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The Power of Peace Project<\/strong><\/span> Following in the footsteps of world-renowned activists and civic & global leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and other influential leaders, the Power of Peace Project, Inc. is a registered 501c3 organization that is committed to redirecting our at-risk youth, reducing the overall incidence of youth crime in America, rehabilitating young inmates, lowering academic dropout rates, and inspiring young people to discover and develop the untapped power and potential within all of us. It is an ideal, put into action in the form of a peace movement that has begun to take roots and spread. Simply put, POPP interrupts and redirects young people who are on a perilous course and sets them firmly on the pathway to extraordinary dreams.<\/p>\n The Power of Peace movement, inspired by the Project, is spreading to schools across the nation, and the 40 Days of Peace series is bringing dramatic changes to this generation of young people. Together, we are beginning to remove the shame and stigma that comes to the families of the addicted and incarcerated, and show that these young men and women can change and prepare to become productive citizens.<\/p>\n The Power of Peace Project was founded in 2010 by our organization\u2019s president Kit Cummings, as he began to carry the message of peace, hope and change into the most difficult places in America\u2013 prisons.\u00a0\u00a0 As Kit spoke to more and more inmates, momentum began to build in penitentiaries across the country. Behaviors began to change, and many of the men that society had left behind and essentially given up on, had rediscovered their personal power and humanity.\u00a0\u00a0 Some of the toughest prisoners began to strive to become a positive example for their kids and younger brothers. With prison inmates desperately needing a purpose and at-risk young people needing positive role models \u2013 the unlikeliest group of individuals heeded the call to action and stepped up to make a change. Administrators, educators, wardens, and officers were all amazed at what was taking place. Peace began to take hold and spread.<\/p>\n On January 18th, 2011, twelve men at a dangerous maximum security prison signed a \u201cPeace Pledge\u201d and set out to see if they could live in peace with the men in Georgia\u2019s toughest prison. 40 Days of Peace, that happened to begin on the 25th anniversary of MLK Day, would continue for the following forty days in that Georgia prison, and peace began to spread throughout the facility\u2013 to everyone\u2019s amazement \u2013 and even beyond.<\/p>\n Those twelve men chronicled their success, struggles, and failures. Bold men, some of whom are former gang members serving life sentences. They had unknowingly started a national Peace Movement that would continue to spread to many other state prisons and schools across America. The \u201cSeven Step Peace Pledge\u201d that they committed to and the transformation that followed is the subject of Kit Cummings\u2019 second book\u00a0Forty Days to Peace\u00a0and subsequent work\u00a040 Days to Freedom. Then\u00a040 Days of Prayer\u00a0was created to connect the link in wounded communities between schools, prisons, and churches. These men have shown in their commitment to peace, even in the most hostile of environments that Dr. King\u2019s Dream lives on \u2013 and that light shines brightest in the darkness.<\/p>\n As those men began to practice a lifestyle of non-violence, other men began to watch and become curious. Word spread throughout the compounds, and inmates began to talk about 40 Days of Peace. Instead of being labeled as \u201cweak\u201d, these men gained a new kind of respect among the prison population. A peace movement had begun, one that these men in their commitment to non-violence toward each other had created, and the prison administration and staff began to take note.<\/p>\n Since that first peace pledge, the POPP has gone to prisons and schools in the U.S., South Africa, Honduras, Mexico, Ukraine, and is now headed for Guatemala.<\/p>\n The Power of Peace Project has now expanded into a community development project which includes a student development program, anti-bullying campaigns in alternative high schools; a media company; corporate motivational programs; along with empowerment activities and organizational conflict resolution programming in wounded communities. The latest development is an explosive peace movement that has emerged in the Michigan and Ohio Dept. of Corrections where well over two thousand inmates have committed to peace and to become role models \u2013 not only to inmates across the country \u2013 but to a young generation that is losing its way. Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, and Nebraska have followed the Muskegon model and the peace movement is now developing powerful momentum in prisons, juvenile correctional facilities, and schools as well. Whether someone is a tough kid from an inner city school, or a college-prep kid living in the suburbs, it no longer matters \u2013 this is not a rich or poor, black, white or Hispanic issue\u2013 because believing in the power of peace is a common bond that we all share \u2013 and now with POPP, we are collectively putting that belief into action.<\/p>\n POPP Founder Kit Cummings has authored four books, including the award-winning\u00a0Peace Behind the Wire: a Nonviolent Resolution. He hosts of Power of Peace Radio, and his latest release\u00a0Protect the Dream\u00a0takes young people on a forty-day journey of Character and Leadership Development. POPP is turning \u201cRivals into Role models.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Power of Peace ProjectFounded by Kit Cummings Following in the footsteps of world-renowned activists and civic & global leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and other influential leaders, the Power of Peace Project, Inc. is a registered 501c3 organization that is committed to redirecting our at-risk youth, reducing the overall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Kit Cummings In 2010, Kit founded the Power of Peace Project. Using the experience he gained resolving conflict in some of the most dangerous areas in the world, he applies his principles to bring about change in prisons, schools, corporations, and the faith-based community. On MLK Day 2020, Kit was recognized by the NAACP receiving their Martin Luther King, Jr.\u00a0Living the Dream Award<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0for his contribution to civil rights, and his work with at-risk youth and prison reform. He was also appointed to the Georgia House of Representatives\u00a0Committee on Youth Gangs and Violence<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in 2019, as part of Governor Kemp\u2019s initiative to reform prisons and eliminate youth gang violence.<\/p> Kit has journeyed on tours through Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, and has negotiated peace between some of the most notorious gangs inside the U.S. prison system. He delivered an address about his powerful peace projects at the 2012 Gandhi Global Peace Summit in Durban, South Africa to representatives from the Gandhi, King, and Mandela families, as well as other iconic peacemakers from around the world, including the special assistant to the Dalai Lama. Kit took his\u00a0Forty Days to Freedom<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0program into La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico to work with men who are striving to be free, as well as working with addicts and at-risk youth in some of the toughest areas of that war-torn border city. Kit has planted seeds of peace all around the world.<\/p> Kit has authored five books, including the award-winning\u00a0Peace Behind the Wire, a Nonviolent Resolution<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>which has been endorsed by the King Family, and he also launched Power of Peace Radio. Kit\u2019s latest release\u00a0Protect the Dream<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0takes young people on a journey of character and leadership development designed to teach kids to dream big dreams and protect those dreams at all costs. The Power of Peace Project raises up much-needed positive role models in our schools and communities. What\u2019s next? Kit has now launched his POPP\u00a0Community Peace Initiative<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in Selma, Alabama as he carries on Dr. King\u2019s Dream in that iconic and historic civil rights city. So, the question is:
Founded by Kit Cummings<\/strong><\/p>\n
Award-Winning Author, Speaker, and Teacher<\/p>
Are you ready for the Power of Peace?<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26321"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26512,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26321\/revisions\/26512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kitcummings.com\/beta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}