March 2005

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

Bringing the Peace Movement Home A Report from the Second United for Peace & Justice Assembly

Noah Merrill coordinates the Southeastern New England Program of the American Friends Service Committee.

The Second United for Peace and Justice National Assembly did its work -- now it's our turn.

As a delegate from the American Friends Service Committee, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the hard work and passion of some of the nation's most committed peace activists as we gathered in St. Louis, February 18-21.

Three days is a short time, and this report includes those resources that I hope will be most useful to my fellow activists -- this is about practical information, not academic analysis.

One of the first actions we took as a decision-making body was to approve the outgoing Steering Committee's recommendation for a new strategic framework. The first framework, adopted at the first National Assembly in Chicago in 2003, laid out a broad slate of priorities for the work of UFPJ. The new strategic framework refocuses UFPJ on a single goal: the end of the occupation of Iraq and immediate withdrawal of US-led troops. The assembly then moved to carefully screen and consider dozens of proposals from member groups.

A central theme of the Assembly came out in this threshing process: The mood and direction of the delegates demonstrated a shift from the politics of protest to the politics of practical action. Proposal after proposal addressed the need for building local capacities, for re-energizing flagging grassroots participation, for supporting organizers in communities across the country. Speakers stressed the need to broaden and diversify the peace movement to build broad constituencies linking the war in Iraq to the war at home -- the drastic cuts in fundamental services that have already pushed vulnerable communities to the crisis point.

For a complete list of proposals approved at the Assembly, visit the UFPJ website at www.unitedforpeace.org. I offer here a few highlights (for information on plans for demonstrations on the second anniversary of the war in Iraq, an important focus of the Assembly, see opposite page):

• Providing support for state-based campaigns to recall the National Guard from Iraq

This initiative was based on the work of Military Families Speak Out and the Vermont Office of the American Friends Service Committee, which in just a few short months has placed a referendum to recall the Vermont Guard on the agendas of 53 towns throughout the state. Media coverage has included USA Today and dozens of local and regional outlets.

The proposal on providing UFPJ support to the National Guard campaign was approved by consensus by the floor of the Assembly, with no opposition or abstentions. The moment was electric -- suddenly, the whole room exploded into chants of "Bring Them Home!"

• Supporting research and highlighting the local cost of war to build bridges in our communities

In keeping with the theme of locally focused capacity-building, Code Pink and other organizations won overwhelming approval for their proposal to have UFPJ research, calculate, and distribute the real economic impacts of the new budget on a community level. Further, UFPJ will contribute staff time and resources to support local activists in identifying critical struggles that have support from diverse communities, and making the connections between the war in Iraq and the war at home tangible to build alliances and a truly diverse movement against war and empire. From sit-ins in community health clinics to packing legislative sessions on childhood nutrition programs and public transit, opposing the war means supporting those neighbors and communities hurt most by the war and the military economy. Together, we have the power to stand for a vision and a reality of hope for our communities, for our nation, and for our world.

• Building skills and resources for action by youth and students to oppose economic militarization and military recruitment

The National Youth Student Peace Coalition, in partnership with the Ruckus Society, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters' League, and other allies will sponsor a series of regional Anti-Militarization Action Camps to build skills and perspective on nonviolent direct action, strategic analysis, campaign planning, working with media, organizing, and legal training. Get your local youth movements involved, help publicize them, and join us at an upcoming action camp in your area.

• Continuing to confront the specter of nuclear annihilation

Dr. Satoru Konishi, of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organization of A & H Bomb Survivors, delivered an impassioned appeal to work now to confront the ever-growing threat of the US developing and using "tactical" nuclear weapons, small "mini-nukes." This threat to life on this planet, he reminded us, moves closer every day as the Bush Administration gives more and more indications of its intention to defy international treaties on nuclear disarmament. (See p.14 for information on a major demonstration in New York on May 1.)

• Gathering to call communities of faith to prophetic action

Throughout the Assembly, people of faith gathered to pray, plan, and organize. As the proposals came to the floor, delegates approved an initiative long overdue: the founding of a national alliance of "Clergy and Laity Concerned about the War in Iraq."

This group, backed by some of the most respected progressive religious figures in the nation, is already moving on an ambitious agenda of movement-building and action to focus the power of people of faith on action for a world free of war, poverty, and oppression, as well as to reclaim religion and faith from the radical Right. Local faith communities are encouraged to make connections in preparation for coordinated, national actions against the war. UFPJ will publicize and promote the development of this critically important group as it grows, speaks, and brings the power of love and justice to the work of waging peace.

For three days, once again we saw the world we know is possible, and we came home to keep building.

As I passed through St. Louis airport security, a baggage screener from the Transportation Security Administration stopped a Quaker peace activist behind me in line. The man had forgotten to remove a pair of pliers he'd placed in his carry-on luggage. Immediately, the weight of a growing security state came crashing down -- the tension was palpable.

Slowly, we gathered round. One, two, three allies of this peaceworker, ready for the absurd conflict we knew was coming. And then, quietly, the TSA screener removed the pliers, and asked our friend for his address. He promised, even though it was illegal, to mail the pliers to our friend the next day. From St. Louis to New Hampshire, carrying a message: There are cracks in the pavement of empire. And through those cracks, the roots of hope and humanity are growing. In communities across the nation, our movement is gaining momentum again.

Editor's note: The pliers arrived safely in New Hampshire later that week.

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