Although the terrorist attacks of September 11 caused a widespread sense of violation, young people in the danger zones of American cities were already accustomed to the threat of sudden and unpredictable violence. In places like South Providence and the West End, the growing count of lives prematurely ended by feuds and gunfire has been a steady source of grief and despair in recent years. But a new effort, known as the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, hopes to fundamentally change the situation for the better.

The institute's executive director, Teny O. Gross, the son of a Christian Serb and a Croatian Jew, is no stranger to negotiating conflict. As a sergeant in the Israeli army, he realized the limited effectiveness of military responses after coming face to face with a young woman in a refugee camp whose eyes burned with resentment. "My vision of nonviolence is a very active force" -- something that seizes the initiative, he says, rather than allowing violence to continue because of power vacuums and sins of omission.

Gross honed this approach as a youth worker in Boston. At the height of the crack epidemic in the early '90s, Boston experienced an annual toll of more than 150 homicides, most of them concentrated in the city's poorest neighborhoods. But after a coalition of activist ministers helped to dissuade teens and young men on the periphery of gang activity from resorting to violence -- an effort that has attraction national attention -- the number of murders dropped precipitously.

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, based at 239 Oxford St., Providence, grew out of the frustration of Sister Ann Keefe and other local officials about the cycle of violence that has claimed numerous victims in recent years. Backed by considerable support from the Rhode Island Foundation, political leaders, and other backers, the institute will focus on promoting Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of resolving conflict nonviolently. Training in King's methodology will be offered to people statewide in a variety of disciplines, from politicians to police officers and real estate agents.

"None of us here are saints," Gross said after being introduced during a December 3 news conference at the foundation. "But all of us here constantly resolve conflicts. It all starts with our minds."

Issue Date: December 7 - 13, 2001