Season of Nonviolence
Inspired by the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., César Chávez and Chief Wilma Mankiller, the annual Season of Nonviolence honors these leaders’ visions for an empowered, nonviolent world. Colleges and universities throughout the country celebrate the Season of Nonviolence by bringing together community partners to educate and empower communities on how to use nonviolent methods to create a more peaceful world.
2023 marks the 15th year Central Oregon Community College has been hosting programming to honor the Season of Nonviolence. The programming is co-presented by The Nancy R. Chandler Lecture Series and the College's Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
2023 Programming
Lessons from Our Fathers: Continuing the Legacies
of Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X
Ndaba Mandela - Grandson of Nelson Mandela, Founder of Africa Rising Foundation
Ilyasah Shabazz - Daughter of Malcolm X, Professor & Author
Thursday, January 26, 6:30 PST p.m.
Tower Theatre in Bend and livestreamed
Drawing on the legacies of their iconic and beloved family members, Ndaba Mandela
and Ilyasah Shabazz will share inspirational stories and empowering lessons. Today,
both Mandela
and Shabazz have dedicated their life’s work to continuing the 
call for social justice started by Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X.
FREE and OPEN to the public. Registration required for in-person and livestream.
The in-person event is currently SOLD OUT. Please contact the Tower Theatre to join the waitlist at 541-317-0700 or info@towertheatre.org.
When leaving a request, please leave your full name and return contact information (phone and email). It is not guaranteed that everyone on the waitlist will be able to attend the in-person event, so we recommend registering for the livestream. Those who register for the livestream will also be sent a recording of the event several days after the program. Those on the waitlist will be contacted, if seats become available, by order of who contacted the Tower first. If the Tower box office reaches out to you, you have 2 hours to respond before they move to the next person on the list. More information and details on the Tower ticketing page.
Link to the Tower Ticketing page.
Register for the livestream event here.
Live captioning will be available on livestream. One registration per viewing device please.
We will be selling Ndaba Mandela’s book and two of Ilyasah Shabazz’s books after the in-person program and the authors will be available for signing.
Join us on COCC's Madras campus to watch the livestream of "Lessons from Our Fathers"
Thursday, January 26 - COCC Madras Campus -- Community Room
6 p.m. - Gather for refreshments
6:30 p.m. - Livestream from the Tower Theatre begins
FREE and OPEN to the public. Registration encouraged.
Register here.
STUDENT ONLY EVENT
A conversation with Ndaba Mandela and Ilyasah Shabazz
Thursday, January 26, 3-4 p.m.
COCC Bend Campus - Wille Hall
Students are invited to join an informal conversation and Q&A with social justice
leaders Ndaba Mandela and
Ilyasah Shabazz before their public presentation.
FREE and OPEN to all students.
Community Book Conversations
This is My America
by Kim Johnson
Join us and other community organizations for the 2023 Season of Nonviolence book discussions. This year’s selection is Kim Johnson’s This is My America.
Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. Will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town's racist history that still haunt the present?
COCC Madras Discussion Group
Mondays beginning January 9, Noon-1 p.m.
COCC Madras Campus
Contact Jeremy Green to register
Environmental Center Discussion Group
Wednesdays beginning January 11, 5-6 p.m.
Virtual
Contact Al Kolenda to register
Barber Library Discussion Group
Tuesdays beginning January 17, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Virtual
Contact Cat Finney to register
Unity Spiritual Community of Central Oregon Discussion Group
Thursdays beginning January 19, 10-11 a.m.
63645 Scenic Drive, Bend
Contact Clare Kubota to register
Afrocentric Club Discussion Group
Tuesdays beginning January 24, 2-3 p.m.
Virtual
Contact Marcus LeGrand to register
La Pine and Sunriver Discussion Group
Tues./Wed. beginning January 24, 5-6 p.m.
Sunriver Library – 56855 Venture Lane, Sunriver
Contact Becky Yaeger to register
Trinity Episcopal Church Discussion Group
Wednesdays beginning January 25, 3-4 p.m.
Virtual
Contact Betsy Warriner to register
COCC Prineville Discussion Group
Mondays beginning February 6, 4-5 p.m.
COCC Prineville Campus
Contact Christy Walker to register
In recognition of Black History Month during February 2023, COCC is honored to welcome
speakers and programs that highlight Black triumph. We celebrate the past and present
triumphs of the Black community while continuing our efforts to challenge oppressive
systems and strive toward a more equitable future.
Events are FREE and OPEN to the public.
For a full list of events for Black History Month visit:
2023 Black History Month Events
Community Conversations
The Conversation Project Programs are sponsored by Oregon Humanities. They bring people
together to talk about their beliefs and experiences around timely and important issues
and ideas.
Free & Open to the Public
Emerging From Our Homes
with Facilitator LeeAnn O'Neill
For most, the pandemic meant spending more time in our homes. As we emerge from our homes, our sense of safety and vulnerability moving through our communities may be different if we are walking, biking, rolling, taking public transit, or driving. Join facilitator LeeAnn O’Neill in a conversation that asks, how does the way you move through your community affect your sense of safety and vulnerability? What else affects your sense of safety and vulnerability? How might you change the way you interact with others as you move through your community to create a greater sense of safety for everyone? This conversation is a chance to reflect on our personal roles in creating greater safety for all as we move through our communities.
Madras COCC
Room 117
Monday, March 6
5:30-7:00 p.m. PST
Space is Limited-Registration Required
Registration Link: Madras-Emerging From Our Homes
Redmond COCC
Building 3, Room 306
Monday, March 13
5:30-7:00 p.m. PST
Space is Limited-Registration Required
Registration Link: Redmond-Emerging From Our Homes
Relationships for Resilience
with Facilitator Christina deVillier
In a time of intensifying social and ecological crises, in a cultural context of
individualism, the p
ressure to practice "self-care," build "personal resilience," and "transform oneself"
is pervasive. While "doing your own work" is important, we overemphasize the individual
to the detriment of our human communities and the rest of the living world. The deep transformations we need will be co-created,
and the deep resilience we must develop will be relational. In this conversation,
we will explore the dynamics of our strongest relationships, seeking to name the qualities
and practices that underpin resilience. How can we bring our insights more intentionally
and broadly to bear in our human relationships and in our relationships with our homelands,
waters, and ecosystems?
Prineville COCC
Room 119
Thursday, March 9
5:30-7:00 p.m. PST
Space is Limited-Registration Required
Registration Link: Prineville-Relationships for Resilience