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
The EVOLVE Experience
The Evolve Experience is a unique arts-based performance from award-winning, Portland-based nonprofit Red Door Project that explores the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color through monologues and past interviews with police officers.
This event is brought to the Central Oregon community in large part due to the efforts of the Afrocentric Student Program.
Live at the Tower Theatre! Free & Open to the Public
Two Performances:
- Sunday, March 19, 2 p.m.
- Monday, March 20, 6:30 p.m.
Recommended for ages high school and above.
Reservations required via the Tower Theatre website:
EVOLVE 3.19.23 (towertheatre.org)
EVOLVE 3.20.23 (towertheatre.org)
We would like to thank the following organizations for their support. Without their contributions, this event would not possible.
| St. Charles Health System | Black United Fund of Oregon | Visit Bend | Embrace Bend | OSU Cascades |
| Better Together | Redmond & Bend Police | United Way | Pacific Source Health Plans | City of Bend |
| Oregon Humanities | Tower Theatre | Autzen Foundation | Central Oregon Health Council | RWN |
| Rimrock Trails | Deschutes County Mental Health | Central Oregon Community College | The Roundhouse Foundation |
Completed 2023 Season of Nonviolence 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 shared 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.
Livestream Watch Gathering on COCC's Madras campus
Watch the livestream of "Lessons from Our Fathers" together on our Madras campus.
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.
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
Environmental Center Discussion Group
Wednesdays beginning January 11, 5-6 p.m.
Virtual
Barber Library Discussion Group
Tuesdays beginning January 17, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Virtual
Unity Spiritual Community of Central Oregon Discussion Group
Thursdays beginning January 19, 10-11 a.m.
63645 Scenic Drive, Bend
Afrocentric Club Discussion Group
Tuesdays beginning January 24, 2-3 p.m.
Virtual
La Pine and Sunriver Discussion Group
Tues./Wed. beginning January 24, 5-6 p.m.
Sunriver Library – 56855 Venture Lane, Sunriver
Trinity Episcopal Church Discussion Group
Wednesdays beginning January 25, 3-4 p.m.
Virtual
COCC Prineville Discussion Group
Mondays beginning February 6, 4-5 p.m.
COCC Prineville Campus
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.
Redmond COCC
Building 3, Room 306
Monday, March 13
5:30-7:00 p.m. PST
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