Deëscalation tip #15

 Offered on the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK wrote a letter from Birmingham City Jail in April of 1963, just five years before he was taken from us. That Letter from Birmingham Jail remains canonical in American literature and it contains many lessons for activists today.

King explains the sequence of any campaign: 

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: 1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action."

Note that step 3, self-purification, is what comes immediately before step 4, direct action. My interpretation of step 3 is the preparation internally, both individually and collectively, necessary to maintain nonviolent discipline in the face of any insult, harm, or provocation. King's sequence is battle-tested and the groundtruthing of its efficacy was proven in struggle after struggle in the Civil Rights Movement. 

The role of the peacemaker in social justice direct action is to call everyone to that state of being that King advises, the self-purification in preparation for hot conflict and chaos. I believe MLK would approve of the deëscalation necessary to allow the campaign to escalate, one of the great ironies of successful campaigns. Indeed, the rigorous training developed by Rev. James Lawson that was crucial to the success of campaign after campaign was all about that ability to deëscalate oneself and remain in that state with great discipline. 

Dr. King, we miss you.