependence, and develop policies that will foster a just and peaceful society. References Banks, J. A. (2006). Race, culture, and education: The selected works of James A. Banks. London: Routledge. Bretherton, D., Weston, J., & Zbar, V. (2005). School-based peace building in Sierra Leone. Theory Into Practice, 44, 355 362. Dalai Lama. (2002). The Nobel Peace Prize lecture. In K. Mallick & D. Hunter (Eds.), An anthology of nonviolence: Historical and contemporary voices (pp. 117 124). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Francis, D. J. (2006). Linking peace, security and developmental regionalism: Regional economic and security integration in Africa. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 2(3), 7 20. Gassin, E. A., Enright, R. D., & Knutson, J. A. (2005). Bringing peace to the central city: Forgiveness education in Milwaukee. Theory Into Practice, 44, 319 328. Goldstein, R. A. (2005). Symbolic and institutional violence and critical education spaces: In the name of education. Journal of Peace Education, 2(1), 33 52. Hanh, T. N. (2002). The almond tree in your front yard. In K. Mallick & D. Hunter (Eds.), An anthology of nonviolence: Historical and contemporary voices (pp. 125 131). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Harris, I. M., & Morrison, M. L. (2003). Peace education (2nd ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2006). Peace education for consensual peace: The essential role of conflict resolution. Journal of Peace Education, 3, 147 174. Kincheloe, J. L. (2004). Critical pedagogy primer. New York: Peter Lang. King, M. L., Jr. (1986). Nonviolence and racial justice. In J. M. Washington (Ed.), A testament of hope: The essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (pp. 5 9). New York: Harper Collins. King, M. L., Jr. (2002). Letter from Birmingham jail. In K. Mallick & D. Hunter (Eds.), An anthology of nonviolence: Historical and contemporary voices (pp. 99 114). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. McKnight, A. N. (2004). Historical trauma, the persistence of memory and the pedagogical problems of forgiveness, justice and peace. Educational Studies, 36, 140 158. Ndura, E. (2003). Peaceful conflict resolution: A prerequisite for social reconstruction in Burundi, Africa. In E. E. Uwazie (Ed.), Conflict resolution and peace education in Africa (pp. 151 160). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Ndura, E. (2006a). The role of cultural competence in the creation of a culture of nonviolence. Culture of Peace Online Journal, 2(1), 39 48. Ndura, E. (2006b). Western education and African cultural identity in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: A case of failed globalization. Peace and Change, 31(1), 90 101. Ndura, E. (2006c). Transcending the majority rights and minority protection dichotomy through multicultural reflective citizenship in the African Great Lakes region. Intercultural Education, 17, 195 205. Nieto, S. (2000). Placing equity front and center: Some thoughts on transforming teacher education for a new century. Journal of Teacher Education, 51, 180 187. Opotow, J. G., Gerson, J., & Woodside, S. (2005). From moral exclusion to moral inclusion for teaching peace. Theory Into Practice, 44, 303 318. 349

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