Master of Arts Program in Conflict Resolution

On 24 August 2011, the M.A. Program in Conflict Resolution had the privilege of hosting Professor Clarence Benjamin Jones, former speechwriter and lawyer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at Georgetown. Prof. Jones is currently in town to commemorate the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech, which he helped write, and the unveiling of the MLK memorial on Sunday, 28 August. Born in Philadelphia, Prof. Jones currently serves as a scholar in residence at Stanford University but he has previously worked as a lawyer, a top financier at Carter, Berlind and Weill, and speechwriter.

Speaking to a mix of second year Master’s candidates and incoming first years, Prof. Jones spoke on a variety of issues revolving around the urgency of nonviolent conflict resolution and the exception-less pursuit of denouncing any form of violence. Prof. Jones drew comparisons between the civil rights movement in the United States with the Arab Spring, evoking Dr. King’s pledge to nonviolence, his study of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings and what he called, “a new generation of revolutionaries in the Middle East and North Africa who have recognized that back-and-forth violence has achieved nothing for any side.” He also spoke about the current state of political and social affairs in the United States, remarking particularly on the globally unparalleled rates of incarceration, the ability of the Tea Party in 2010 to “out-organize” the same democrats who elected President Obama in 2008, and the fact that Michelle Obama has received the highest number of death threats of any person ever to have occupied the White House, including all past presidents.

Halfway through, he entertained questions from inspired and inquisitive students who wanted to learn more about his military service, his longtime closeness to the late, great civil rights leader and how he envisions forgiveness and love as the heart and soul of nonviolence. The theme of forgiveness especially struck a chord with students as he told of his unbridled anger and thirst for revenge in the aftermath of Dr. King’s assassination followed by his personal journey to overcome those feelings. As he recounted, “I just had to get over it! I had to uphold the message of peace and brotherly love.”

At the end of his time with the Conflict Resolution students, he bestowed onto them the responsibility to push their own moral and intellectual boundaries in order to determine how to build political, institutional and personal capacity for nonviolence. Prof. Jones reminded attendees that everyone has a role to play whether through research, through advocacy, through communication, through art. While the medium of spreading this message of nonviolent conflict resolution may vary from people to people based on their skills and strengths, every individual has an inane sense of moral duty and a common human bond waiting to be ignited.

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Written by Mayesha Alam ‘12