The following values underlie our efforts to realize a sustainable, global Beloved Community:

• The inherent dignity, worth and spirit of every person;
• Our shared humanity and relationship to all others (ubuntu)* which gives meaning to each individual life.
• The conscientious recognition of and respect for the interdependent web of all life.
• The development of self-awareness and relationship through reflection, listening, dialogue, critical inquiry, and engaged participation with others;
• Nonviolence, peacemaking, reconciliation and love (agape) as means to change, and as ends.
• The right and responsibility of all people for engaged participation in the decisions that impact their lives.
• Diverse ways of knowing and teaching—conceptual, practical, experiential, and cultural—that honor past struggles, nurture the human spirit, and engage widespread participation.

* Ubuntu (Nguni language group) captures the notion that “my humanity is inextricably bound up in yours, and that what dehumanizes you inexorably dehumanizes me.” It encompasses generosity, hospitality, caring, compassion and a sense of belonging to a greater whole.

Beloved Community

Belonging to and building a multiracial, multicultural beloved community was a central tenet of the Civil Rights Movement, and it is central to the DCI’s work as well. Beloved community can be described as a body of people which is grounded in principles of caring and support for all. All members adhere to similar values that promote peace, justice and nonviolence in both spirit and deed.

In a beloved community, people live and work with recognition of the connectedness of all—especially sentient beings. Everyone feels a sense of belonging and connection to each other. As others are welcomed, there is acceptance and appreciation for variety in cultural expression and spiritual practices. There is an overarching desire to affirm and support each member’s right and expectation to be supported in his or her journey toward a peaceful and fulfilled life. Everyone, from children to elders, feels support in pursuing goals toward his or her life work. The love ethic prevails and is manifest in all aspects of community life.