OCTOBER 1-7, 2023
OHIO NONVIOLENCE WEEK
nonviolence week events
nonviolence week events
Day 4 - Wednesday, Oct 4
”Speak Your Peace”
Spoken Word Event
6-8 PM
FREE & Open to the Public
Hopewell Theater
702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown
Day 5 - Thursday, Oct 5
Art and Poetry Reception 7 PM
FREE & Open to the Public
The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County
305 Wick Ave, Youngstown
Day 1 - Sunday, Oct 1 at 3pm
13th Annual PARADE AND RALLY
Corner of Wick & Wood
Downtown Youngstown
13th Annual Parade and Rally The parade will begin at the intersection of Wood Street and Wick Avenue and finish at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, where a rally will be held. Parade participants will include Sojourn to the Past students, various Valley schools, churches, nonprofit and community organizations, political candidates and others. Awards will be given for the best float, best banner and best in show for highlighting the themes of “peace” and “nonviolence.” The Rally will feature speakers and also kick off the week long series of events focused on nonviolence and peace.
October 1st - 5th
FIVE DAY READING CHALLENGE
YWCA Youngstown
25 W. Rayen Ave., Younstown
Day 2 - Monday, Oct 2
MINGLE WITH MINNI
5-9 PM
Fundraiser Dinner
Cost: $25
Flambeau’s Live
2308 Market St., Youngstown, 44507
Five Day Nonviolence/Social Justice Reading Challenge and Panel Discussion The Challenge asks participants to make daily time and space to learn more about the principles of nonviolence and how the community can stand in solidarity and speak up against violence. Participants who have signed up for the challenge will receive daily reading or visual material via email to help foster their understanding and awareness. Readings will be emailed Sunday through Thursday (October 1-5) and a panel discussion with our community leaders will be held in-person on Friday, October 6, at noon at the YWCA. For many years, the YWCA, in conjunction with Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, has commemorated Ohio Nonviolence Week. This Reading Challenge is just one example of their collaborative efforts. PANEL DISCUSSION: The Challenge will end with a panel discussion with our community leaders at noon on October 6 at the YWCA. A light luncheon will be served to those who attend. Register for the panel discussion and luncheon below under Day 6.
“Mingle With Minni" Come meet Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the group of African-American teenagers known as the “Little Rock Nine.” On September 25, 1957, under the gaze of 1,200 armed soldiers and a worldwide audience, Minnijean Brown Trickey faced down an angry mob and helped to desegregate Central High. Minnijean Brown Trickey provides audiences with a fascinating exploration of social change, diversity, and the battle against discrimination and racism. Realistic, but at the same time hopeful, she helps her listeners to understand both how far we have come from that fateful autumn in Little Rock, and how far we have still to go, in the battle for freedom and equality in America. This fundraiser dinner supports the Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past. Students from Youngstown area high schools participate in a seven-day journey to Civil Rights sites in the South and meet many of the people who participated in the Civil Rights Movement.
Simeon Booker
Day 3 - Tuesday, Oct 3
Simeon Booker Award 7 PM
Free & Open to the Public
*Reception at 5:30—Cost $40
Tyler Historical Center
Youngstown
Sarah Collins Rudolph
Lisa McNair
Sr. Ann McManamon
Day 6 - Friday, Oct 6 at Noon
5 Day Read Panel
YWCA
25 W Rayen Ave. Youngstown
Friday, Oct 13
11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Art of Emotion
Jewish Community Center
2023 Simeon Booker Award for Courage Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing with Sarah Collins Rudolph and Lisa McNair. Sarah Collins Rudolph survived the bombing that killed her sister, Addie Mae Collins. National Simeon Booker Award for Courage recipient and author of The Fifth Little Girl, Sarah will share her account of that day and the subsequent effects it has had on her life. Lisa McNair, sister of Denise McNair whose life was also taken in the bombing, was born one year after the death of her sister. Lisa wrote Dear Denise: Letters to the Sister I Never Knew. Lisa will share her story at the event. Local recipient of the Simeon Booker Award for Courage, Sister Ann McManamon served as coordinator of the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown.
Who was Simeon Booker? Simeon Booker was a courageous and pioneering African-American journalist during the Civil Rights Movement who lived in Youngstown, OH, from when he was five until he left Youngstown College after one year in 1938 because African Americans could attend the college but were not able to receive an activities card. His work helped unify the fight for equality. This event was created in his honor to celebrate his life-long achievements and to highlight those torchbearers who have risked life and limb in pursuit of the same things Simeon Booker stood for – justice and equality.
The Ohio Nonviolence Week Committee, The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, the Hopewell Theatre, and Poets Against Racism and Hate USA have teamed up to present the Speak Your Peace spoken word event. Students in grades 6-12 can submit entries focusing on one of MLKs Principles of Nonviolence before September 21. Students will perform their work at the event on October 4th along with poet Michelle R. Smith, Programming Director for Literary Cleveland and a teaching artist for Lake Erie Ink. Prizes will be awarded.
The Nonviolence Week Committee is sponsoring both an art contest and poetry contest and invites students in the Mahoning Valley to participate. The theme is NONVIOLENCE, and the artwork/poetry must exhibit the message of peace and nonviolence. All entries must be original. Winning artwork entries will be displayed at the Art and Poetry reception. The art and poetry reception will be held at the main library for winners in both contests.
Deadline for both contests is September 15th.
The 5 day reading challenge will end with a panel discussion with our community leaders at noon on October 6 at the YWCA. A light luncheon will be served to those who attend. This year’s panelists are Minnijean Brown Trickey, Rev. Jon Paul Robles, and Judge Carla Baldwin led by moderator Bonnie Burdman.
THE ART OF EMOTION: FREE Nonviolence Art Class
Location: Jewish Community Center | 505 Gypsy Ln, Youngstown, OH
Age Range: Students in grades K-8
For nearly eleven years during the first week of October, the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, in conjunction with Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, has commemorated Ohio Nonviolence Week. This free art class is just one example of their collaborative efforts. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Nic Bush at either 330.746.3251 ext. 114 or nbush@jewishyoungstown.org.
