George Russell Lakey (born November 2, 1937) is an activist, sociologist, and writer who added academic underpinning to the concept of

nonviolent revolution A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entren ...

. He also refined the practice of experiential training for activists which he calls "Direct Education". A

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, he has co-founded and led numerous organizations and campaigns for justice and peace.

Early life and education

Lakey was born to Dora M. and Russell George Lakey, a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

miner, in

Bangor, Pennsylvania Bangor, or West Bangor, to differentiate it from its immediate neighbor East Bangor, Pennsylvania, East Bangor, is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Allentown, Pe ...

. He was identified as a prospective

child preacher In some branches of Christianity, especially American pentecostalism, children are occasionally preachers, or even ordained ministers. The heyday of child preachers was in the 1920s and 1930s, but a number of videos of modern-day child preachers c ...

for his church, and at age 12, he gave a sermon promoting

racial equality Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...

as the will of God, although his sermon was not well received at the time. He graduated from Cheyney University in

Cheyney, Pennsylvania Cheyney is an unincorporated community that sits astride Chester and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It corresponds to the census-designated place known as Cheyney University, which had a population of 988 at the 2010 cen ...

, and also studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in Norway, where he married Berit Mathiesen in 1960 and taught at an

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

high school. He continued his sociology studies at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Career

Activism

In the late 1950s, Lakey was active in the ban-the-bomb movement, then participated in the civil rights movement, in 1963 being arrested in a sit-in. The following year he was a trainer for Mississippi Freedom Summer and co-authored his first book, ''A Manual for Direct Action'', which was widely used in the South by the civil rights movement. In 1966 he co-founded the national body

A Quaker Action Group A Quaker Action Group (AQAG) was founded in Philadelphia during the summer of 1966 to "apply nonviolent direct action as a witness against the war in Vietnam". History Founding member Lawrence Scott was a Quaker and radical pacifist who had wor ...

(AQAG), whose activities took him in 1967 to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

to participate in the sailing ship Phoenix's protest action in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

seeking to give medical supplies to the anti-war

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

movement there. In 1970, Lakey was active within AQAG in the successful direct action in the Puerto Rican struggle to stop the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

from using the island of Culebra for target practice. In 1971 he helped found

Movement for a New Society The Movement for a New Society (MNS) was a U.S.-based network of social activist collectives, committed to the principles of nonviolence, who played a key role in social movements of the 1970s and 1980s. According to a description from the MNS pub ...

(MNS), a network of autonomous groups working for a

. The network featured living collectives and

co-ops A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

as well as participation in national movements of the 1970s and '80s. The network's training program at the ''

Life Center Association'' became highly influential in the US and abroad in spreading

Paulo Freire Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher whose work revolutionized global thought on education. He is best known for ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'', in which he reimagines teaching ...

Popular education Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, critical theory and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. ...

and other participatory training methods. During the 1970s, he also gave national leadership to the ''Campaign to Stop the

B-1 Bomber B1, B.I, B.1 or B-1 may refer to: Biology and chemistry * Bradykinin receptor B1, a human protein * Cinnamtannin B1, a condensed tannin found in cinnamon * Combretastatin B-1, a stilbenoid found in ''Combretum sp.'' * Fumonisin B1, a toxins pr ...

and Promote Peace Conversion,'' which succeeded in persuading

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and

President Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 ...

to de-fund this Air Force program. In 1976 he co-organized Men Against

Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

, a pioneering anti-

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

movement for men. In 1982 he organized the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

section of a national labor/community coalition named "Jobs with Peace" and directed that effort for seven years.Spirituality, Religion, and Peace Education, By Edward J. Brantmeier, Jing Lin, INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, John P. Miller, pg 90 In 1973, Lakey came out in public as a gay man, and joined the

LGBT movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...

, becoming part of what he later would call "

Gay Liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

's early visionary days." In 1991, he co-founded with

activist

Barbara Smith Barbara Smith (born November 16, 1946) is an American lesbian feminist and socialist who has played a significant role in Black feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s, she has been active as a scholar, activist, critic, lecturer, ...

, Training for Change (TfC). Building on previous training at the

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

School for Social Change and

, Training for Change developed a new

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

called "Direct Education". Training for Change did trainings and consultations for activists and nongovernmental organizations in 20 countries. In 2009, Lakey co-founded Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), to build a just and sustainable economy through nonviolent direct action campaigns. The group won its first campaign, forcing

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the District of Columbia, ...

to stop financing

mountaintop removal Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. T ...

coal mining in

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. In that campaign, while in his seventies, Lakey was arrested and also led a 200-mile march.

Academia

Lakey's first teaching post in higher education was in the Martin Luther King Jr. School of Social Change, a division of

Crozer Theological Seminary The Crozer Theological Seminary was a Baptist seminary located in Upland, Pennsylvania, and founded in 1868. It was named after the wealthy industrialist, John Price Crozer. Martin Luther King Jr. was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary f ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. Lakey helped formulate the curriculum and then taught there for its first four years, 1965–1969. In this period he systematized the field of "Experiential Nonviolence Training" and the students were supported in efforts to connect field training with theory in

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

s. He joined the Peace Studies program at the

, successfully expanding its undergraduate offerings and the participation of minority students. In addition, he helped lead a University of Pennsylvania group dynamics lab promoting innovative

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

leadership. He also taught

peace studies Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such ...

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merio ...

. He later taught at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and much later he accepted the endowed ''Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professorship in Issues of Social Change'' at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

. He continued at

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after ...

as a Lang Professor and then as a research professor until his retirement. In 2010, Lakey was named by the ''National

Peace and Justice Studies Association The Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) is a non-profit organization headquartered at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. It was created following increased interest in peace-building after the September 11th attacks in USA, and it ...

'' as "Peace Educator of the Year".

Works

*''A Manual for Direct Action: Strategy and Tactics for Civil Rights and All Other Nonviolent Protest Movements'', co-author with Martin Oppenheimer; Chicago IL: Quadrangle Books, 1965 *''In Place of War: Moving toward a New Society'', co-author with the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends ('' Quaker)-founded'' organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by ...

working party; lead author: James E. Bristol) New York City NY: Grossman, 1967 *''A Manifesto for Nonviolent Revolution: Toward a Just World Order, Vol. 1''

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

CO:

Westview Press Westview Press was an American publishing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado founded in 1975. Field of work Westview primarily publishes textbooks. History Westview Press was founded by Frederick A. Praeger in 1975. Praeger sold ...

, 1982 (originally published by

War Resisters International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 40 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 un ...

(WRI) in 1972) *''Strategy for a Living Revolution: a World Order Book''; New York City: Grossman, and San Francisco CA: W.H. Freeman, 1973 **Revised and published as ''Powerful Peacemaking'', Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1987 **Revised and published as ''Toward a Living Revolution'', London, England:

Peace News ''Peace News'' (''PN'') is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), and from 1990 to 2004 ...

, 2013, then published with the same title in a North American edition by Wipf & Stock, 2016 (The central thesis of the above book on nonviolent revolution is found in "A Manifesto for Nonviolent Revolution" also by George Lakey and released by

(WRI), 1975 (see above).) *''Moving toward a New Society'' (co-author), Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1975 *''No Turning Back: Lesbian and Gay Liberation in the ‘80s'' (co-author with Erika Thorne), Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1983 *''Grassroots and Nonprofit Leadership: A Guide for Organizations in Changing Times'' (co-author with Berit Lakey, Rod Napier, and Janice Robinson), Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1995; new edition (self-published), 2016; also published in translation in Cairo, Belgrade, and Bangkok *''Opening Space for Democracy: Curriculum and Manual for Training for Third Party Nonviolent Intervention''; co-author with Daniel Hunter), Philadelphia, PA: Training for Change, 2004 *''Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners.'' San Francisco CA:

Jossey-Bass John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and produces books, journals, and encyclope ...

, 2010 *''Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too''; New York, NY and London, England:

Melville House Publishing Melville House Publishing is an American independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 and is run by the husband-and-wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey. ...

, 2016 *''How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning''; New York, NY and London, England:

, 2018 *''Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice''; New York, NY:

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpor ...

, 2022 Internet Development and Writing: *''Global Nonviolent Action Database'', internet – ongoing Over 1,000 researched cases from nearly 200 countries with focus on campaigns back to

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

that used nonviolent direct action. Searchable, and includes a narrative for each case. Developed by George Lakey with Swarthmore and other university students, with Swarthmore's Peace and Conflict Studies, the Peace Collection, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. *''Living Revolution.'' column internet website WagingNonviolence.org, ongoing *''Waging Nonviolence.'' Blog (featured columnist) internet website WagingNonviolence.org, ongoing on-line blog where George Lakey has been a regular featured columnist since 2010.

References