About
HISTORY & MISSION OF THE RESOURCE CENTER FOR NONVIOLENCE
The Resource Center for Nonviolence is a thirty year old peace and social justice organization dedicated to promoting the principles of nonviolent social change and enhancing the quality of life and human dignity. Our work takes place here at home in California, throughout the United States, and around the world.
The Resource Center for Nonviolence offers a wide-range of educational programs in the history, theory, methodology, and current practice of nonviolence as a force for personal and social change. Founded in 1976, the Resource Center has developed a variety of formats to explore the meaning of nonviolence and its prospects in shaping our daily lives and our work for social change.
Located in Santa Cruz, California, the Resource Center has an international focus that extends as wide as the world is round. Our interns come from as far as Bosnia, Herzegovnia, or as near as down the street. Our programs focus on places as far as the Middle East, and as near as Southern Mexico and our own neighborhood. Please explore our web site and take the time to discover what we feel activism means in the 21st century.
Please feel free to contact us in any of the following ways.
Snail Mail - 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA
Telephone - (831) 423 - 1626
Fax - (831) 423 - 8716
General email inquiries can be sent to questions < at > rcnv.org
Email a staff member!
Mission:
For over 30 years RCNV staff and members have successfully worked to make the practice of nonviolence a means of affecting personal change and creating a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.
RCNV takes seriously the admonition to think globally and act locally. We endeavor to introduce nonviolent methodology into the work of local government institutions and community organizations. One current and one past staff member have served on the Santa Cruz City Council and both served as mayor. Many members have served as officers on local global peace and social justice organizations.
Programs:
In addition to ongoing peace education and action activities, current RCNV programs and projects include: numerous education programs and delegations concerned with Israel/Palestine and other areas of the Middle East, Immigrant Rights Watch Hotline, Youth Empowerment and Activities, GI Rights Hotline and Counseling, and La Liga de La Communidad.
RCNV facilities provide support and a “nest” for many local groups such as Santa Cruz Art & Revolution (street theater), the Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, Housing Action, Community Organization of Lower Ocean, Youth Coalition of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Peace Organizations Network and Death Penalty Focus. Also, we provide a space for community groups to meet or hold special events.
Previous RCNV-sponsored community lectures, forums, and workshops have featured Norman Finkelstein, Camilo Mejia, Phyllis Bennis, Pablo Paredes, Jeff Halper, Robert Zabala, Agustin Aguayo, Grace Paley, Howard Zinn, Herman Blake, Thich Nhat Hahn, Dan Berrigan, Arun Gandhi, Rev. James Lawson, former Congressman Ronald V. Dellums, Helen Caldicott and Congressmember Barbara Lee.
Administration:
RCNV has six part time paid staff; three who principally do administrative work, and three who principally work as organizers and educators. All staff and interns share in administrative work and fund raising.
Overall policy, personnel issues, and program emphasis is determined by a 4 member volunteer steering committee “board”. The organization is supported by private gifts and donations. Approximately 2,000 households are on the active mailing list; an additional 1,000 national and international “friends” remain actively interested in our work.
Santa Cruz, California — A Region of Challenge:
The Santa Cruz area offers many challenges for practitioners of nonviolence. The area is superficially identified with an upscale “good life” — ocean, beach, sun, sand and surfing. The realities are quite different for many of our county’s residents. A university, tourism and agribusiness create an enormous and abusive low-wage job market that thousands toil in everyday. Land, home ownership and rental prices are viciously inflated by population density and proximity to ocean and the San Francisco south bay aka Silicon Valley. Daily work, life and play are often stressful due to conflicts caused by household economic stress and community divergences of economy, class and culture. Involving more people in the struggle to create a more just world for all remains one of our principal goals in this community and beyond.