October 7, 2018 was the 8th annual Nonviolence Parade and Rally for which the Mahoning County Juvenile Court had the pleasure of volunteering. The Nonviolence Parade and Rally begins Nonviolence Week here in Ohio. The parade was organized by Penny Wells, Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past Director, and the Nonviolence Week Committee, which consist of students who participated in the Sojourn to the Past Program. Sojourn to the Past is a ten day journey through the Civil Rights movement, in which students are able to travel to cities that were prominent during the Civil Rights movement and meet many key people who were part of the movement. The Mahoning County Juvenile Court has had the pleasure to accompany the Sojourn to the Past Program to provide a unique hands-on experience for students to look through the lens of the civil rights movement. I, Sonya Perry, Program Specialist at the Mahoning County Juvenile Court, have had the pleasure of experiencing this program with Youngstown students in March 2016. I must say the experience was life changing for me. In 2009, Sojourn students designed a nonviolence week for Youngstown. The mayor and city council passed resolutions in 2009 declaring October 2-8th Nonviolence week in the city. The students petitioned the school board, the city council, and trustees from Youngstown State University to ask them to make the first week in October annually Nonviolence Week. On July 22, 2013 Governor Kasich signed Sojourn’s “Nonviolence Week in Ohio” bill making Nonviolence Week permanent in Ohio. The Mahoning County Juvenile Court is proud to be able to participate in the Nonviolence Parade and Rally to help promote nonviolence here in Mahoning County.