In a week in which Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated, we reflect on whether the principles of nonviolence and strategic approach to protest that he advocated are still relevant for what is happening in our world today, especially focusing on demonstrations in Minneapolis and Iran. We explore what King taught, and consider how we may individually apply his teaching, as well as when we join with others in a collective. As always, we return to see where our intentions and prayers may be most needed, as vitally important demonstrations continue...
In a week in which Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated, we reflect on whether the principles of nonviolence and strategic approach to protest that he advocated are still relevant for what is happening in our world today, especially focusing on demonstrations in Minneapolis and Iran. We explore what King taught, and consider how we may individually apply his teaching, as well as when we join with others in a collective. As always, we return to see where our intentions and prayers may be most needed, as vitally important demonstrations continue in various parts of the world.
Intention and prayers start at 34 minutes 55 seconds.
Suggested Intention Focus for this week
This week, as we wrestle with the challenge of maintaining peace, compassion and non-divisiveness in protests, and remembering that protesting is often so needed in a violent and volatile world, we suggest holding as our main intention:
We will to remain strong in remembering and putting into practice the principle of non-violence whenever we feel called to protest against injustices in our communities and world.
Please join us in holding this.
Mentioned in this episode:
Ellen's Sacred Feminist blog, Climbing to the Mountaintop Parts 1, 2 and 3:
http://sacredfeminist.com/happy-mlk-day/
http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-the-mountaintop-part-1/
http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-mountaintop-part-2/
http://sacredfeminist.com/climbing-to-the-mountaintop-part-3/
Book: The Hope by Andrew Harvey Amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Guide-Sacred-Activism/dp/1401920039/ref=sr_1_1
Chapter markers:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:05 Protests and Change
00:05:31 The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
00:07:17 Nonviolent Strategies for Activism
00:10:33 Compassion in Activism
00:12:20 Modern Movements and Their Challenges
00:15:46 Ellen’s Reflections on Feminist Action
00:19:07 The Montgomery Bus Boycott
00:20:47 Creative Protests and Media Influence
00:27:06 The Power of Collective Will
00:29:05 Individual Responsibility in Activism
00:33:34 Engaging with Nonviolent Protest
00:34:55 Intentions and Prayers
Sources referenced in this episode:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/kings-message-of-nonviolence-has-been-distorted/557021/
https://www.westmont.edu/civil-disobedience-and-legacy-martin-luther-king-jr
https://commonslibrary.org/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/
https://the-conflictexpert.com/2025/04/29/non-violent-protest-heres-how-to-do-it/
https://frompoverty.oxfam.org.uk/what-tactics-are-most-effective-in-non-violent-protest/
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how-to-sharpen-a-nonviolent-movement/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00905917211021796
http://prt.civicus.org/strategies/
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-violent-protests-change-politics
https://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/article/download/12126/pdf
https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijel/article/view/0/51143
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00947679.2000.12062526
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f00eed15dc258c516cd6f56a880090ecbf027cd1
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0483f2020086d3cdf6293095227f75bab62207e6
https://www.ojcmt.net/download/effects-of-mass-media-framing-of-protest-movements-a-meta-analysis-and-systematic-review-of-mass-11538.pdf
http://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.13820.pdf
https://ojs.unm.ac.id/iap/article/download/17929/9861
https://ojs.unm.ac.id/sosialisasi/article/download/13889/8131
https://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/psicologia/article/download/27887/25877
http://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/1093
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/download/5796/5796
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Peaceful-Resistance-and-Nonviolent-Actions-for-Social-Change-Edknowledge-Mandikwaza.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance
https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1kazuo6/cmv_the_liberal_focus_on_nonviolent_protests/
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2017/05/moral-nonviolence-healing-king/
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/wri_handbook_2014_inner_AMENDED.compressed1.pdf
http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi24/nonviolent-protest-strategy
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/us/renee-good-shooting-incident-report
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis-activist-sets-stage-national-protests-2026-01-10/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/15/trump-threatens-to-use-insurrection-act-to-end-minneapolis
https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-renee-good-investigation-minneapolis-ice-activist
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/prosecutors-doj-resignation-ice-shooting.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/illinois-minnesota-suing-trump-lawsuit
Join us in person for intention holding:
https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls
https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.
Our websites:
www.heartfulimpact.com/ Our show website.
https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.
https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.
https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.
https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding.
Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.
Our show content is hosted by Podbean and available from all major podcast platforms.
Our theme music is by Chris Collins. indiemusicbox.com.
Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).
Contact us via Facebook Messenger from the Impact! Facebook group, or using any of the contact methods mentioned on our websites.
Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com.
