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To listen and learn, to speak with courage, and to acknowledge that our nation’s history is still evident in today’s headlines — that’s what the spirit of John Brown means to me.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines violence as the use of force so as to injure, abuse, damage or destroy. We tend to think of the use of physical force, but there is a multitude of ways of inflicting violence.

Every year, the group John Brown Lives honors activists who work in the spirit of the great abolitionist.

Actor and activist Danny Glover, Albany civil rights leader Alice Green and youth advocate Brother Yusuf Abdul-Wasi Burgess were honored with the first Spirit of John Brown Freedom Awards at a ceremony Saturday, May 7.