Spirit in Action

Azher Usman is an author, artist, activist, philanthropist, lawyer, but most of all he's a very serious comedian. He gave the keynote address at the Ways of Peace II Conference on Nonviolence in the Islamic Tradition sponsored by FNVW. He's been part of the Allah Made Me Funny - Official Muslim Comedy Tour, The Laughing Peace Tour and The Make Chai, Not War Tour.

Mel Duncan is a founder and force behind Nonviolent Peaceforce, an important evolution in the work of unarmed, well-trained, civilian peacekeepers. With active programs in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Sudan and engaging soon in South Caucasus, Nonviolent Peaceforce has drawn widespread recognition and support, including funding from UNICEF, an upcoming training at the UN, and invitations from heads of state.

The Holistic Life Foundation does the amazing work of transforming lives & spirits in inner city Baltimore. The basic tools are yoga & mindfulness taught and modeled by 3 men in the hood. Ali Smith, Atman Smith & Andres Gonzales founded HLF fresh out of college in 2001, working with kids, at-risk people, the mentally ill, and everyone else, providing a model for changed and redirected lives.

Our racism is mostly invisible to us because all the assumptions around it seem "normal" to us, The authors of Seeing White: An introduction to White Privilege and Race lead us through a rigorous inspection of the history and present of racism in the USA - and the way out of this ingrained social construction.

Peter Edelman's new book is So Rich, So Poor: Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America, and he brings great credentials an passion to the concern. As an aide to Senator Robert Kennedy, having servied in Washington in various posts, including the one he resigned from during the Clinton administration in protest of the "welfare reform" that Clinton signed, he knows the nuts & bolts as well as the mechanics of government.

Guest host today is Robert Wolf of American Mosaic and Free River Press, and he takes us on a visit to the Pine Ridge Reservation, a place of poverty and Spirit, and site of Wounded Knee and the stand-off with the American Indian Movement.

Ralph Jacobson founded Innovative Power Systems in 1991, giving him 20 years on the learning curve. His outlook & views have been significantly changed by the experience of "doing business". He is also president of the Minnesota Solar Industries and lives in St Paul, Minnesota.

James W. Douglass is author of a number of books including Gandhi & the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment With Truth. He's cofounder of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Washington State and Mary's House, a Catholic Worker house in Burmingham, Alabama.

Sit in on a panel LGBT and clergy, sponsored by the Voices of Faith program of Equality Wisconsin, on personal and church experience of Open & Affirming Congregations - and the lack of same. The panel was held at Plymouth UCC, Eau Claire on 3/24/2012.