Parent-Mentor Certificate Program: Books & Videos on Person in Social Justice/Non-Violence Work

Gene Sharp hardly seems like one of the world's most dangerous men. White-haired and soft-spoken, the 83-year-old professor mostly keeps to himself, spending much of his time in his small Boston home reading, writing, and tending to his orchid garden. But to the world's most brutal dictators, Professor Sharp's ideas have proven catastrophic. In this fascinating new film, first-time director Ruaridh Arrow details how an obscure list of nonviolent actions authored by Sharp in 1973 has served as a blueprint for anti-authoritarian revolts everywhere from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Giving as much attention to the substance of Sharp's "198 Methods of Nonviolent Action" as it does to the democratic rebels who have courageously made these methods their own, How to Start a Revolution bears witness not only to the power of nonviolent struggle, but to how one person of conscience can quietly influence the lives of millions of people. Features commentary from Sharp's close ally Retired U.S. Army Colonel Robert Helvey, Sharp himself, and many of the revolutionary leaders his work has inspired.

Kiran Bedi, a small woman with a huge mission, has been compared to Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi. She is, in fact, a police woman-- and a reformer. Kiran Bedi has worked in the most dangerous and violent parts of Indian society and has found non-violent solutions. She believes that police should help prevent social problems, not wait until the problems worsen.Tens of thousands of police officers, formerly feared for their violence, have been turned into "welfare police" as a result of her ground- breaking training while in charge of the police school in New Delhi. Bedi also transformed one of the largest prisons in the world, Tihar Central Jail, from a hell hole to a reformatory. Among her innovations was meditation sessions for the prisoners which helped calm the violence in the jail. She has also initiated treatment for drug addicts and opened vocational trade schools for the slum dwelling poor. She studied law and police education and became India s first female police officer. She became well-known when she had Indira Gandhi s illegally parked car towed, believing the powerful as well as the powerless should respect the law. This led her to be officially "punished" by receiving undesirable transfers. She recovered from this and eventually became India s Deputy Police Commissioner. Recently she was appointed to lead the U.N. s Department of Peacekeeping Operations worldwide. This film provides a fascinating window into India today.

This documentary contains perhaps the last authorized footage of MotherTeresa and is a testament to the legacy she left behind. It was filmed in Calcutta at The Home for the Dying and Destitute, the first refuge she established. Other such hospices followed, but the one in Calcutta remained her "first love."Seen through the eyes of the foreign volunteers, this film gives an intimate look at the love and care provided to the destitute ill. MotherTeresa s philosophy encouraged hard physical work and a "hands on" caring, so the ill do not feel isolated. The film also captures the spiritual uplift the volunteers feel through their service. Included is rare footage of MotherTeresa in her private Catholic chapel.

It has been only forty years since the fateful day that Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, yet the chain of events that she set in motion has changed the world forever. In honor of this anniversary, Kingberry Productions (which produced The Freedom Train) has compiled a biography of this dynamic but quiet woman, whose demand for her civil rights led to the social changes of the sixties. This documentary contains an overview of the events that took place in Montgomery, Alabama: Mrs. Parks arrest, the bus boycott and the segregation laws that were finally overturned. It also tells the story of the Rosa Parks that few people know -- the former seamstress whose life continues to be committed to social justice for all people.

Original footage highlights Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dramatic speeches and conversations spanning 1956 to 1968, including his last address on April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination.

This film follows Gandhi's life from young lawyer through his historic struggle to free India from colonial rule, leading an entire nation to freedom, using non-violent means.