Focus on nonviolence in upcoming seminar at Tatnuck
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

PHOTO/SUBMITTED Nonviolence trainer Rob Jones

Westborough - Rob Jones has toured the United States the past 12 years extolling the virtues of the six principles and six steps of Kingian Nonviolence, based on the philosophy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Next month he will do so in the town where he's lived for the last 19 years - Westborough.

"I was thinking recently about how I've traveled all over the country talking about Kingian Nonviolence," Jones said, "and I've never talked about it where I live."

That will change when Jones hosts a free two-day interactive workshop "The Philosophy of Kingian Nonviolence" at Tatnuck Bookseller, Gift Gallery and Café.

The seminar, which will run from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday March 7 and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday March 8, will include the six principles and six steps of Kingian Nonviolence as well as a study of the types and levels of conflict that are possible within the philosophy.

Jones, 46, said the seminar will cover the four significant nonviolent movements of the Civil Rights Era - the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Freedom Rides that occurred as a result, as well as the marches on Birmingham and Selma, Alabama.

Also discussed and analyzed will be the dynamics of social conflict as it relates to aggression and conciliation. Jones said there will be interactive exercises during the two-day seminar that will illuminate the discussion and instruction.

Jones, who is the chief empowerment officer of T. Lee Associates and a certified Kingian Nonviolence Trainer, and Richard Tarlarian, a retired Providence, R.I., police captain and a certified Kingian Nonviolence Trainer at the University of Rhode Island Center for Peace and Nonviolence, will be the featured speakers.

"Richard and I will speak, and there will be several video vignettes that we use to help explain the principals and the steps," Jones said. "But that's just one part of the seminar. The other part is input and feedback from the seminar's attendees, as well as their participation in several exercises."

Jones said he hopes to get a minimum of 12 adults to sign up for the seminar, which will have a maximum of 30 participants.

It is imperative, Jones said, that anyone interested in attending the seminar preregister for it by contacting Jones at robtleejones@rcn. com or by calling him at 508-344-8166.

Jones said this seminar is geared toward adults. He plans to host a seminar in the area for high school students in about six weeks. Last spring Jones held a seminar on Kingian Nonviolence at Shrewsbury's Oak Middle School.

"We've found that the workshop works best when age groups are kept together," Jones said. "Diff erent groups bring completely different sets of questions to the discussions. We've had young adults in with older adults at seminars, but we've found it's much more beneficial to all when the groups are separated."

Jones said he runs between six and eight seminars a year. His last workshop, held in October 2007, took place in Jackson, Miss.

"The principles tell you why nonviolence is the best solution to conflict, while the steps show you how you change the thinking of others with nonviolence," Jones said. "It's really something that can be learned and used for everyday life."