Happy International Day of Peace! This holiday is celebrated September 21 every year as an effort to promote nonviolence, ceasefire, and human rights.

The United Nations declared the Theme for 2025’s International Day of Peace is Act Now For a Peaceful World. Brown Hope is taking action on this important day by making our Code of Peace publically available, a document we first created for the We Are The Bridge week of action back in May in memory of George Floyd.

The Brown Hope Code of Peace

Brown Hope’s code of peace is built upon the understanding of universal love. We are all connected to each other, and recognize that all beings are deserving of respect, acceptance, and appreciation. We promote peace by:

• Actively celebrating the collective diversity of our backgrounds and identities.
• Fostering a culture of open-mindedness, compassion, and inclusion for all beings.
• Creating opportunities to learn and develop awareness around intersectionality, privilege, and power.
• Committing to the spirit of restorative justice during situations of conflict.
• Sharing news about major advancements in peace locally and globally.

Nonviolence Philosophy

We embrace principles of nonviolence. We resist any conduct that a reasonable person under the circumstances would consider unwelcome, intimidating, hostile, threatening, violent, abusive, or offensive. Examples of violent conduct include:

• Causing physical injury to another person.
• Threats or hostile behavior that creates a reasonable fear of injury to another person.
• Intentionally damaging public and private property.
• Possession of a firearm.

We strive for a world where all beings are free from disrespect, harassment, abuse, and violence. Our nonviolence interventions are designed to be a proactive solution to prevent and resolve incidents of violence and harm.

Restorative Justice Philosophy

Our restorative justice philosophy provides an intentional response to incidents of conflict and harm that happen within the community. With so much division and distrust between people, we need alternatives to the types of behaviors that exacerbate conflict. Restorative justice is a pathway to breaking this cycle of harm and achieving collective liberation. We promote restorative justice by:

• Emphasizing how individual conflicts directly impact the broader community.
• Creating spaces for every person and perspective to be heard, with neutral third parties to help facilitate healthy communication.
• Acknowledging the whole impacts of harm and conflict, while also understanding the learning, wisdom, and growth that comes with healing and reconciliation.
• Exploring and implementing the reparative actions that need to happen after harm has occurred.
• Advocating for redemption and pathways for those who have caused harm to be forgiven and reintegrated into community.

Ultimately, restorative justice can help repair the social fabric of our communities and create a culture where the humanity of all is embraced.