Season of Nonviolence
Thank you to everyone who participated in the all-virtual 2021 Season of Nonviolence at COCC. We are proud that we were able to provide essential and timely programming to our campus and the community.
Central Oregon Community College has been hosting programming to honor the Season of Nonviolence since 2008. The programming is co-presented by The Nancy R. Chandler Lecture Series and the College's Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
The Season was established by Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, as a yearly event celebrating the philosophies and lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. At COCC, we also honor César Chávez and Chief Wilma Mankiller. The Season of Nonviolence honors these leaders' visions for an empowered, nonviolent world.
We look forward to the 2022 Season of Nonviolence. Check back in the Fall for programming details.
Thank you to our 2021 Season of Nonviolence Sponsors!
Cascades Academy of Central Oregon
Central Oregon Community College
Deschutes Cultural Coalition
High Desert Museum
Oregon Community Foundation
St. Charles Health System
2021 Programs
The Half-Life of Freedom:
Race and Justice in America Today
Jelani Cobb - New Yorker Staff Writer, Professor at Columbia University
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 – 5 p.m. PST - VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
In this virtual program, acclaimed historian and journalist Jelani Cobb broke down the complex dynamics of race and racism in America—relating the country's history of inequality to today’s issues. Cobb talked about why he believes the levers of justice are in our hands, and how we can move them in the direction we see fit.
FREE and OPEN to the public.
About Cobb
A long-time staff writer at The New Yorker, Cobb wrote a series of articles about race, injustice, and the police; for which
he received the Sidney Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism. He also teaches
at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author of Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress and To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic.
A Conversation with Jelani Cobb
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 – 4 - 4:45 p.m. - VIRTUAL CONVERSATION
COCC students were invited to join an informal virtual conversation and Q & A with
acclaimed historian and
journalist Jelani Cobb before his public presentation. Cobb speaks and writes about
Black Lives Matter, the
battle zones of Ferguson and Baltimore, the legacy of a black presidency, the implications
of the Trump era, and
more generally, on the history of civil rights, violence, and inequality in employment,
housing, and incarceration
in America.
FREE and open to COCC students only.
Community Book Conversations
This year’s book selection, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson, examines the unseen and unspoken systems of hierarchy that shaped and continue to affect systems of oppression in America. Wilkerson uses research and true life examples to illustrate her points in a meaningful and relatable manner. She ends with a message of hope and asks us to envision a world without caste.
Virtual book discussions began the week of January 25, 2021.
View Options and Contacts for the Book Conversations
To register, contact our community partners listed below:
Trinity Episcopal Church - Wednesdays 3:30-4:30 p.m. beginning 1/27/21
Contact: betsy@betsywarriner.com
Environmental Center & COCC - Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. beginning 1/25/21 Contact: priscilla@envirocenter.org or kfreeman@cocc.edu
TRACEs & Allyship in Action - Wednesdays 12-1:30 p.m. beginning 2/03/21
Contact: traces@unitedwaycentraloregon.org
COCC Madras & Prineville - Thursdays 12-1 p.m. beginning 1/28/21
Contact: sbrewer3@cocc.edu
COCC Barber Library - Tuesdays 12:30-1:30 p.m. beginning 1/26/21
Contact: cfinney@cocc.edu
COCC Redmond Latinx Club - Wednesdays 12-1 p.m. beginning 2/10/21
Contact: esandoval@cocc.edu
Cascades Academy - Wednesday / Tuesday 5:30 - 7 p.m. - 2/17/21 & 3/16/21
Register here.
Caste is available at COCC’s Barber Library. You can also purchase Caste at Central Oregon independent bookstores Dudley's Bookshop, Herringbone Books, Paulina Springs Books, or Roundabout Books, or purchase Caste online from Bookshop.org to support our local bookstores.
Buy the audiobook from Libro.fm, an Audible-alternative that supports our local indie bookstores.
Neuroscience of Prejudice: 
Racism and the Brain
Larry S. Sherman, Ph.D. - Professor of Neuroscience, OHSU
Sunday, February 21, 2021 – 4 p.m. PST – VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
Racism exists because of racial prejudice, where we make judgements about people based entirely on their race and our own unconscious bias, and not on actual experience. Our brains react to people who are different from us within milliseconds. In this lecture, Dr. Larry Sherman explored how our brains engage in prejudice, the consequences of prejudice and racism for both racists and people who experience racism in their daily lives, and how understanding these processes suggest ways that we can overcome prejudice and racism in our society.
FREE and OPEN to the public.
About Dr. Sherman
Dr. Larry Sherman is a Professor of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research
Center, and in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and the Neuroscience
Graduate Program at the Oregon Health & Science University. He has over 100 publications
related to brain development and neurological diseases. He serves on numerous US and
international scientific review panels including panels for the National Institutes
of Health and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. The Oregon Museum
of Science and Industry and Portland Monthly Magazine recognized Dr. Sherman as one
of the “People who are changing our world”.
In recognition of Black History Month, COCC was honored to welcome MOsley WOtta, Arielle Estoria, and Dr. Doug Luffborough to share stories of Black triumph. Through poetry and storytelling we celebrated the past and present triumphs of the Black community while continuing our efforts to challenge oppressive systems and strive toward a more equitable future.
MOsley WOtta
Friday, February 5, 2021 - 12:30 p.m. Virtual Presentation
MOsley WOtta is a local spoken word artist and equal rights activist excited to share
the power of words in advocating for the support and empowerment in Black and Brown
lives in Central Oregon.
Arielle Estoria
Friday, February 12, 2021- 12:30 p.m. Virtual Presentation
Arielle Estoria is a renowned poet, author, speaker, and emcee who emphasizes the
gift of each individual. Arielle uses her words and storytelling to help others unlock
their gifts and find beauty in themselves.
Dr. Doug Luffborough
Tuesday, February 23, 2021- 12:30 p.m. Virtual Presentation
Dr. Doug Luffborough (Dr. Luff) overcame fatherlessness, homelessness, and unjust
systems to be the first in his family to attend college. Chosen by his class at Northeastern
University to be the commencement speaker, he thoroughly impressed one attendee in
particular, President Bill Clinton. President Clinton invited Dr. Luff and his mother
to the White House where he promised to write a letter of recommendation for Luff's
application to a Harvard Graduate program. Dr. Luff then went on to the University
of San Diego where he received his Ph.D. in Leadership studies.
FREE and OPEN to the public. For more information contact Blakelee Evans, COCC's Afro-Centric Program Coordinator
NEVERTHELESS Film Screening
Monday March 1 & Tuesday March 2, 2021
Taking a look behind the headlines of #MeToo and Time's Up, NEVERTHELESS follows the intimate stories of individuals who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace or at school. This powerful film shines light on the ways in which we can shift our culture and rebuild.
FREE & OPEN to the public.
Building Power and Change for Native People
Savannah Romero - Manager of Partnerships and Programs, IllumiNative
Monday, March 8, 2021 - 12 p.m. PST - VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
The narrative about Native people in this country is laced with misconceptions, toxic stereotypes and systemic erasure. IllumiNative works to transform how Americans and key institutions think about and engage with Native peoples. Savannah Romero discussed how IllumiNative is using research, narrative, and culture change strategies to disrupt invisibility and toxic misconceptions about Native peoples within diverse sectors of American society. Their work is moving hearts and minds while advancing justice and equity.
This program was presented in partnership with The High Desert Museum.
FREE and OPEN to the public.
About Savannah Romero
Savannah is a member of the Eastern Shoshone Nation and a recent graduate of New York
University with a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Public Affairs. She previously
worked at the National Indian Education Association and for the U.S. House of Representatives
specializing in Tribal policy and Native education. She currently works as the Manager
of Partnerships and Programs at IllumiNative, a racial and social justice organization
whose mission is to build power for Native people by amplifying contemporary Native
voices, stories and issues to advance justice, equity, and self-determination.