following the 'post colonial justice' lecture and discussion, i decided to do a performance exercise on the topic of violence and non violent resistance. this performance exercise was performed as a part of eva meyer keller's 'making new work' intensive seminar.

in the performance i do a series of physically strenuous and repetitive exercises. throughout each exercise, a quote is being read out from a text written by a famous racial equality personality on the issue of justifying and explaining the use of violence as retaliation to racial injustice or as means of a struggle. in the last set, i pull stones out of my pocket and throw them at the audience. after i'm done, i ask people in the audience if they're ok, but i don't apologize about throwing the stones, rather explain that it was necessary.

angela davis on violence - 

Racism, in the first place, is a weapon used by the wealthy to increase the profits they bring in by paying Black workers less for their work.
which leads you to think - is the use of violence by the disempowered then unjustified?

Nelson Mandela, who died Dec. 5, 2013 at the age of 95, changed his position over the use of to overthrow the South African apartheid regime. Although Mandela advocated non-violent resistance to apartheid during his early years in the African National Congress in the late 1940s and early 1950s, his position on violence shifted. In 1960 he became one of the founders of the organization’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, which launched sabotage attacks against government facilities. Two years later he imprisoned. He spent 27 years in prison.

On his decision to take up arms against apartheid:
“I and some colleagues came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be wrong and unrealistic for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle.” -- Statement at the opening of his defense in the Rivonia treason trial, April 20, 1964.

on March 14 A Panel gathered at Harvard Law School to examine the legacy of Nelson Mandela with a discussion about the use of violence for political  or social change.
“My answer to the question would be that violence is justifiable when one can confidently predict that the violence that one is deploying will eliminate a greater evil, but that’s always a very difficult judgment to make,” said HLS Professor Randall Kennedy .“Because violence is a tainting thing, one always has to consider—even if one thinks one can prevail—what will be the price one pays for doing that?”

Malcom X
"I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation."

"We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us."

"Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks."