September 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Creative Organizing in Hartford, CT

Marcia Morris is the AFSC staff in Hartford, CT. Kenneth Sutton interviewed her from the Peacework office.

Kenneth Sutton: The Peacework editors were telling me that you organized a successful assembly of clerics on the doorstep of government.

Marcia Morris: Yes, a group of ministers and John Humphries (a Hartford Quaker, clerk of the AFSC program committee here) and I got together to organize clergy in response to the war on terrorism. We used phone calls, networking, and word-of-mouth to gather the individuals. I had done base work last summer, getting clergy out for an event, making contact, and finding out who might be interested in peace and justice issues and what they were doing in their congregations.

We organized a conference in April, which featured Walter Wink, whose book Engaging the Powers expressed concerns the clergy shared. Wink identified the "myth of redemptive violence" as the "operational theology" of the United States, to which a true theological response is needed. The clergy organized as "Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice" in order to reinsert theological perspectives into public debate.

Out of this organizing grew an ecumenical and interfaith event of about 200 clergy in clerical garb assembled in front of the federal building in Hartford. They gathered signatures on a petition, held a service with music and speakers, and marched down Main Street to Senator Joseph Lieberman's office. Eventually, five members of the group were allowed up to deliver the petition in person.

KS That seems to be both creative and a good example of the value of networking and laying groundwork! Any other creative responses in your region?

MM In January we cosponsored a civil liberties forum attended by over 350 people. We went for a broad range of viewpoints on the panel, including the Attorney General's office, a member of Congress and former CIA agent, a Muslim-American activist and member of the AFSC program committee, and an ACLU representative. The forum was successful because we had a full range of viewpoints on the panel. It promoted dialogue. I did take some heat for having a former CIA agent on a panel sponsored by AFSC. We called the forum "Liberty and Security on the Homefront--Staying Safe and Staying Free" to indicate the range of viewpoints.

I was scared that it would get out of hand, but the response was overwhelmingly positive. One person came up to me and said, "I'm a Republican, and I was afraid to come to a forum sponsored by the AFSC, but this was a good thing!" There was a lot of yelling and a high level of emotion. You need a strong facilitator! But it was well worth doing.

KS Any other actions that stand out?

MM There was a huge mobilization drive in Connecticut to get people to Washington DC for the demonstration on April 20. I encourage the use of public service announcements (PSAs) and political theater groups to reach new people and to mobilize them. We used humorous PSAs done by the HartBeat Ensemble, with staff and production crew from local university organizations. Our outreach was so successful that we filled four buses with 250 people who weren't on the AFSC or coalition mailing lists. In effect, 250 new people returned from DC and have remained involved because of creative use of the media.

Celebrating July 4th in Montpelier, VT

Joseph Gainza is the AFSC representative in Vermont. 802/229-2340; afscvt@together.net

On July 4th in Montpelier, VT our peace contingent in the annual parade was made up of members of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the American Friends Service Committee, Green Mountain Veterans for Peace, and Citizens Concerned About Violence, a local central Vermont group that came together on September 12, 2001.

We expected to be coldly received, especially in light of the supposed "surge" in nationalism since September 11. Our message was "War is Not the Answer, Another World is Possible." We were led by a banner which looked like an American flag, but which has an explosion in the corner diagonally opposite the blue field. In the white strips is the question: "Can Democracy Survive Militarism?" Other signs repeated the theme while still others said "Peace is everyone fed," "Peace is healthcare for all," etc. There were about 40 of us. Bread & Puppet Theater also joined us with a peace message. As we proceeded, we began to hear applause and cheers from many people--not all, but many more than we would have guessed.

Montpelier, while the capital of Vermont, is a small city, with a population of about 8000. People from many of the surrouinding towns come to watch the parade and participate in day-long events. I would guess the crowd was between 7 and 10 thousand. The overall tone was celebratory, cheerful, very positive. There were a lot fewer flags and military contingents than I expected, and our peace message was applauded. Although one of the other paraders said she heard a "Boo," I myself did not hear one negative remark.

We are on to something. I believe that people are concerned that the US is taking a wrong turn since September 11. We who go out into the streets with a peace message are helping them clarify their concerns and helping them to overcome their timidity about speaking out. We have a long way to go, but we have come a long way since September 11 and October 7.

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