The Chicago Police Department honored North Lawndale College Prep student Derrick Anderson with an honorable mention award for his intervention in an altercation earlier this summer. Police Chief Ernest Cato III witnessed Derrick intervene in a heated argument between two young students. Chief Cato assumed Anderson was a staff member at the event and later came to find that he was a student from North Lawndale College Prep who was trained as a Peace Warrior.
The NLCP Peace Warriors are students who undergo an extensive training process and learn the Six Principles of Kingian Nonviolence and how to implement them in daily life. Students who successfully complete the program commit to living nonviolently and teach others to do the same.
The news of Derrick’s commitment to the Peace Warrior duties was not a surprise to the teachers and staff at NLCP.
“Derrick is a very resilient, independent person,” said Chris Coachman, Derrick’s 12th grade school counselor. “He doesn’t back down from any challenge and has the heart of a lion. He will definitely be successful in any endeavor he pursues. We are super proud of him!”
Chief Cato remarked, “Derrick Anderson showed leadership and empathy, the ability to deescalate a tense and potentially dangerous situation…[if more students were to learn these techniques] that would reduce violence in the city of Chicago”.
To find out more information about the Peace Warriors and their commitment to nonviolence, please visit https://nlcphs.org/peace-warriors/