Lokashakti Encyclopedia of Nonviolence, Peace, and Social Justice

Grape Boycott

The Grape Boycott was an international agricultural boycott organized by the United Farm Workers that occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s in California. Its goal was union recognition for some of the poorest workers in the United States.

Greenham Common Women

Greenham Common Women are most famously known for leading large demonstrations in the early 1980s against nuclear weapons, centered around the Greenham Common United States Air Force base in Berkshire, England.

Greensboro Sit-ins

Nonviolent demonstrations in the form of lunch counter sit-ins to protest against segregation began in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960. The movement quickly spread to other parts of the country and came to include Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as other prominent figures.

Group or Mass Petitions

Its use dating at least as far back as the Roman Empire, the signing by large numbers of individuals with the intent of seeking redress of a specific grievance. Throughout history this has served as a time-tested nonviolent method of fighting for social change.

Henry David Thoreau

A citizen of Concord, Massachusetts and graduate of Harvard College, Henry David Thoreau became one of America's most well-known writers and philosophers. An ardent anti-slavery activist and skilled rhetorician, Thoreau is remembered equally well today for his writings on naturalism and the environment.