Introduction

Peace building is a skill as well as an artistic process. John Paul Lederach illustrates the artistic process of peace building in his book, The Moral Imagination, which explores ways of stopping the cycle of violence through the use of imagination. Lederach identifies four disciplines that comprise the essence of peace building and require the imagination. The assignment in our course, Coexistence 250: The Arts of Building Peace, requires the analysis of the work of social activists to unravel the relationship of peace building in their work and art. This paper analyzes the approaches of the Rural Organizing and Cultural Center (ROCC) and the Community Culture and Resource Center (CCRC) to attain its goal of social change in Holmes County, Mississippi. This paper will show how findings of Jay Macleod’s research reinforce the analysis of the situation and approaches made by ROCC and CCRC in responding to issues of social inequality in Holmes County. Finally, the paper identifies the key elements that comprise the two organizations’ frameworks of social change and relates these elements to the concepts of peace building that John Paul Lederach expounds in The Moral Imagination.

My background as an indigenous person has helped me relate to issues of discrimination felt by African Americans. Our region, the Cordillera Administrative Region in Northern Philippines, has rich cultural traditions, practices and potentials in our ancestral domains. However, we face issues of unpeace such as poverty and the inadequacy or unavailability of basic infrastructure and services for health, trade and commerce, education, and other social needs. Before 1997, we the lacked the legal recognition of ownership to our ancestral domain which was the target of development aggression such as dams, mining, and logging. National laws disadvantageous to indigenous people were implemented for decades, marginalizing our region economically while national media perpetuated a cultural bias against indigenous people by portraying them poorly. 

I have worked in a non-government social development agency with women’s groups to address economic, governance, and social issues in our communities and also to explore how indigenous culture can heighten one’s spirituality or spiritualities. Through education, community organizing, and advocacy, we engage not only with women’s groups but also with men, religious organizations and government in responding to indigenous issues. While I am familiar with strategies taken by non-government groups, I am always eager to learn new ones. Oral history is particularly interesting because of its potentials for personal and community development. Therefore, studying the oral history project of ROCC and CCRC has enriched me by “meeting” actual practitioners through the process of relating their experiences with theories of peace building.

<< Back | Next >>