How to talk about peace

Summary of How to talk about peace

by NPR

49m•February 6, 2026
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Overview of How to talk about peace (TED Radio Hour — NPR)

This episode examines how people and communities move from entrenched violence to sustained cooperation. It centers on two case studies presented on the TED stage: Akilah Sharrils’s work organizing a historic gang ceasefire in Watts, Los Angeles, and a painful, principled conversation between Palestinian activist Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli activist Maoz Inon. The episode pulls lessons about who should lead peacebuilding, how agreements are negotiated and maintained, and the emotional and institutional work—grief, trust-building, services, and leadership development—required to make peace durable.

Akilah Sharrils — the Watts Ceasefire and community-led safety

Context and catalyst

  • 1980s–90s Watts: crack epidemic, rapid militarization of neighborhood violence, widespread trauma and normalized killings; gangs (Grape Street Crips, P.J. Crips, Hacienda Village Bloods, Bounty Hunter Bloods) tied to specific housing projects.
  • Akilah left for college, returned politicized and determined to stop the inter-gang killing.

How the peace process was launched

  • Community organizing and visible demonstrations (weekly marches, chants) to demonstrate unity and moral strength.
  • National voices (e.g., Louis Farrakhan) and celebrity support (Jim Brown offered his home as neutral space) helped legitimize the project.
  • Strategy: start local (four housing projects in Watts as a manageable catalyst), recruit influential leaders ("big homies") and the small percentage who were the actual shooters, and hold negotiations on neutral ground (mosque meetings).

The treaty and immediate effects

  • Unofficial ceasefire began April 28, 1992; formal document signed in 1994 after delays caused by the 1992 L.A. riots.
  • Terms were practical and enforceable locally (stay in your neighborhood, give each other passes when encountered, mediate specific incidents rather than retaliate automatically).
  • Early measurable impact: gang homicides in Watts dropped about 44% in the first two years.

Building infrastructure to sustain peace

  • Ongoing renegotiation and mediation when incidents occurred—commitment to "get back to the table."
  • Programs to address root causes: life-skills training, school partnerships (zero-period programs), sports leagues, employment and civic contracts, ambassadors from each neighborhood (credible messengers/ex-members).
  • Institutional sophistication: creating nonprofits, securing city/state contracts and grants, training staff to deliver services and trauma recovery.

Personal sacrifice and moral leadership

  • Akilah’s son was murdered; he resisted retaliatory violence and used forgiveness and mediation instead of revenge—illustrating a painful personal commitment to breaking cycles.
  • Key principles: those closest to violence must be empowered to intervene; peace must be actively incentivized; redemption and second chances are central to community safety work.

Scaling and results

  • Akilah replicated elements of the model in other cities (e.g., Newark), hiring credible messengers, establishing trauma recovery, safe-passage programs, and mentoring.
  • Newark example: program launched 2014; homicides fell from 103 (2014) to 37 (2024).
  • Initiative “Scaling Safety” aims to make community-based violence intervention a formal part of public safety systems.

Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon — dialogue after catastrophic loss

Setting and stakes

  • A public conversation on stage months after October 7 and the subsequent Gaza bombing (2024 context). Both speakers have endured personal loss; both publicly describe choosing non-revenge despite intense grief.

Core themes from their exchange

  • Personal grief can lead to either revenge or to a deliberate, disciplined commitment to peace; both chose the latter.
  • Mutual recognition and learning each other’s narratives are foundational: listening to hard, even uncomfortable questions (e.g., about historical traumas) enables reciprocal visits, shared memorials, and truth-telling.
  • Practical collaboration: dual-narrative tours, citizen diplomacy, co-led educational efforts (Mejdi Tours; Interact International) that deliberately present both Israeli and Palestinian accounts.
  • Hope as an active process: define a shared vision, build a coalition, act on a detailed roadmap, and continually persuade broader constituencies that these actions are effective.
  • Anger can be constructive if channeled toward coalition-building and problem-solving rather than revenge.

Vision and commitments

  • They emphasize building a shared future based on recognition, safety, equality, and practical cooperative projects.
  • They argue that ordinary people and citizen leaders can scale a movement that mainstream politics has failed to deliver.
  • They aim to make peace tangible by 2030 (as an aspirational target) through coalition-building and concrete roadmaps.

Key takeaways and practical lessons

  • Peace is an ongoing process, not a one-time event: agreements must be codified, but more importantly, repeatedly renewed through dialogue and mediation.
  • Include the people who perpetuate violence in negotiations (credible messengers, shooters) — you must get the actors who can cause harm to agree to stop it.
  • Neutral spaces, external legitimacy (public figures/support), shared rituals (celebrations), and symbolism can accelerate trust-building.
  • Pair conflict interruption with tangible opportunity: life skills, jobs, school programs, trauma services—address root causes and incentives.
  • Build systems, not just moments: train and fund local organizations to make community-based violence intervention a stable part of public safety.
  • Practice brave listening: ask and answer hard questions about history and trauma to create shared narratives.
  • Channel grief and anger into constructive action—“hope is an action” (vision + coalition + execution + persuasion).

Notable quotes

  • “Peace is not a destination. It's a series of peaks and valleys.”
  • “Peace has to be incentivized.”
  • “We are not our worst experiences.”
  • “Hope is an action.”

Actionable recommendations (for communities or practitioners)

  • Convene neutral, respected spaces and invite all relevant actors (including those who commit violence).
  • Codify local agreements and set mechanisms for rapid mediation when incidents occur.
  • Fund an ecosystem: credible messenger teams, trauma recovery, education supports, youth programming, and employment pathways.
  • Invest in civic literacy: teach communities how to access public funds and contracts to sustain services.
  • Foster dual-narrative educational programs and structured encounters to build shared understanding across divides.
  • Measure and publicize impact to build legitimacy and attract scale funding.

Resources mentioned

  • Full TED talks referenced are available at TED.com (Akilah Sharrils; Aziz Abu Sarah & Maoz Inon).
  • Book referenced: The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land (by Aziz Abu Sarah & Maoz Inon — forthcoming / April).
  • Initiative: Scaling Safety (Akilah’s effort to formalize community-based public safety).

If you want, I can produce a one-page checklist for community leaders that summarizes the steps to launch a local ceasefire and community-safety ecosystem.