Pillar 3: Introduction
John R. Lewis often spoke of Beloved Community, reflecting a deep relationality, and interdependence. At John R. Lewis College, we strive to create a community in which diverse identities, opinions, and beliefs can thrive, where we uplift our shared humanity and recognize the indispensability of all life. Our goal is to foster a courageous and interconnected college community through the practice of transcommunality, a concept from UCSC Professor John Brown Childs that draws from Kingian non-violence and the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy.
Breaking it down
Line 1: John R. Lewis often spoke of Beloved Community, reflecting a deep relationality, and interdependence.
John R. Lewis believed in MLK's vision for a "Beloved Community," a community in which everyone is cared for, in which no person or thing exists in isolation, because we are all interconnected with and mutually dependent upon each other.
Line 2: At John R. Lewis College, we strive to create a community in which diverse identities, opinions, and beliefs can thrive, where we uplift our shared humanity and recognize the indispensability of all life.
These communities do not treat differences of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, etc. as afterthoughts, and, when there is a problem/mistake, these communities work together to come up with solutions. The practice of transcommunality aims to create communities that do not require the participants to code switch or mask in order to be respected community members.
Line 3: Our goal is to foster a courageous and interconnected college community through the practice of transcommunality, a concept from UCSC Professor John Brown Childs that draws from Kingian non-violence and the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy.
There is a difference between thinking through ‘a problem’ as you vs me is the problem and you and me vs the problem. This pillar is meant to encourage students to be able to participate in and create diverse communities dedicated to supporting each other, even through disagreements.
Moving Forward
Ahead, you will get a historical look at Courageous and Interconnected Community