Unit 7
Courage & Solidarity –
Overcoming Our Fears
&
Standing with Others
Who Are Treated Unfairly
“Courage faces fear and thereby masters it.
Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it.”
Dr. King, THE STRENGTH TO LOVE, p. 111.
“…I can only prefer violence to cowardice.”
“My nonviolence does not admit of running away
from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected.
Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice.
I can no more preach nonviolence to a coward
than I can tempt a blind man to enjoy healthy scenes.
Nonviolence is the summit of bravery…
As a coward, which I was for years, I harbored violence.
I began to prize nonviolence only when I began to shed cowardice.”
Young India, May 28, 1924: quoted in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS, p. 93.
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Rationale for the Components of This Unit
ACTIVITY #1: Facing and Overcoming Our Fears - p. 167
This activity portrays Gandhi as a person who knew lots of fears, so that students can relate
to him more easily. Students are asked to compare their own fears with Gandhi‟s before
looking at a variety of strategies for helping them overcome their fears. These strategies
are long-term, but because they can be put into practice right away, students are invited in
this activity to choose one and begin to implement it.
ACTIVITY #2: Standing with Others Who Are Treated Unfairly – p. 172
This activity introduces students to Gandhi‟s courage and invites them to evaluate his actions
and apply his principles to similar situations in your own lives.
ACTIVITY #3: Roleplay the Pietermaritzburg Train Encounter – p. 174
ACTIVITY #4: Roleplay Gandhi’s Return to South Africa – p. 176
These two roleplays make Gandhi‟s principles even more graphic and effective and invite
students into the situations, giving them a chance to apply Gandhi‟s principles themselves.
ACTIVITY #5: Act Courageously Roleplays Closer to Home – p. 178
After experiencing conflict situations from Gandhi‟s own life, students are asked here to look
at some situations closer to home and explore what it could mean to be courageous when they
see someone being treated unfairly or violently abused.
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ACTIVITY #1: Facing and Overcoming Our Fears
STEP 1 – Gandhi’s Fears as a Child, Student and Young Adult
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Consider the three sections one at a time (pp. 168-169).
Have students read the quotations and answer the questions..
Have them share their answers, perhaps in pairs before discussing them as a whole class.
STEP 2 - Strategies for Overcoming These Fears
Note: These suggestions for teachers (and parents/guardians) to help youth develop greater
compassion and courage are based on studies by Doug Huneke, a youth educator who
interviewed 300 rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust to see if they had anything in common
that might be able to be taught at home and in school, to encourage compassion and courage in
others. He found ten characteristics that the rescuers had in common and wrote up his
findings in a book entitled THE MOSES OF ROVNO, published by Dodd-Meade in 1985. The
book is the story of one rescuer, with the final chapter on the ten characteristics, some of
which can be easily promoted at school as well as at home.
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Consider each of the strategies one at a time (pp. 170-171).
Have students read the description and invite clarification questions to make sure they
understand what it means.
Have them write their answers to the questions, perhaps sharing them in pairs before
discussing them as a whole class.
Invite students to make a decision about one strategy they will put into practice and write
out a plan for doing so.
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Gandhi’s Fears as a Child, Student and Young Adult
It is surprising to learn how fearful Gandhi was a child, especially at school, and as a young
lawyer back in India after graduating from law school in England.
Fears at Home
Gandhi: “I was a coward. I used to be haunted by the fear of thieves, ghosts and
serpents. I did not dare to stir out of doors at night. Darkness was a terror to me. It
was almost impossible for me to sleep in the dark, as I would imagine ghosts coming from
one direction, thieves from another and serpents from a third. I could not therefore bear
to sleep without a light in the room.” AUTOBIOGRAPHY, #33 (quoted in ALL MEN ARE
BROTHERS, p. 7)
Questions:
Did you have any of these same fears as a child?
What other fears do you remember from your childhood?
What fears do you experience at home now?
What do you think are the sources of these fears?
Fears at School
Gandhi: “I used to be very shy and avoided all company. My books and my lessons were my
sole companions. To be at school at the stroke of the hour and to run back home as soon
as the school closed – that was my daily habit. I literally ran back, because I could not
bear to talk to anybody. I was even afraid lest anyone should poke fun at me.”
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, #15 (quoted in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS, p. 5).
Questions:
Did you have any of these same fears in elementary or middle school?
What other fears do you remember from these years at school?
Have you had any of these or other fears in high school?
What do you think are the sources of these fears?
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Fears at Work or in the Community
Gandhi’s failure in his first court case.
At age 23, Gandhi went to Bombay alone to learn more about Indian law and find work to
support the extended family that had paid for his education in England. When he finally
got his chance, here‟s how his grandson Arun describes his first court case –
“Mohandas proudly donned his barrister‟s wig and gown for the first time, and appeared
for the defendant in a simple case in the Small Claims Court. But when he rose to crossexamine the plaintiff‟s witnesses, his old fear of public speaking overcame him. He could
not think of a single question, could not utter a single word. A ripple of laughter ran
through the courtroom. Humiliated, Mohandas sank into his chair. He advised his poor
client to hire another lawyer, refunded the fee of 30 rupees paid in advance, and fled
from court, resolving then and there to take no more cases until he had courage enough to
conduct them.” Arun & Sunanda Gandhi, THE FORGOTTEN WOMEN, p. 55.
Questions:
What fears have you experienced at work or in any community groups or service projects
you have been involved in?
What do you think are the sources of these fears?
Do you have any fear of speaking in public? If so, why? If not, why not?
Gandhi’s transformation in South Africa
“There is no neat explanation for the transformation of Gandhi from shy and less-thancompetent barrister to fiery leader of men within a week of his arriving in S. Africa.
Perhaps it was simply that he felt less self-conscious about his shortcomings among
Indians in the far outpost of the British empire than he did in an India burdened with
centuries of tradition and surrounded by high-powered lawyers and others whose brilliance
left him tongue-tied. In South Africa, among Indians at least, he was the highly educated
one, the barrister, the man with an English education in law.” GANDHI: A PICTORAL
BIOGRAPHY, pp. 33-5.
Does this explanation make sense to you? Why or why not?
What else do you think might account for Gandhi‟s transformation?
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Strategies for Overcoming These Fears
Doug Huneke, a youth educator, interviewed 300 rescuers of Jews during the
Holocaust in Europe during World War II, to see if they had anything in common in
their up-bringing, that he might use to encourage compassion and courage in his
students. These are some of the characteristics he found, which you can experiment
with at home, at school, and in your community.
1. Adventuresome
All 300 rescuers were encourage to try things as kids.
Expand your “comfort zone.” Make a list of the kinds of things have you been afraid to
try or situations where you are uncomfortable – e.g. learning a new skill, meeting new
people, riding public transportation, social gatherings where you don‟t know others or
where you are the only person of your racial/ethnic group, etc
Then choose one of these and begin to experiment with it, perhaps recording your
efforts in a journal.
2. Able to present themselves publicly
They had opportunities for public performance growing up.
Make a list of opportunities you have for presenting yourself in public – e.g., being more
willing to speak out in class; participating in drama, public speaking, music/dance
recitals, cheerleading, choir or other public role in worship in your faith community;
demonstrating or leafleting about a social issue, etc.
Then choose one of these and begin to experiment with it, perhaps recording your
efforts in a journal.
3. Challenged by a morally strong parent
They had a model of compassion and courage in their family, someone who challenged
them to think through difficult moral situations and figure out the most moral ways of
handling these situations.
Make a list of the adults in your life (teacher, youth leader, or family member) who
have been a model of courage for you. If you can‟t think of any who are, identify a
person you could ask to be a “mentor of courage” for you.
Then talk with this person about helping you grow in compassion and courage, perhaps
recording your efforts in a journal.
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4. Came from a home where hospitality was a high value
Make a list of ways you could open your home and your heart to other people – e.g.,
offer to help your parents or a neighbor to organize a get-to-know-one-another-better
gathering for neighbors or invite a foreign student or lonely person to a family dinner,
get to know the new students in your class, visit a homeless shelter.
Then choose one of these and begin to experiment with it, perhaps recording your
efforts in a journal.
5. Developed empathy because of being exposed to suffering at early age
Some of this happened because of the openness of their home to others.
Make a list of ways you could encounter people who are suffering – e.g., listening to
students who have suffered at school or with health issues, inviting people to share
their stories in a nursing home or shelter, reading books and watching videos about
such people, interviewing people connected with agencies working with such people, etc.
Then choose one of these and begin to experiment with it, perhaps recording your
efforts in a journal.
6. Developed empathy because of their own experience of being mistreated
Many of them were immigrants or had been mistreated for other reasons.
Make a list of ways you have been mistreated. What have you or could you draw from
these experiences that would make you more understanding of the struggles of others?
Who are the hurting people in your school or community that you understand the best
and might be willing to work with?
Then choose one person or group to talk with about all this and how you might be
helpful for one another, perhaps recording your efforts in a journal.
7. Had support from others
Many of the rescuers found others who shared their concern, so they felt confident that
if they were captured, others would take their place.
Make a list of several others, especially among your peers, who might share some of
your concerns and perhaps be willing to work with you on items #4, #5, and/or #6.
Then choose one person to talk with about all this and how you might be helpful for one
another and about others who might also be interested; perhaps recording your efforts
in a journal.
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ACTIVITY #2: Standing with Others Who Are Treated Unfairly
STEP 1 - Gandhi on Standing Up for Yourself and Others
Note: if you are going to use the roleplays of Gandhi‟s being thrown off the train in South
Africa or his being beaten on his return to Durban, you might postpone the discussion of
the first and/or third passages until then.
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Have students read the passages by and about Gandhi (p. 173), invite clarification
questions.
Have students write their answers to the questions, perhaps sharing them in pairs
before discussing them as a whole class.
The scene from the GANDHI Video where Gandhi talks about “turning the other
cheek” as he refused to be intimated by the threats of South African toughs in
especially appropriate (Part I, 13:00 – 15:00)
STEP 2 – Gandhi Roleplays
Choose one or both of the Gandhi roleplay activities (pp. 174-177) to demonstrate what
Gandhi‟s words meant in action.
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Gandhi on Standing Up for Yourself and Others
After being thrown off the train in South Africa
“I began to think of my duty. Should I fight for my rights or go back to India, or should I
go on to Pretoria without minding the insults, and return to India after finishing the case?
It would be cowardice to run back to India without fulfilling my obligation. The hardship
to which I was subjected was superficial – only a symptom of the deep disease of colour
prejudice. I should try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the
process… So I decided to take the next available train to Pretoria.” AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
pp. 140-1 (also quoted in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS, p. 15).
Why do you think Gandhi kept going to Pretoria rather than go back?
Are there times in your life when you had to make a similar decision – whether to face up
to some injustice being done to you or to others you know? What did you decide and why?
Are there situations right now in your life where you need to confront an injustice?
“Turn the other cheek” without fear
From the Hindu Gita and Christian Bible, Gandhi was convinced “that man must fight evil
always and that the way to fight was to turn the other cheek – to fight back only with love
and truth and a fierce unwillingness to submit to injustice and cruelty.” GANDHI: A
PICTORIAL BIOGRAPHY, p. 33.
When Gandhi is beaten up on his return to South Africa
“Then they pelted me with stones, brickbats and rotten eggs. Someone snatched away my
turban, while others began to batter and kick me. I fainted and caught hold of the front
railings of a house and stood there to get my breath. But it was impossible. They came
upon me boxing and battering. The wife of the Police Superintendent, who knew me,
happened to be passing by. The brave lady came up, opened her parasol, though there was
no sun then, and stood between the crowd and me. This checked the fury of the mob…”
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, pp. 236-7 (also quoted in ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS, p. 19)
What does Gandhi mean by “turn the other cheek”? What do you think it means? Give
examples.
Do you think it ever works? When and why?
Gandhi knew he would be beaten up when he got off the boat in Durban, but he did so
anyway. What would you have done? In situations where you don‟t think it would work but
you should try it anyway? Why or why not?
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ACTIVITY #3: Roleplay the Pietermaritzburg Train Encounter
STEP 1 – Present the Situation
Use the 3-minute segment from the GANDHI Video (Part I, 2:00 in)
or read the following description from Gandhi‟s grandson Arun:
“Shortly after arriving in S. Africa in 1893, the firm that hired Grandfather sent him to
Pretoria. He boarded the train in Durban with his first-class ticket and settled in his
compartment. “When the train made its first stop at Pietermaritzburg, only 50 miles from
Durban, a white South African entered the compartment. At the sight of Mohandas he
recoiled. „You!‟ he barked. „What are you doing in here?‟ Perplexed, Mohandas stuttered a
reply, „Traveling to Pretoria.‟ „Don‟t you know you are not allowed in here? You must go to
the van compartment reserved for blacks.‟ „But I have a first-class ticket,‟ Mohandas said,
pulling it out of his pocket to prove the point. This seemed to enrage the white passenger.
He stormed out of the coach, but returned shortly with a railwaty official who also
ordered Mohandas to move to the third-class van comportment. Mohandas argued that he
had been permitted aboard the first-class compartment in Durban, and he had every right
to be there. „I refuse to get out voluntarily.‟ Infuriated at such impertinence from a
presumptuous „coolie,‟ the two men summoned a constable, and together they pushed
Mohandas out onto the train platform. They threw his luggage out after him, and the train
steamed away into the night. It was 9 PM; no other trains were due until morning. There
was nothing for Mohandas to do but follow along as his luggage was carted into
Pietermaritzburg‟s dark, unheated railway station.” Arun & Sunanda Gandhi, THE
FORGOTTEN WOMEN, pp. 60-61.
STEP 2 – Gandhi’s Role
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What options did Gandhi have when he was confronted on the train?
What options did Gandhi have as he sat there watching the train go off without him?
What were his feelings at each moment?
What were his thoughts (his “self-talk”) at each moment as the situation progressed?
If you were Gandhi, what would you have done and why?
What would have been your fears and how would you have dealt with them?
STEP 3 – Passenger’s Role
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If you were a white passenger in the next compartment who came out to see what was
going on, what options would you have had?
What fears would you be experiencing if you considered coming to Gandhi‟s aid?.
How could you deal with these fears?
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STEP 4 – Train Conductor’s Role
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What options did the train conductor have once told about Gandhi‟s presence in a firstclass compartment?
If you were that conductor, what fears would you be experiencing if you considered
not challenging Gandhi?
How could you deal with these fears?
STEP 5 – Several Roleplays
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Invite one group of students to take each part and play the role as each person decides
to play it.
After they role-play the situation, ask them to reflect on the roles and actions that
chose and the feelings and thoughts that they experienced in doing so.
Ask the class for their observations and feelings
Repeat the process with one or two more groups of students
STEP 6 – Reflection and Application
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Have each participant in the roleplay use the “SOS Process” (p. 97) for writing out
their reflections on the role they played in the situation.
The effect of this very humiliating event on Gandhi was to create the determination to
challenge the oppression of Indians in S. Africa. Ask students to write a short essay
on their own victimization (a time when they were picked, etc) and how it could be a
source of empathy, solidarity, and courage in dealing with future times when they or
others are being victimized.
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ACTIVITY #4: Roleplay Gandhi’s Return to South Africa
STEP 1 – Present the Situation
Background: Upon his return to S. Africa with his family, the port authorities in Durban
wouldn‟t let them disembark for 23 days. A pamphlet Gandhi had written during a visit
back to India about the Indian struggle in South Africa was misreported in the S. African
press, angering S. African whites. After they and the other Indians refused to return to
India, the authorities gave it. But because of all the angry South Africans who were
waiting for Gandhi to disembark, Gandhi sent his family off with the others and later
disembarked with the ship‟s agent.
Read the following description from Gandhi’s grandson Arun:
“The two men had walked no more than a few hundred from the Courland when several
rowdy young white men who had been loitering around the dock area all day, ever since
police had earlier dispersed the crowd of protesters, saw and recognized Mohandas…
Before either man realized what was happening, they were being jostled and taunted by a
half-dozen jeering young toughs. Several older men rushed over to join in the
harassment…. At that moment, Laughton spied a passing rickshaw. He ran out and stopped
the poor, miserable-looking African who was pulling it, and shouted for Mohandas to get in
the rickshaw and flee. But the mob had Mohandas firmly in hand. Someone snatched off
his turban, other were pelting him with rotten eggs. It was the terrified rickshaw puller
who fled the scene… The mob unleashed all its pent-up fury. They shoved Laughton aside.
They punched Mohandas with their fists; they slapped, kicked, and booted him. And they
showered him with brickbats. Had it not been for the memorably brave act of one lone
white woman, they probably would have murdered him on the spot.
Providentially, a certain Mrs. R. C. Alexander, who happened to be the wife of
Durban‟s police superintendent, was walking nearby. When she heard a commotion on the
dock road and saw that someone was being beaten unmercifully, she pushed her way
through the crowd. To her dismay, Mrs. Alexander recognized the victim… Without a
moment‟s hesitation, she stepped into the melee, opened her parasol and held it above
Mohandas‟ head to shield him from blows and missiles. The crowd fell back momentarily
confounded, hesitant to harm a lady…. Another chance passerby, a young Indian, saw the
plight Mohandas was in and ran to the nearby police station and reported the matter to
Superintendent Alexander, who promptly dispatched a group of constables to rescue
Mohandas… By the time the constables arrived, however, most of the young toughs had
scattered. Someone among them had recognized that Gandhi‟s „guardian angel‟ was none
other than the wife of the Superintendent of Police…” THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN, pp.
78-80; see also his account in THE LEGACY OF LOVE, pp. 19-21.
The aftermath: Gandhi‟s refusal to prosecute those who beat him had a deeply touched
many SouthAfricans. For this account, read THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN, pp. 81-82,
excerpts of which are included in the unit on “Forgiveness,” p. 120.
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STEP 2 – Thinking Through Gandhi’s Role
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What options did Gandhi have when he heard about the angry crowd waiting for him?
What options did Gandhi have once he disembarked from the ship?
What were his feelings at each moment?
What were his thoughts (his “self-talk”) at each moment as the situation progressed?
If you were Gandhi, what would you have done and why?
What would have been your fears and how would you have dealt with them?
STEP 3 – Thinking Through Mrs. Alexander’s Role
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What options did she have when she heard all the commotion?
What fears do you think she experienced while coming to Gandhi‟s aid?.
How do you think she dealt with these fears?
STEP 4 – Thinking Through Other Roles
What options did the following characters have in this situation and what feelings and
thoughts do you think they were experiencing?
- The young Indian passerby
- The police superintendent
- Kasturba, Gandhi‟s wife
- Someone in the crowd who began to have misgivings about beating Gandhi
STEP 5 – Several Roleplays
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Invite one group of students to take each part and play the role as each person decides
to play it.
After they role-play the situation, ask them to reflect on the roles and actions that
chose and the feelings and thoughts that they experienced in doing so.
Ask the class for their observations and feelings
Repeat the process with one or two more groups of students
STEP 6 – Reflection and Application
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Discuss with the class the power of women can have in situations like this and why.
OPTIONAL: Have each participant in the role-play use the “SOS Process” (p. 97) for
writing out their reflections on the role they played in the situation.
Have students identify for the class situations like this from their own experience.
Have each student write a short essay on one such situation and how they did and/or
could have handled it with courageous nonviolence.
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ACTIVITY #5: Act Courageously Roleplays Closer to Home
STEP 1 – Introduction
After experiencing conflict situations from Gandhi‟s own life, let‟s look at some situations
closer to home and explore what it could mean to be courageous when we see someone
being treated unfairly or violently abused.
STEP 2 – Identify Situations Calling for Courage
Post the list of “Some Situations Calling for Courage” Worksheet (p. 179) on newsprint or
the blackboard and ask students to identify several other conflict situations they have
experienced in the four categories on the bottom half of the Worksheet that might be
even more appropriate for this class and post these as well.
STEP 3 – Choose and Roleplay One Situation
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With the class, choose one situation to roleplay first.
Invite one group of students to roleplay the situation.
Have the participants reflect on their feelings, thoughts and actions in the situation.
Have the class share some of their observations.
Then invite a second group of students to roleplay the same situation and demonstrate
a different way of handling it; perhaps a third group if the situation invites additional
ways of handling it.
Have the class evaluate the various alternatives in the situation and decide on the best
way(s) and why.
STEP 4 – Do Additional Replays
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Depending on the time available, decide with the class on one or more of the situations
to roleplay, using the same process as in STEP 3.
Consider roleplaying a school bus situation and draw some comparisons with Rosa Parks‟
courageous response to her own bus situation. Note: A dramatization of the Rosa
Parks action is available from the Institute for Peace and Justice.
STEP 5 – Further Reflection
Be sure to add your own experience with these questions:
- Why is it hard to be courageous in these situations, especially if others are watching?
- What can we do to foster greater courage in ourselves and others who might be
witnessing situations like these?
- Have students complete the Worksheet on “Thinking Through Courage: Decisions and
Action” (p. 180) as a way of pulling this unit together and reflecting further on courage
in their own lives and to make some initial decisions.
- If you are using the “Your Own Experiments with Love/Kindness” (p. 25), have students
record their answers to the last two questions there.
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Some Situations or Issues Calling for Courage
“What can you or should you do when…
You see a student being disrespectful to a staff member
You see someone in authority being rude or demeaning to a student
You know someone was cheating on a test
You see older students are bullying younger students
You know someone is doing something illegal
You know someone is hurting him/herself (e.g., drugs, alcohol)
You know someone is being pressured sexually
In other situations of your life
What situations occur on a school bus that call for courage?
What other situations occur at school that call for courage?
What other situations occur at home that call for courage?
What other situations occur in your neighborhood that call for courage?
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Thinking Through Courage; Decisions and Action
1. What have you learned about courage from your study of Gandhi so far?
2. Who are some of the most courageous people you have known in your life -- perhaps
even in your own family or circle of friends? What have they shown you about the meaning
of courage?
3. In what situations of violence or injustice in the past have you shown courage (e.g.,
standing up for someone who was being picked on; challenging someone who was using racist
or hateful language or telling racist or sexist jokes; speaking out for doing the right
thing)?
4. In what situations of violence or injustice in the past could you have shown courage but
you didn‟t?
5. Why is it hard sometimes to challenge violence or injustice?
6. Name some situations right now in your life where you could challenge a person or
practice that is hurting themselves or others?
7. Choose one of these situations and write out a plan here for doing something about it.
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