George Lakey facts for kids

George Russell Lakey (born November 2, 1937) is an activist, sociologist, and writer. He is known for helping to develop the idea of nonviolent revolution. This means making big changes in society through peaceful actions. He also created a special way of teaching activists called "Direct Education." George Lakey is a Quaker, a member of a Christian group known for peace. He has helped start and lead many groups and campaigns that work for fairness and peace.

Early Life and Learning

George Lakey was born in Bangor, Pennsylvania. His father, Russell George Lakey, worked in a slate mine. From a young age, George was encouraged to speak at his church. When he was 12, he gave a speech about how everyone should be treated equally. Even though his ideas were not popular at the time, he believed in them strongly.

He went to Cheyney University in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. He also studied at the University of Oslo in Norway. In 1960, he married Berit Mathiesen there. He even taught at a high school in Oslo. Later, he continued his studies in sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Working for Change

Activism and Campaigns

In the late 1950s, George Lakey joined the movement to stop nuclear weapons. Then, he became active in the civil rights movement. This movement worked to gain equal rights for all people. In 1963, he was arrested during a peaceful protest called a sit-in.

The next year, he helped train people for Mississippi Freedom Summer. This was a big effort to help African Americans register to vote. He also helped write a book called A Manual for Direct Action. This book taught people in the South how to use peaceful protests.

In 1966, he helped start A Quaker Action Group (AQAG). Through this group, he traveled to Vietnam in 1967. He took part in a protest where a ship, the Phoenix, tried to deliver medical supplies. These supplies were for a Buddhist group that was against the war.

In 1970, Lakey and AQAG helped the people of Puerto Rico. They worked to stop the U.S. Navy from using the island of Culebra for target practice. In 1971, he helped create the Movement for a New Society (MNS). This was a group of smaller groups working for peaceful social change. They lived in shared homes and worked together. Their training program taught people how to use Paulo Freire's methods for learning and action.

During the 1970s, he also helped lead a campaign to stop the B-1 Bomber. This campaign convinced the U.S. Congress and President Carter to stop funding the Air Force program. In 1976, he helped start "Men Against Patriarchy." This was a group for men working to end unfair treatment based on gender. In 1982, he started the "Jobs with Peace" group in Pennsylvania. This group brought together workers and communities.

In 1991, Lakey co-founded Training for Change (TfC) with activist Barbara Smith. This group developed a new way of teaching called "Direct Education." Training for Change taught activists and other groups in many countries.

In 2009, Lakey helped start the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT). This group works for a fair and green economy using peaceful actions. They won their first campaign, stopping PNC Bank from funding a harmful type of coal mining. Even in his seventies, Lakey was arrested during this campaign. He also led a 200-mile march.

Teaching and Research

George Lakey's first teaching job in college was at the Martin Luther King Jr. School of Social Change. He helped create the lessons and taught there for four years. During this time, he helped create the field of "Experiential Nonviolence Training." This taught students how to connect their learning with real-life peaceful actions.

He later joined the Peace Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania. He helped make the program better for students and encouraged more students from different backgrounds to join. He also taught peace studies at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

He also taught at Temple University. Later, he became a special professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. He continued to teach and do research there until he retired.

In 2010, the National Peace and Justice Studies Association named Lakey "Peace Educator of the Year." This award recognized his important work in teaching about peace.

Books and Online Work

George Lakey has written many books about nonviolence, social change, and how to create a better world. Some of his well-known books include:

• A Manual for Direct Action (1965)
• Strategy for a Living Revolution (1973)
• Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too (2016)
• How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning (2018)
• Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice (2022)

He also helped create the Global Nonviolent Action Database. This is an online collection of over 1,000 stories about peaceful actions from around the world. It shows how people have used nonviolent methods to make changes throughout history. He also writes columns and blogs for websites like WagingNonviolence.org.

See also

• List of peace activists