April 2000
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Patrica Watson, Editor Sara Burke, Assistant Editor Pat Farren, Founding Editor
2161 Massachusetts Ave.
Telephone number:
Fax number: pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
Springtime in Washington, and other Actions Keep Space for Peace, 4/14-17; Washington DC; 4/14, noon-3 pm; protest at the Treasury to highlight the waste of billions of taxpayer dollars on Star Wars research & development; 4/15, International Conference on Preventing an Arms Race in Space, with speakers Bruce Gagnon & Karl Grossman (recipients of "Project Censored" awards for their recent articles on space weaponization & Ballistic Missile Defense) at American University; 4/16, International Peace in Space Strategy Meeting with activists from around the world, at American University; 4/17, Keep Space for Peace lobby day on Capitol Hill; sponsored by the Global Network, POB 90083, Gainesville FL 32607; globalnet@mindspring.com Stand Up for Economic Justice! Rally & Nonviolent Direct Action at the International Monetary Fund Headquarters, Washington DC, 4/16-17; the IMF and the World Bank are at the very heart of political & institutional control over the global economy--they preserve corporate power & trample the rights of all of us; for information on the demonstration and on busses from the Boston area, contact BGAN, John W. McCormack Post Office, POB 2362, Boston MA 02107; Kim Foster, 781/321-2627; www.A16.org Jubilee 2000 National Mobilization, 4/9; Join with students, workers, people of faith, & all who care about justice for impoverished countries in Africa, Asia, & Latin America; morning religious services, Jubilee program from 12:30-4:30 pm including Reverend Jim Wallis and musician Dar Williams; lobby day on 4/10 & ask your congressmembers to support definitive debt cancellation; Jubilee 2000/USA, 222 East Capitol St. NE, Washington DC 20003; 202/783-3566; coord@j2000usa.org; www.j2000usa.org Million Mom March, 5/14; Washington DC; We, the mothers, are calling on Congress to enact common-sense gun control legislation by Mothers' Day 2000. Come May 14th, we mothers will go to Washington, DC either to celebrate sensible legislation or to protest bipartisan ineptitude; contact Stop Handgun Violence, One Bridge St. #300, Newton MA 02458; 877/723-3276; www.millionmommarch.com Abolition 2000--Call to Action Momentum is building for the upcoming Non-proliferation Treaty 2000 Review Conference, April 24 - May 19 at the United Nations in New York. Even if you can't come to New York, here are four actions you can take: 1) Help Abolition 2000 grow! Reach out to religious, environmental, and social groups, churches, trade unions, and schools. Put a notice in your newsletter. Enrollment forms can be found on-line on the award-winning Abolition 2000 website <www.abolition 2000.org>. 2) Write to your head of state and foreign minister: Urge them to make the NPT Review Conference a top priority and to personally attend, and ask that they open all sessions of the conference to civil society. What happens at this gathering is critical, and the presence of heads of state and foreign ministers will signal to the world the vital importance of breaking the nuclear deadlock. At past NPT meetings very few sessions have been open to NGOs. This practice is unacceptable. What happens at the NPT Review Conference is the world's business! 3) Put a human face on nuclear suffering. Honor the Hibakusha, Downwinders, and indigenous peoples directly injured by the nuclear age. On April 25, at 9:00 am, we will demonstrate at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza across from the UN to highlight the enormous suffering of people all over the world from the toxic legacy of the nuclear age. We need your help to gather the names of nuclear victims for this demonstration: please send names (photos welcome), the city, country, and date of exposure, and the nature of the injuries or death suffered, to Global Resource Action Center for the Environment, 15 E. 26th St. #915, New York NY 10010; 212/726-9161; leenak@gracelinks.org 4) Gather signatures on the Abolition 2000 Petition! The petition demands that leaders end the nuclear threat, sign the treaty, and reallocate resources. The complete petition is available on the Abolition 2000 website or from the Abolition 2000 office.
For more information, Abolition 2000 Clearinghouse,
c/o Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 1187 Coast Village Rd. #121,
Santa Barbara CA 93108; a2000@silcom.com; 805/965-3443 Action Alert: Iraq Sanctions Rep. John Conyers, with co-sponsors Representatives Tom Campbell, Debbie Stabenow, Paul Ryan, and Zoe Lofgren, have introduced a new bill calling for US sales of food, medicine, and medical supplies to Iraq. Along with removing legal obstacles to sales, thus offering economic benefits to US businesses, farmers, and workers, this new bill provides a chance for more public debate about US sanctions policy. Please call your representatives to thank them if they signed the earlier Campbell/Conyers letter to the President and to support H3825. Let's give this initiative wide publicity. For more information: Bill Thomson at <wthomson@umich.edu> The "Crowley/Sweeney/Lantos" letter, urging the President to keep sanctions against Iraq in place, is currently circulating in Congress for signatures. Please contact your congressional representatives immediately and urge them not to sign. For the full text of the letter and an excellent point-by-point rebuttal by Grant Wakefield, contact Bill Thomson (above).
Peace Vigils, at Newport War College in Providence RI, Tuesdays 7-9 am; at Undersea Warfare Center, Thursdays 3:30-5 pm, Middletown RI; Rhode Island Mobilization for peace & Justice, POB 23157, Providence RI 02903-4102; 401/273-4650 Economic Justice Revival Meeting! 4/8, 4-6 pm; Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston MA (wheelchair accessible); Is the "economic boom" passing you by? Are you outraged by the growing wealth gap? Join us for an inspiring afternoon with concrete solution ideas; with Barbara Lee, Jim Hightower, & Rev. Emory Searcy, Jr.; contact United for a Fair Economy, 37 Temple Place, Boston MA 02111; 617/423-2148
An Evening on the Death Penalty;
4/9, Coffeehouse to Benefit New Hampshire AFSC, 4/8, 7 pm; Keene Community Kitchen, Mechanic Street, Keene, NH; join us for an evening of poetry, story, & song to benefit social justice work in New Hampshire; featuring Doug Clegg; AFSC, POB 1081, Concord NH 03302; for more information, or if you'd like to perform, contact Andy Davis, 603/357-1636; asquared@cheshire.net Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century, 4/12, 7:30 pm; First Parish, 3 Church St., Cambridge MA; with Simson Garfinkel; later forum topics same time & location) include 4/17, "Air Wars" with Jerry Star, founder of Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting; Cambridge Forum, 3 Church St., Cambridge MA 02138 "To Awaken My Afflicted Brethren: An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World", 4/13, 5:30-8 pm; African Meeting House, 8 Smith Court (off Joy St. on Beacon Hill); Peter Hinks, Yale historian, will discuss this remarkable anti-racist document, written in 1829 by David Walker & distributed throughout the south by a network of Black riverboat pilots; contact Horace Seldon, Community Change, 14 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108; 617/523-0555 Death & Taxes: A Festival of Resistance, 4/15, 1 pm; gather in front of the IRS in Andover, MA (on Rte. 133); rally, music, street theater, & nonviolent blockade of Raytheon's driveway; housing available for people from out of town; Bread & Roses Affinity Group, POB 43, Lawrence MA 01842; 978/688-3569; breadandroses_wrl@yahoo.com Tax Day Leafleting in Augusta ME, 4/17, noon; Federal Building; sponsored by Veterans for Peace & Winthrop Area People for Peace, 6 Beal St., Winthrop ME 04364; 207/377-2370 Tax Day Leafleting in Portland ME, 4/18, 10 am; Post Office on Forest Ave.; sponsored by Peace Action Maine, POB 3842, Portland ME 04104; 207/772-0680 Amherst Earth Day Events: April 22, 2000 is International Earth Day; events planned include 1:30 pm, "People Count: The Facts of Life" (video) at Jones Library; 3-5 pm, Bike Tour of Amherst starting at Amherst Common; 6:30-9:30 pm bicycle repair clinic at Laughing Dog Bike Shop; later Earth Day events include 4/22-30, Give Your Car a Break Week; 4/27, 7-9 pm, "Protecting Green Spaces in our Valley," a community dialogue sponsored by the Valley Greens; 5/7, Alternative Transportation Parade & Street Festival; for information, contact Nathan Salwen, Amherst Earth Day Committee, 86 High St., Amherst MA 01002; 413/256-6463 Cultural Survival Spring Bazaar, 4/28-30, 10 am-7 pm; Sever Quadrangle, Harvard University, Cambridge MA; an Innu carver & a Mickmack basket weaver will be on site; Cultural Survival, 221 Prospect St., Cambridge MA 02139; 617/441-5403 Earth Day Festival, 4/29, 10 am-4 pm; Brewer (ME) Auditorium; organizational fair, entertainment, & children's program; Peace & Justice Center, 170 Park St., Bangor ME 04401; 207/942-9343; peacectr@mint.net Peace Concert with Ben Tousley, 4/30, 3 pm; First Congregational Church, South Paris, ME; $3 adults, $2 seniors & children (no more than $10 per family); sponsored by Oxford Hills Friends Meeting, 52 High St., South Paris, ME 04281; 207/583-2780 Christians & Jews Since the Shoah: Past Encounters, Present Issues, Future Hopes; 5/2, 7 pm; Dion Center Reception Room, Rivier College; Prof. Philip Cunningham & Rabbi Ruth Langer will consider the complex relations between Jews & Christians in the 2nd half of the 20th century; Rivier College Center for Peace & Social Justice, 420 Main St., Nashua NH 03060-5086; 603/897-8481; jannis@rivier.edu
Seeds of Peace: Cultivating Nonviolence, 4/7-9; State Street Church, Bangor Theological Seminary, 159 State St., Portland ME 04101; with Kathleen & Jim McGinnis; contact Leta Pinkelman, 207/774-5212 Toxics Action 2000: For Residents & Neighborhood Groups Fighting Pollution in Our Communities, 4/8-9; Curry Student Center, Northeastern University, Boston MA; with Jim Hightower, Mindy Lubber; Toxics Action 2000, 29 Temple Place, Boston MA 02111; 617/292-4821
Deepening the Roots of Nonviolence,
Preventing Genocide: Prerequisite for Achieving a Culture of Peace, 4/15, 8:30 am-4:30 pm; Suffolk University Law School, Boston MA;please join us to consider what can & should be done to prevent the recurrence of genocide; register by 4/13 with World Federalist Association of New England, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140-1336; 617/576-3871 Rhode Island Sustainability Conference 2000, 4/15, 9 am-3:30 pm; Johnson & Wales Harborside Campus; workshops & discussion on sustainability, what it means for RI, how to ensure that the move to a sustainable economy does not leave poor & urban areas behind, & next steps; sponsored by the Environment Council of Rhode Island, c/o Greg Gerritt, 37 Sixth St., Providence RI 02906; 401/331-0529; geocities.com/risustain2000 Upset the Setup, 5/6, 8 am-8 pm; Fremont High School, Oakland CA; all-day strategy session to build a strong youth movement in California & across the country; films, art, trainings, & workshops on poverty, crime, youth rights; for travel & housing information contact Monica, Youth Force, 1212 Broadway #1400, Oakland CA 94612; 800/358-9292 Honor Our Mother Earth, 5/12-15; support environmental justice on Western Shoshone lands, learn from speakers & trainers, & take action to stop nuclear testing, weapons, waste, & power; spiritual walk, nonviolence trainings, Mother's Day Brunch, rally & direct action: Shundahai Network, 5007 Elmhurst St., Las Vegas NV 89108-1304; 702/647-3095; shundahai@shundahai.org; www.shundahai.org
American Friends Service Committee
seeks full-time peace, justice, & youth organizer for Western
Mass. office (near Northampton); resume & cover letter by
Friends for a Non-Violent World seeks Executive Director; FNVW promotes nonviolence through education & experience in prisons, schools, & the community; letter, resume, & 3 references by 5/15 to FNVW, 1929 South Fifth St., Minneapolis MN 55454; 612/321-9787; info@fnvw.org; www.fnvw.org The Union Institute seeks Director for its Center for Women, which is dedicated to building collaborations between feminist scholars & grassroots activists; projects include Kitchen of Table: Women of Color Press Coalition, & the Shatil/UI Fellowship for Israeli Organizers; letter, resume, & salary history by 4/10 to CW Director Search, The Union Institute, 1710 Rhode Island Ave. NW #100, Washington DC 20036-3007 American Friends Service Committee seeks volunteer receptionist for Cambridge office, 1-2 mornings per week; contact Phyllis Cohen, AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130; pcohen@afsc.org Fellowship of Reconciliation Work Camp in Bosnia, 6/24-7/12; FOR's Reconciliation Work Camps demonstrate commitment to pluralism & to the power of love, truth, & nonviolence; $2000 (deposit of $500 due 5/15); FOR, Box 271, Nyack NY 10960; 914/358-4601; doloresg@forusa.org CONTACT: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures is a professional development program designed to strengthen & support the community-building, coexistence & conflict intervention efforts of peace builders from the US & around the world. Residential summer institute 6/5-16 & 6/19-23 (or longer graduate certificate program); Center for Social Policy & Institutional Development, School for International Training, POB 676, Brattleboro VT 05302-0676 USA; 802/258-3339; cspid@sit.edu; www.sit.edu/conflict Training for Change Workshops; Philadelphia, PA; 4/25-30 How to Facilitate Transformational Work; 5/19-20 Gathering of Trainers of Color in Philadelphia PA; TFC, 4719 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia PA 19143-3514; 215/729-7458; peacelearn@igc.org; www.nonviolence.org/training Making a Difference: A Creative Approach to Conflict; 6/15-18; an extended weekend with Darrell & Susan Hefte at Pendle Hill Quaker Center, 338 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford PA 19086-6099; 800/742-3150; www.pendlehill.org
We'll Show You Beauty Day, 5/8; New Moon: The Magazine for Girls & Their Dreams urges people & organizations across the country to join a day of national celebration of media images that promote healthy behavior for girls & boys; please send in pictures, snapshots or drawings of yourself or of someone you love with a brief description of why these people are beautiful from the inside out; deadline 4/20; "We'll Show You Beauty," New Moon Publishing, POB 3620, Duluth, MN 55803; 800/381-4743; www.newmoon.org On-line Missile Defense Petition: calls on members of Congress to support legislation opposing national missile defense, & to urge President Clinton to decide against NMD; sign on today at www.onedemocracy.com/1d/GuestPetitionDisplayServlet?_ID=441
Executive Clemency Under Threat;
Orrin Hatch, Senate Judiciary Chair, has introduced the "Pardon
Attorney Reform & Integrity Act" (S.2042), which threatens
to severely restrict the Executive Clemency process; the bill
would force the president to consider the views of law enforcement
agencies & victims when considering a clemency petition. If
this bill is passed it will quash Leonard Peltier's chance
of receiving Executive Clemency, as it is the FBI that has obstructed
justice in his case from the beginning. Voice your concern by
calling or faxing the United States Senate Judiciary Committee
at (p) 202/224-5225 or Support Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act; vital VAWA programs are overdue & Congress will not be able to fund programs unless they are reauthorized immediately; visit the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund website for further info & a link to send a message to Congress; www.nowldef.org/html/policy/violence.htm; Melissa Becker, 202/543-8505
Economic Reporting Review is a weekly on-line analysis of the economic reporting in the New York Times & the Washington Post, by economist Dean Baker; ERR calls attention to unsupported assertions, unreported facts, & outright mistakes, challenging the nation's leading newspapers to live up to their reputations; the newest ERR can always be read at www.fair.org/err/new.html; to receive ERR by Email each week, sign up at www.preamble.org/columns/subbaker.htm Chiapas Solidarity Tour; The Mexico Solidarity Network is touring campuses with the award-winning documentary A Place Called Chiapas; A human rights worker with experience in Chiapas will lead a discussion after the film. For more information or to schedule a screening, contact the Mexico Solidarity Network, 4834 North Springfield St., Chicago IL 60625; 773/583-7728; msn@mexicoolidarity.org; www.mexicosolidarity.org Women In Struggle: Special issue of BLU, the magazine of music, art, spirituality, & activism that comes with a CD in every issue; $5 (discounts available for bulk orders, classroom use); Angela Y. Davis, Assata Shakur, Sonia Sanchez, Dolores Huerta, & others on motherhood, what it means to be a community artist, women in hip hop, & more; BLU, POB 2032, Rifton NY 12471; 800/778-8461; www.blumagazine.net Science & the Disadvantaged, Gregor Wolbring; 61 pp.; a stunning indictment of science, public policy, & eugenics by a professor in the Department of Community Rehabilitation & Disability Studies at the University of Calgary; available from The Edmonds Institute, 20319 92nd Ave. West, Edmonds WA 98020; 425/775-5383; beb@igc.org; www.edmonds-institute.org Whose Land? An Introduction to the Iroquois Land Claims in New York State, Philip Harnden; written for lay audiences, this analysis includes historical information, answers to frequently asked questions, & a resource list; available from AFSC, 420 1/2 Gifford St., Syracuse NY 13204; 315/475-4822
Global Focus: US Foreign Policy at the
Turn of the Millennium, Martha
Honey & Tom Barry, Eds.; 340 pp.; $65 hb, $19.95 pb; a penetration
critique of current US foreign policy through a series of original
essays by leading progressive scholars; St. Martin's Press,
175 Fifth Ave., New York NY 10010; 212/982-3900 |
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