 November 2005
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Sara Burke, 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. Editorial material in Peacework is published under a Creative Commons Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
US Military Recruiting Targets Low to Middle-Income Students
Pamela Schwartz is the Outreach Director of the National Priorities Project (www.nationalpriorities.org).
From anywhere in the country, you can now find out the number of military recruits in 2004 who came from your high school, zip code, county, and state, along with breakdowns by race, ethnicity, gender, and income levels. Get your local numbers at: www.nationalpriorities.org/database. Working with Peacework magazine (which submitted the Freedom of Information Act request for military enlistment data), NPP's analyses reveal the disproportionate impact of military recruitment on low- and middle-income communities. The data also show: The highest recruitment rates -- defined as the number of recruits per thousand of the 18- to 24-year-old population -- were found in counties that were relatively poorer than the rest of the nation. All of the top 20 counties had median household incomes below the national level, and 19 of the 20 had median household incomes below their respective state level. The schools or programs from which the most recruits were drawn included two GED Test Centers in New York state, and the Gary Job Corps Center in San Marcos, Texas. Montana -- a state with low median household income and high poverty rates -- led the country in state recruitment rates. Rhode Island was at the bottom. High-income neighborhoods are underrepresented. Low- and middle-income neighborhoods are over-represented. As the Iraq war continues and the number of soldiers killed and wounded mounts, this data makes clear that low- and middle-income kids are paying the highest price. It's young people with limited opportunities who are putting their lives on the line. Parents, students and concerned activists by the thousands have voiced their concerns in recent months about military recruitment tactics. Now, the NPP Database will be used to help people focus their efforts on the states, counties, zip codes, and schools mostly heavily impacted by military recruitment. Please contact the National Youth and Militarism Program of the American Friends Service Committee, at youthmil@afsc.org, or call 215/241-7176 to connect with activists in your region. To get a snapshot overview and analysis of the military recruitment data, which includes tables and charts, go to www.nationalpriorities.org/militaryrecruitment. Home From Iraq Now Learn more about this campaign at www.HomeFromIraqNow.org. A campaign is underway in Massachusetts to place a binding initiative on the Massachusetts ballot to prevent the governor from sending any more National Guard troops to Iraq. A yes vote on this initiative will send a strong message to our elected leaders that we want them to end the war and bring all of our troops home immediately. The Home From Iraq Now initiative was crafted by constitutional law experts who have litigated National Guard cases on behalf of the state of Massachusetts, and has been certified as constitutional by the Attorney General of Massachusetts. It relies on a US Supreme Court ruling that authorizes a governor to refuse a presidential request to deploy the Guard abroad if that deployment impairs the Guard's ability to respond to domestic public safety or security emergencies -- conditions that clearly prevail today. The Home From Iraq Now binding initiative would require the governor to exercise that authority to refuse to send more National Guard troops to Iraq. This is the first time in American history that a ballot initiative is being used to empower voters to end a war. But to get the initiative on the ballot, the campaign needs to collect 100,000 signatures of Massachusetts voters by November 15. If this signature drive is a success in Massachusetts, there are plans to expand the campaign to other states. There are 23 other states that have ballot deadlines in the coming months, and if similar initiatives could be put on the ballot of some of those states, this has the potential to be a national referendum on the war. How you can help: Download a petition from www.HomeFromIraqNow.org, print it out, collect five signatures, and mail it to the campaign. Volunteer to collect signatures (a guide to collecting signatures is available on the site). Contribute money to help pay for copies, phone calls, and mailings. You can make a contribution on-line at www.HomeFromIraqNow.org. 
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