Randy Parraz and Scott Sherman

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2005

Randy Parraz and Scott Sherman

Transformative Action Institute

http://www.transformativeaction.org

Santa Ana, California, United States

Non-Violence

The Bold Idea:

Training a new generation of social entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries using a combination of positive psychology and nonviolence social change practices.

In a time when many people are dismayed with the state of the world and fearful of the future - from national security to financial concerns, from health care to the environment - TAI offers a positive vision of hope and optimism. Instead of merely protesting what is wrong, TAI is training the next generation of social entrepreneurs to devote their energy to creating solutions. Their vision is to create the leaders of the most innovative social movements and successful social ventures of the future - the Gandhis and Carnegies of the 21st century.

They advocate an innovative model of personal and social transformation, called Transformative Action.

Biography:

Randy served as a leader in the IAF and AFL-CIO for nine years and founded both the Student Institute for Social Change and the Latino Youth Leadership Institute. Scott, a writer and researcher on the most effective methods of social change, has been teaching in universities since 1990 and was recognized as the top professor on the UCLA campus in a survey of the student body in 2001. Both Randy and Scott’s young lives were touched by violence, which compelled them to seek careers dedicated to social change.

Moment of Obligation: When and why did you decide to start your organization?
Scott: At age 17, I was ambushed, attacked, brutally beaten, and left for dead in an act of gang warfare. Ever since that time, I have been looking for nonviolent solutions to society’s problems.
Randy: After the violent death of my father, who had been a law enforcement officer, I too wanted to work for nonviolent social change.
Scott and Randy: When we met in college, we realized that we both were devoted to the same cause. But we saw that current methods of social change were often violent in spirit – adversarial, antagonistic, and fueled by anger. In the ensuing years, we both became community organizers and attorneys, searching for effective examples of social transformation. Unfortunately, we were still dissatisfied with the predominant models of conflict resolution. Many organizations and activists still saw the world through the prism of "us versus them." From our own experience, we found that we could achieve much greater results with an innovative approach – one that transformed adversaries into allies, conflict into cooperation, and hatred into goodwill. But few people had ever been exposed to such an approach. Therefore, in 2004, we finally decided to create our own school of social change – one that could train students, grassroots leaders, nonprofits, and even corporations in the best methods of personal and social transformation.

Who do you look up to and why?
Randy: I look up to people who, when presented with a certain set of circumstances – be it racism, discrimination, or any other form of injustice – can create a constituency for a future that has yet to arrive. Gandhi’s role in India’s quest for independence and King’s role in the Civil Rights Movement are two examples that have and will continue to shape how I think about and pursue the work of social justice. On a more personal level, my father, John Parraz, will always be my hero and has been a constant source of inspiration. In the early 1970’s, after experiencing first hand discrimination in the recruitment, hiring, and retention of Latino law enforcement officers, he founded the Latino Peace Officers Association (LPOA). Today, 26 years after his death, LPOA is now a national organization whose work has been recognized by Congress for the mission it strives to fulfill.
Scott: Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Vaclav Havel – all of these people have shown the power of a force far greater than violence, hatred, and animosity to create social change.

A snapshot in ten years: What is your dream of what's happening? What impact has your organization had?
Transformative action will be a widespread method of social change. There will be a whole new generation of thousands of young people who are working to improve the world, using the methods of personal and social transformation.

What's in your CD player right now?
Randy: Soundtrack from the movie Love Actually and Marvin Gaye, The Master 1961-84, Disc Three, Classic Soul Ballads.
Scott: I love international music. Right now I'm enjoying Oliver Mtukudzi, the great musician from Zimbabwe; also a current favorite is the latest album from Juanes from Colombia.

What are a few book recommendations (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
Randy: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.
Scott: I love to read, to soak in wisdom, inspiration, entertainment, and knowledge. So this list is always changing. Here are a few things that I’ve read recently that have been powerful: Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jamison, Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, No Future Without Forgiveness by Bishop Desmond Tutu, The Voice of Hope by Aung San Suu Kyi, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, and Is There No Other Way? The Search for a Nonviolent Future by Michael Nagler.

What websites do you go to often (work and personal)?
For a humorous take on the world:

• www.theonion.com
• www.borowitzreport.com

We need to have fun when working on social change. As Emma Goldman said, "If I can’t dance, I want no part of your revolution."

Quick piece of advice for people starting social change organizations:
Always operate in the present with a clear vision of the future. It will provide you with the energy and determination necessary to overcome the most troublesome obstacles.