“Democracy is not a state, it is an act. And each generation must do its part to help build a nation and a world at peace with itself.”
— Rep. John Lewis, Chairman Emeritus, The John Lewis Institute of Peace
Demands for equal justice rang out in response to the death of George Floyd. People poured out into the streets chanting,
“NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE”
But how do we define that peace? What would it look like? What public policies would lead us to live in a more peaceful society in this country, especially in light of the division we witnessed during the January 6th insurrection?
For generations, we have expanded the limits of violent aggression. We have weapons of war, technologies, industries, and colleges of war.
But if Sir Isaac Newton was right, the equal opposite also exists. There should also be tools and technologies of peace, colleges of peace, and industries of peace. We just have never fully explored the possibilities.
And that’s what the John Lewis Institute of Peace is working to do—develop, implement, and evaluate, public strategies that lead to peace in our neighborhoods, cities, and in our nation.
Our Mission
The John Lewis Institute of Peace is working to establish a new public policy paradigm. Our purpose is to operationalize peace as a stated goal of domestic public policy. We develop and implement public policy initiatives, quantify their impact on communities, and codify the results so that when civic leaders and the people of our nation demand peace, our leaders will know what to do and how to do it.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to combine the foundation of Rep. Lewis’s philosophy—non-violence—with the lessons learned from the Camp David Peace Accords, one of the most celebrated and sustained Middle East peace agreements in modern times. Then we apply those new policy initiatives to the challenges of division in American communities and evaluate their effectiveness.
Our Work
The work of the institute is to collaborate with cities, states, and the federal government to develop and implement public policy solutions that respect human dignity and encourage reconciliation, key tenets of Rep. Lewis’s philosophy. We want to build a compendium of tested policy solutions that help solve the problems of society in ways that lead to peace. We call this approach to policymaking “sustainable government."
Rep. Lewis dedicated his life to the cause of peace and reconciliation. He wanted to build the
“Beloved Community, a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and worth of every human being.”
At The John Lewis Institute of Peace, we believe peace should be more than a hope or a wish. It can become a reality in our society, if we study, plan and work toward it, as we do any other important goal.
For thousands of years, people thought it impossible to put a man on the moon. It was considered a fool’s dream until one American president made it a mandate, and a team of scientists used what they knew to discover what they needed to know to open up new frontiers of human advancement.
Help The John Lewis Institute of Peace explore the possibilities of peace to power economic security, social stability, wellness, and sustainable public policy in our country. Help us make the vision of Rep. John Lewis real in the 21st century. Help our generation “win a victory for humanity” and do our part to help build the Beloved Community.