Open letter to President-elect Trump and government officials at all levels

Open letter to President-elect Donald Trump and government officials at all levels

Take an urgent stand to build respect and prevent violence based on gender, religion, race, ethnicity or political views

We, as scholars or practitioners in the field of conflict resolution, wish to assist in building a renewed spirit of mutual respect in the United States. We are concerned about reports of hundreds of incidents of vandalism, intimidation and threats of violence to persons based on their gender, religion, race, ethnicity or political opinion. Such acts have escalated since the US election and are being reported in a number of places in the United States with significant spillover into Canada.

We have just lived through an extremely polarizing election during which people on all sides have felt disrespected, hurt, and angry. The wounds are still quite painful. We appreciate the President-elect’s 13 November 2016 comments during an interview that racial and ethnic slurs and violence must stop. We believe additional statements are important at this time to prevent further violence.

We urge President-elect Trump and all government officials to use their leadership positions to ensure public understanding that no elected or appointed leaders will condone violence or discriminatory acts or speech. We ask you to make urgent and firm public statements that emphasize the rule of law and the US Constitution, including the First Amendment that guarantees peoples’ rights to freedoms of religion, speech, the press and peaceful assembly. We request that such statements be included in speeches, media interviews and social media postings.

We underline the text which sets out the “five pillars” of the First Amendment demanding that:

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the peopleto peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

We look forward to learning what concrete steps you will take to prevent acts of hatred, and to foster mutual understanding, respect and civility within the USA.

Signatories:

1.     Mohammed Abu-Nimer, PhD, Professor, School of International Service; American University, Washington, DC

2.     Kevin Avruch, PhD, Dean, Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution and Professor of Anthropology, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia

3.     Dale Bagshaw, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of South Australia, President of the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum and the Elder Mediation Australasian Network

4.     H. Allen Blair, MCIArb, Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Law and Senior Fellow, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law,St. Paul, Minnesota

5.     Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich, BA (Hon) LLB, LLM, PhD, Director, Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution Program, Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

6.     Leslie K. Bruce, JD, Director, Healthcare Leadership and Community Outreach, Extended Studies, University of California San Diego

7.     Robert A. Baruch Bush, Distinguished Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York; Co-Founder and Board Member, Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, Dayton, Ohio

8.     Kevin P. Clements, Professor, Chair and Director, The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

9.     G. Michelle Collins-Sibley, PhD, Professor of English and Chair, Department of Interdisciplinary & Liberal Studies, University of Mount Union, Alliance, Ohio; Member of the Board of Trustees, Peace and Justice Studies Association.

10.  Barbara Coloroso, MA, educator, and author of The Bully, The Bullied, and The Not-So-Innocent Bystander and Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide..and why it matters, Littleton, Colorado

11.  E. Deason, Joanne Wharton Murphy/Classes of 1965 and 1973 Professor of Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Columbus, Ohio

12.  Jayne Seminare Docherty, PhD, Academic Programs Director, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

13.  Timothy Donais, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Global Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

14.  Maureen F. Fitzgerald, PhD, Gender Diversity Advisor, Mediator, former lawyer and author, Vancouver, Canada

15.  Joseph P. Folger, PhD,  Professor of Adult and Organizational Development  at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; President, Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, Dayton, Ohio

16.  Jacqueline N. Font-Guzmán, PhD, JD, MHA, Professor of Law and Director, The Werner Institute, Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska

17.  John Forester, PhD, Professor, Department of City & Regional Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

18.  Neil Funk-Unrau, PhD, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution Studies and Associate Dean of Menno Simons College, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Canada

19.  Mark Gerzon, President, Mediators Foundation, Boulder, Colorado

20.  Mary V. Gelinas, Ed.D., Gelinas James, Inc., Cascadia Center for Leadership, Arcata, California

21.  Terence W. Harris, MA, JD, Mediator, Instructor, Douglas College, Vancouver, Canada

22.  Chris Honeyman, Managing Partner, Convenor Conflict Management, Washington DC

23.  Rev. Kenneth W. Howard, Executive Committee, Faith Community Advisory Council, Montgomery County Maryland, Germantown, Maryland

24.  Ralph H. Kilmann, PhD, former Professor of Organization and Management (30 years) and Director of the Program in Corporate Culture, Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh; now CEO and Senior Consultant of Kilmann Diagnostics, whose mission is Resolving Conflict Throughout the World; co-author of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

25.  Laurie King, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

26.  Wendy Kroeker, Co-Director, Canadian School of Peacebuilding, Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies department, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Canada

27.  Winona LaDuke, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Honor the Earth; Founder, White Earth Land Recovery Project; Anishinaabee Nation, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota

28.  John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, Missouri

29.  Patricia Lane, JD, Chartered Mediator, Chartered Arbitrator, Victoria, Canada

30.  Michael Loadenthal, PhD, Executive Director, Peace and Justice Studies Association, Washington, DC; Visiting Professor, Sociology & Social Justice, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

31.  David Lord, Co-Chair, Peacebuild: The Canadian Peacebuilding Network, Ottawa, Canada

32.  Carl Luna, PhD, Professor of Political Science, San Diego Mesa College; Visiting Professor of Political Science, and Director, Institute for Civil Civic Engagement, University of San Diego, California

33.  Julie Macfarlane, PhD, Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law,  Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada

34.  Barbara Sunderland Manoussom, PhD, Manousso Mediation & Arbitration, LLC, Manousso Mediation Training and ADR Services, Houston, Texas

35.  Bernie Mayer, PhD, Professor of Dispute Resolution, The Werner Institute, Creighton University School of Law,Omaha, Nebraska

36.  Laura McGrew, PhD, Consultant, Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation, New York

37.  M. Jerry McHale, QC, Lam Chair in Law and Public Policy, Faculty of Law and School of Public Administration University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

38.  Chief Ovide Mercredi, Former National Chief, Assembly of First Nations, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 

39.  Michael Minch, PhD, Peace and Justice Studies Director, Summit: The Sustainable Mountain Development and Conflict Transformation Global Knowledge and Action Network and Professor of Philosophy, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah

40.  Christopher W. Moore, PhD, Partner, CDR Associates: Collaborative Decision Resources, Boulder, Colorado

41.  Robert Morales, BSc, JD, Chief Treaty Negotiator, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Cowichan Tribes, British Columbia; Chair, Summit Chief Negotiators for First Nations engaged in the  BC Treaty Negotiation Process, British Columbia, Canada  

42.  Catherine Morris, JD, LLM, Director, Peacemakers Trust; Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, and MA Program in Dispute Resolution, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

43.  Forrest S. Mosten, Mediator, Limited Scope and Collaborative Attorney; Adjunct Professor of Law, UCLA; and Chair, Brown-Mosten International Client Consultation Competition (Affiliated with the International Bar Association)

44.  Jack Payden-Travers, Secretary, Peace and Justice Studies Association,Washington, DC; and past-Executive Director of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, Lynchburg, Virginia

45.  Dean Peachey, PhD, Executive Director, University of Winnipeg Global College, Winnipeg, Canada

46.  Elisabeth Porter, PhD, Professor, Centre for Peace and Security, Hawke Research Institute, University of South Australia

47.  Sharon Press, Professor and Director, Dispute Resolution Institute, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Saint Paul, Minnesota

48.  Edmund Pries PhD, Global Studies, Religion and Culture, Social Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Co-Chair, Peace and Justice Studies Association, Washington, DC

49.  Darynell Rodríguez Torres, Executive Director, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflicts (GPPAC), The Hague, The Netherlands

50.  Gloria Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor of Peacebuilding and Conflict Studies, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

51.  Lisa Schirch, PhD, North American Research Director; Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research;Senior Policy Advisor with the Alliance for Peacebuilding; andResearch Professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

52.  Andrea Kupfer Schneider, Professor and Director, Dispute Resolution Program, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

53.  Laurence Sherman, Visiting Professor, Graduate Certificate Program in Conflict Resolution, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; Public Disputes Mediator, Architect and Urban Planner, Toronto, Canada

54.  Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, PhD, Associate Professor & Acting Head, Department of Native Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

55.  Stacie I. Strong, Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law and Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri

56.  Johonna Turner, PhD, Assistant Professor of Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA.

57.  Terrence T. Wheeler, Adjunct Professor of Law, Co-Director, Center for Dispute Resolution, Capital University Law School,Columbus, Ohio

58.  Howard Zehr, PhD,Distinguished Professor of Restorative Justice, Co-Director, Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Affiliations are indicated for purposes of identification only and the views expressed are those of the individuals, not their institutions.

*****  PRESS RELEASE  *****

Conflict resolution experts ask Trump and other government officials to take a stand to reduce post-election violence

30 November 2016: For Immediate Release

Hundreds of post-election reports of vandalism, beatings and threats since the US election have prompted dozens of leading experts in conflict resolution to urge Donald Trump and government officials at all levels to take an urgent, public stand against post-election acts of discrimination, harassment and violence across the US with significant spillover into Canada.

In an open letter to Trump, members of Congress,State Governors and other officials sent today, dozens of conflict resolution academics and practitioners from across the US, Canada and other countries are asking Trump and other officials to “to use their leadership positions to ensure public understanding that no elected or appointed leaders will condone violence or discriminatory acts or speech.”

The letter advocates that government leaders make “urgent and firm public statements that emphasize the rule of law and the US Constitution, including the First Amendment that guarantees peoples’ rights to freedoms of religion, speech, the press and peaceful assembly.” The experts also seek concrete steps to prevent acts hatred and to foster mutual understanding, respect and civility within the USA.

Signatories' quotes

See the full list of signatories (scroll down).

Barbara Coloroso, internationally recognized speaker and best-selling author of The Bully, The Bullied, and The Not-So-innocent Bystander and Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide...and Why It Matters warned, "It is a short walk from hateful rhetoric to hate crimes to crimes against humanity. 'History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes,' Mark Twain once said. We are on the precipice of a new stanza." Contact Barbara Coloroso at info.kidsareworthit[at]gmail.com; phone (+1) 303-478-8253.

Dr. Michael Loadenthal, Executive Director, Peace and Justice Studies Association, stated: "As academics, activists, and educators committed to advancing peace and justice in our world, we are concerned that without an explicit, loud and recurring condemnation of recent hate crimes by the incoming administration, their silence will only encourage more acts of violent hatred." Contact Michael Loadenthal at info[at]peacejusticestudies.org; phone (+1) 202-681-2057.

Dr. Julie Macfarlane, Distinguished University Professor and professor of law at the University of Windsor in Canada, and author of The New Lawyer: How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law commented: "It is not the unique insight of the conflict resolution community that there are profound fault lines of difference and privilege in American, and Canadian, society - differences of race, gender, ethnicity and even opinion. The election rhetoric and result, rightly or wrongly, has empowered those who exploit these differences in a hateful and aggressive way. These acts must be called out, and we expect the state - in both Canada and the US - to act to protect us all from harassment, threats and abuse." Contact Julie Macfarlane at Julie.Macfarlane[at]uwindsor.ca: phone (+1) 519-733-3327.

The Rev. Ken Howard, Executive Director of The FaithX Project and author of Paradoxy: Beyond Us and Them said: "This election has presented us with a crisis containing both danger and opportunity: we can go further down the dangerous path of destructive, us/them, friend/enemy, left/right divisions, or we can seize this time as an opportunity to seek the radical middle path of transcending our differences by treating all our neighbors as we would like to be treated. I vote for the latter." Contact Ken Howard at ken[at]faithx.net; phone (+1). 301-704-3290.

Professor Kevin Clements, Foundation Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand “urges the incoming administration to do all in its power to put an end to the divisive environment in which we are seeing racism, intolerance and challenges to taken-for-granted constitutional rights. The consequences are global. Here in New Zealand, which prides itself on harmonious race relations, new groups have emerged since the election that are stirring up hatred against indigenous peoples and Asian migrants to New Zealand. For the sake of American and global harmony, all leaders in the US must now work to put a stop to rhetoric that fuels prejudice and discrimination.” Contact Kevin Clements at kevin.clements[at]otago.ac.nz or phone (+64) 3 4794546, DDI (+64) 3 4799468, mobile (+64) (0) 212471103 or Skype kevinpclements.

For more information, contact:

Catherine Morris, Director, Peacemakers Trust, Canada, office[at]peacemakers.ca; (+1) 250-477-0129.