The October Peace Journalist magazine has arrived!

The new Peace Journalist magazine is out, and features Prof. Raj Gandhi discussing peace journalism as well as dispatches from Ghana, South Korea, Cameroon, and elsewhere.

You can access the magazine as a .pdf file at:
https://www.park.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Peace-Journalist-Oct-2019-web.pdf .

Or, you can view the magazine in a flip-through format at:
https://issuu.com/peacejournalism/docs/peace_journalist_oct_2019-web .

The next edition of the magazine is April, 2020. Submission information can be found on page 2 of the magazine.

Enjoy!

Steven Youngblood
Editor, The Peace Journalist
Director, Center for Global Peace Journalism
@PeaceJourn

Kansas City peacebuilders exemplify Peace Day's spirit

Note: This article also appears in the Kansas City Star at:
https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article235150442.html

When you open the paper or turn on the TV and see the daily flood of tragic news about violence and its victims, it’s easy to feel discouraged, even hopeless.

While we regularly view stories showing the heart-wrenching impact of violence on its victims, the media report much less frequently about what’s being done to stem this violence and build peace. For example, a recent Nexis Uni news search (for Sept. 12, 2019) showed a greater than 4 to 1 ratio of hits for crime and violence stories than for peace and peacebuilding stories.

Yet, even though they’re frequently out of the spotlight, it’s encouraging to know on this International Day of Peace that Kansas City’s peacebuilders are ubiquitous, and actively engaged to make our community more harmonious.

The nascent Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Coalition has compiled a list of anti-violence, peace-promoting organizations in the KC area. This list includes 113 organizations that address poverty and homelessness (Bishop Sullivan Center at bishopsullivan.org and Cherith Brook at cherithbrookcw.blogspot.com); international connectedness (Global Ties KC at globaltieskc.org and the Sister City Association of Kansas City at kcsistercities.org); and peacebuilding education (the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University at park.edu/peacecenter the Johnson County Community College Office of International Education at jccc.edu, the Buchanan Initiative for Peace and Non-Violence at Avila University at avila.edu/academics/avila-centers-initiatives/buchanan-peace-nonviolence and Global and Multicultural Education-GAME-kcglobalconcepts.org/game/).

Among these entities, Kansas City is fortunate to have numerous “rock star” peacebuilders and peacebuilding organizations. For example:

--The Center for Conflict Resolution (ccrkc.org), which does programming in area schools designed to “teach skills that prevent normal conflict from becoming verbally or physically violent.” They also provide mediation and conflict resolution training.
--Ad Hoc Group Against Crime (adhocgroupkc.com), which promotes healing and justice by serving as a bridge between the community and law enforcement. They also provide support to victims of violent crime, and work to prevent violence in KC.
--International Relations Council (irckc.org), which works with partner organizations to bring a global perspective to the community. IRC hosts international speakers, student forums, and smaller discussions about vital issues affecting our society.
--Rotary International (rotary.org), an international service organization, has a strong area presence. There are 21 Rotary Clubs in the KC area on the Missouri side, and 17 more in Kansas, engaged in peacebuilding projects like anti-bullying initiatives in schools and collecting shoes for South American orphans.

Volunteering with one of these organizations is a great way to contribute to peace, but if you’re not a “joiner,” don’t despair. According to the U.S. Institute for Peace (usip.org) and Mediators Without Borders (mwbdr.com), you can still build peace by:

--Volunteering to help those in need (there is a strong connection between poverty and violence)
--Attending an event like the annual Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Conference on Oct. 31 (11:30 a.m. at Avila University), Nov. 1 (1:00 p.m. at Park University), and Nov. 2 (8:30 a.m. at Johnson County Community College). This year's theme is Human Rights and Peacebuilding, and the keynote speaker is Sarah Margon, foreign policy director of the Open Society Foundations. For more information, see https://www.jccc.edu/conferences/peacebuilding/ .
--Spreading the word about organizations that work to help victims of violence
--Sharing a meal with someone from a different community
--Learning about and employing techniques to resolve conflicts non-violently
--Facilitating dialogue between communities, especially those in conflict
--Creating or contributing to an artistic work or video that emphasizes peace themes
--Writing blogs, op-eds, and letters to the editor about peace
--Attending a peace rally
--Organizing a community project, especially one that builds bridges across communities

So while it’s understandable to be discouraged by the violence and discord around us, conversely, it’s easy to be encouraged by the numerous peacebuilding efforts in Kansas City, and to be empowered by the knowledge that each of us can help make our world a more peaceful place.

KC Star gets it right on murder epidemic coverage

Given the daily violence in our world, and the political polarization inherent in the gun debate, it might seem that journalists, and particularly peace journalists, have no choice but to impotently stand by and do little but report about the carnage.

However, recent coverage in the Kansas City Star is disproving that theory.

First, The Star’s coverage has increasingly focused on victims, rather than just the usual recitation of a murder’s gory details. Stories like “Relatives of P&L shooting victims speak out” (https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article234365432.html) and “Family mourns KCK shooting victim” (https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article13063739.html) follow a key peace journalism principle, giving a voice to the voiceless, in this instance, the friends and families of murder victims. Articles like these correctly take the spotlight off of shooters, and put is squarely on the victims whose lives were cut short. It’s gratifying that a platform is available for families to make statements like, ““He was known for being humble and he always asked for advice on life and what he could do to make himself better.”

In addition, The Star has attempted to move beyond just “play by play” coverage of crime, and instead is discussing solutions, another key PJ principle. One example is a recent guest column by a criminal justice professor who lays out possible solutions to the gun violence epidemic in Kansas City, including focusing on gun accessibility, the local jail, and on anti-violence technology. (https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article234578187.html)

Finally, a recent Star editorial pulls no punches as it admonishes the community for its indifference to epidemic violence that is impacting especially the African-American community, noting that the “incredibly, and indefensibly, this city has reacted to the growing (gun violence) crisis with a collective shrug.” This crisis includes the recent murders of three Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools (KCPS) students in a nine day period. The KCPS are a majority African-American district. In a much needed slap in the face for readers, the editorial asks what the reaction would be if the young murder victims were from white majority school districts. “What would the public be if these shootings had occurred in more affluent suburbs like Blue Springs or Lee’s Summit… or if students from (exclusive) private schools like Rockhurst High School or St. Theresa’s Academy had their lives cut short by gun violence?”
 (https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article234675022.html#storylink=mainstage)

While journalism alone can’t solve society’s problems, we as journalists can take a cue from the Star, and remain vigilant while reporting with victims and solutions in mind. As I wrote in Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, “Peace journalists would cover daily crime in a way that is less episodic and more analytical, and be proactive in exploring community issues that explain crime. PJ would also offer counter-narrative crime stories that show the deep impact that crime has on communities, and explore possible solutions other than incarceration.”