George Lakey’s ‘Meeting Our Challenges’ tour

From November 2022 until October 2023, movement elder and longtime Waging Nonviolence columnist George Lakey toured in support of his memoir “Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice.” Here are his reflections followed by a tour log:

“In round numbers, I visited 50 cities and towns in 20 states, from Florida to Washington to California and Maine. I spoke to many community activist groups, colleges and universities, and at some of the most outstanding bookstores in the country, including Politics and Prose and the Harvard Book Store. There were frequent stops for radio programs and press interviews, and thanks to Zoom I reached some of the harder-to-reach places like Hawaii. I preached sermons at churches as well as presented at 30 Quaker Meetings.”

“The year-and-a-half devoted to touring convinced this 86-year-old that tours aren’t made for old people, however young in spirit they may be! While I don’t expect to tour ever again, I remain open to traveling for one-off events that enable me to return to rest in between. I understand that the anxiety in the United States, especially among younger people, raises the interest level in engaging with someone like me who more-than-survived the strife and violence of previous decades.” 

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2022 Events

Nov. 8: San Francisco, University of San Francisco, 106 Cowell Hall, 2130 Fulton St, 11 a.m.

Nov. 15 National Launch: Philadelphia, PA, with Varshini Prakash, co-founder and executive director of the Sunrise Movement. Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Free tickets available here.

Nov. 19: Baltimore, MD, Red Emma’s Bookstore, 3128 Greenmount Ave, 7 p.m.

Nov. 20: Baltimore, Black Lives Matter Interfaith Coalition’s after-rally event, Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St, 3.15-4.15 p.m.

Nov. 21: Stroudsburg, PA, Public Library, 1002 N. Ninth St, 1.30-3.30 p.m.

Nov. 21: Bangor, PA, Public Library, 39 S. Main St, 6-8 p.m.

Nov. 30: New Haven, CT, Unitarian Society, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamde, 7-8:30 p.m.

Dec. 2: Miami, FL, Miami Friends Meetinghouse, 1185 Sunset Road, Coral Gables,  7pm. 

Dec. 4: DeLand, FL, The Collective, 112 E. New York Ave (historic Drake Theater bldg.), 5pm.

Dec. 5: DeLand, FL, Muse Book Shop, 112 S Woodland Blvd, 4:30pm.

Dec. 7: Gainesville, FL, Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St, 7pm.

Dec. 8, Thurs, 6-8pm, Leon County Main Public Library, Tallahassee, 200 W. Park Ave.

Dec. 9: Tallahassee, FL, United Church, 1834 Mahan Drive, 7pm.

Dec. 13: Harrisburg, PA, Friends Meetinghouse, 1100 N. 6^th St, 7:15pm.

2023 Events

Jan 5: New York, NY, The People’s Forum, in conversation with Yotam Marom, activist writer and trainer, 320 W. 37^th St, Manhattan, 6:30pm

Jan. 9: Gwynned, PA, Foulkeways, 1120 Meetinghouse Rd, facilitated by Berit Lakey, 7pm.

Jan. 10: via Zoom, Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Friends Meeting/Southeastern Yearly Meeting, 7-8.30pm.

Jan. 15:  Philadelphia, Rotunda on University of Pennsylvania campus, 4014 Walnut St, “How Martin Luther King helps us face today’s crisis,” (MLK’s actual birthday), 2-3.45pm.

Jan. 16: Blacksburg, VA, Virginia Tech University, “How Martin Luther King helps us face today’s crisis,” (MLK’s official birthday celebration), 6pm.

Jan. 17: Durham, NC, Friends Meetinghouse (w/ The Regulator Bookshop), 404 Alexander Ave, 6pm.

Jan. 18: Raleigh, NC, Friends Meetinghouse, 7pm.

Jan. 21: Washington, D.C., Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, 5pm.

Jan. 22: Washington, D.C. Friends Meetinghouse, 2111 Decatur Place NW.  12 noon.

Jan. 29: Sandy Spring, MD, Sandy Spring Friends Meeting, 17715 Meeting House Rd, 1pm.

Jan. 31: Swarthmore, PA, Swarthmore College Science Center, 7pm.

Feb. 1: Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St, Boulder, CO, 6.30pm.

Feb. 4: 3401 West 29th Avenue Denver, CO 8021, 2pm-4pm, RSVP

Feb. 5: “How a deepening climate crisis opens new doors to radical change,” Boulder Friends Meeting, 1825 Upland Ave, Boulder, CO, 1pm.

Feb.  7: Eagle Harbor Bookstore, Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110, 6:30pm.

Feb. 8: Book discussion and strategy issues (bag lunch), Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, 16159 Clear Creek Rd, Poulsbo, Washington, 10am-2:30pm

Feb. 8: Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse, Dancing with History, 1841 Sheridan, Port Townsend, Washington 98368, 6:30pm

Feb. 9: Elliot Bay Bookstore, 1521 10th Ave, Seattle, Washington, 7pm.

Feb. 12: Orca Books Co-op, 315 5th Ave SE, Olympia, Washington, 4pm.

Feb. 13: Palo Alto, CA, First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St, Palo Alto, CA, 6pm.

Feb. 14: Green Arcade Bookstore, 1680 Market St, San Francisco, CA, 6.30-8pm.

Feb. 19: Santa Monica Friends Meeting, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica, CA, 1pm.

Feb. 22: Pennsylvania State University in Altoona, PA, 6:30pm

Feb. 26: Lake Forest Friends Meeting, 101 W. Old Elm Rd, Lake Forest, IL, 12pm.

Feb. 27: Boswell Book Company, 2559 N Downer Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 6:30pm.

Feb. 28, Chicago, IL, 6pm: 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St.

March 3-5, Ben Lomand, CA: “Dancing with History: A weekend with George Lakey.” Ben Lomond Quaker Center (1.5 hrs South of San Francisco), 1000 Hubbard Gulch Rd. For info email: mail@quakercenter.org.

March 7, Ashland, Oregon, 2pm: Peace House, 543 S. Mountain Avenue, across from SOU. For info call: (541)482-9625.

March 7, Ashland, Oregon, 7pm: Ashland Peace Church (United Church of Christ), 717 Siskiyou Blvd.

March 9, Eugene, OR, 5pm: Tsunami Bookstore, 2585 Willamette St.

March 10, Salem, OR, 1pm: Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty St SE.  Info: 503- 428-4280.

March 10, Portland, OR, 7pm: Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St.  (800) 878-7323.

March 11, Portland, OR,  4:30pm: Reedwood Friends Church, 2901 Steele St. Followed by bring-your-own-sack-supper social and Q&A.  

March 12, Portland, OR, 10:45am: Worship with and hear George at Camas Friends Church, 1004 NE 4th Ave, Camas, WA.

March 18, Western Mass. near Northampton, 10am: George preaches at Haydenville Congregational Church, 143 Main St, Haydenville, MA. 

March 23, South Hadley, MA, 7pm: Odyssey Book Store (across the street from Mt. Holyoke College).

March 30-31, Western Pennsylvania: George keynotes two-day conference for activists at Slippery Rock University.  

Apr. 2, New York City: Fifteenth Street Friends Meeting, 15 Rutherford Place (East 15th St between Second and Third Avenues), 7:30 p.m.

Apr. 9, Madison, WI: Madison Friends Meeting, 1704 Roberts Ct, Madison, 9:45 a.m.

Apr. 10, Madison, WI: Room of One’s Own bookstore (Atwood Ave), book signing, 1-3 p.m.

Apr. 13, Syracuse University: Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Bird Library Rm 114. “Nonviolent Action from Civil Rights to Climate Justice,” 6 p.m.

Apr. 14, Syracuse, NY: Community Folk Art Center, “How to craft nonviolent climate campaigns to be inclusive, powerful, and successful,” co-facilitated with Sarah Nahar, Syracuse Peace Council and Syracuse Cultural Workers, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Apr. 27, Middlebury College, Vermont: advance showing of George Lakey documentary “Rebel with a Mission” + discussion on strategies for now. Dana Auditorium (Sunderland Language Center). Open to the public, 5 p.m.

Apr. 30, Middlebury, VT: after-worship discussion with George Lakey, Middlebury Friends Meeting, 56 N. Pleasant St, 11 a.m.

Apr. 30, Charlotte, VT: “A Conversation with George Lakey,” Charlotte Library, 115 Ferry Road, co-sponsored by Sustainable Charlotte, Charlotte Senior Center, and the Charlotte Library, 3 p.m.

Sept. 19: Altoona, PA, Penn State University, SLEP Student Center, “The Art of Protesting to Get Real Change,” 12 p.m.

Sept. 19: Altoona, PA, Penn State University, SLEP Student Center, “Dancing With History,” evening.

Sept. 24: St. Paul, MN, Twin Cities Friends Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave., “How nonviolent campaigns succeed in polarized times,” 10:15-11 a.m.

Sept. 24: St. Paul, MN, Twin Cities Friends Meeting, 1725 Grand Ave., “Prophetic Quakerism tackles the climate crisis,” 2-4 p.m.

Sept. 26: Minneapolis, MN, Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave., 7 p.m.

Sept. 27: Minneapolis, MN, Minneapolis Friends Meeting, 4401 York Ave. S, “Organizing for Environmental and Climate Justice,” 7 p.m.

Sept. 28: St. Paul, MN, East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., “Intersectionality of Racial Justice and Solidarity Work,” includes panel with local organizers, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29: Metro State University, MN, Advocacy and Political Leadership and Service Club, “Here’s to conflict! A surprising view of political polarization,” dinner event, 5:30-7 p.m.

Sept. 30, Minneapolis, MN, Bracket Park, 3800 E. 28th St., keynote at Walk for Peace and Justice sponsored by Friends for a Nonviolent World, 10 a.m.

Oct. 1, Kennett Square, PA, 1109 E. Baltimore Pike, World Quaker Day: “How polarization complicates our work for a better world,” 3 p.m.

Oct. 5, Northampton, MA, Edwards Church, 297 Main St, Dancing with History: Amihan Matias and Andrea Ayvazian question George Lakey sponsored by Broadside Books, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7, Northampton, MA, Friends Center, 43 Center St, “Yikes! How polarization complicates our work for a better world,” a workshop for activists and change-makers, 9 a.m. – noon.

Oct. 7, Haydenville, MA, Haydenville Congregational Church, 143 Main St (Rte 9), “Soup and Salad and Song: A Community Meal and Sing-Along,” 6-8 p.m.

Oct. 8, Haydenville, MA, Haydenville Congregational Church, 143 Main St (Rte 9), “Bringing our Best to an Anxious World,” sermon, 10 a.m.  

Oct. 27, Gwynedd Valley, PA, National Peace History Conference at Gwynned Mercy University, 1325 Sumneytown Pike, Keynote: “How does civil rights history help us — and not — understand what we’re facing now?” 

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You can also check-out the film trailer for the full-length documentary about George Lakey’s life and work now being made by Glennfilms.