Centers, Museums, and Public Memorials for Nonviolent Peacemaking in the US: A Visitors' Guide

James Richard Bennett is compiling a Directory of Memorials, Museums, and Centers for Nonviolent Peacemaking and Peacemakers in North America. He can be reached at jbennet@comp.uark.edu

Warmaking Consciousness

In 1989, during the section on militarism in my class at the University of Arkansas on The US Corporate State, my students and I studied Washington County where the University of Arkansas is located. That there were no significant military industries in the county made our discoveries even more striking. The structures of militarism pervaded the county. Here are only a few examples: Pentagon-direct expenditures of $22,989,000; three Army Reserve units, a Naval Reserve Facility, and the National Guard; seven Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and National Guard recruiting offices; a visit from "The Mighty Eight Air Force Band"; military services recruiting in the schools; numerous veterans organizations: American Legion, VFW, Retired Officers Assoc., Retired Sergeants Assoc., etc.; National Cemetery; Veterans' Day ceremonies; Memorial Day; Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park; Prairie Grove Battle Reenactment; Confederate Cemetery; and on and on.

I assume the same institutional and symbolic domination prevails in most of the counties in the United States. War and warriors strike eye and ear everywhere. The nation unceasingly prepares for war both by its enormous military machine and arms industry ($5.5 trillion since 1941 for atomic weapons alone) and by conditioning the populace. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman traces the relationship between the successful conditioning of US soldiers to kill during the Vietnam War (in contrast to the lesser ferocity in the Korean War) and the armed violence in the US today. In countless ways and with overwhelming success, we are taught to accept war as a given. The result has been not only a nation threatening nuclear war a dozen times during the Cold War and invading two dozen countries since 1945 (each followed by a rise in presidential popularity) but a nation experiencing armed violence on its streets and in our homes and schools.

The violence is global, of course. In 1998 alone over 30 conflicts ravaged more than 40 countries, killing thousands and producing hundreds of thousands of refugees. Consequently, the struggle to reduce hatreds and achieve a nonviolent world must be global.

Peacemaking Consciousness

But because the US is the world leader, efforts to reduce its military-industrial-symbolic mind-set on war by increasing the presence of peace is particularly important. Those efforts-by the peace churches, the many peace organizations and magazines, and countless individuals-have produced many gains. One aspect of this myriad peace movement is the creation of centers, museums, and memorials for peace. Here I discuss only public organizations and memorials.

Peace Museums and Centers

The struggle to reverse national cultures of violence advances partly through the museums and centers dedicated to nonviolence and conflict resolution. Although they might be called museums, few nonviolent peacemaking museums limit themselves to preserving and exhibiting artifacts; typically they reach out with educational and even social action programs. An unusual example of the traditional museum is the uniquely designed "outdoor" Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, that includes a room for Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the creators of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, founded upon the nonviolent life and principles of Martin Luther King, Jr., offers permanent exhibits that trace US history of the 1950s and 1960s, but it also gives awards, shows movies, and in other ways seeks to educate the public about the Civil Rights Movement. Most of the museums, such as the Prairie Peace Park near Lincoln, NE, the Peace Museum in Chicago, the museum at the Plowshares Peace Center in Detroit, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, are also active outreach centers. For example, Chicago's The Peace Museum traditionally offers exhibits, but it also provides a Drive-By Peace Program that goes into area classrooms to teach students skills of conflict solving. The International Network of Peace Museums met in Osaka and Kyoto in November, 1998.

Much more numerous are the centers and institutes dedicated solely to nonviolent peace education and action in the community, nation, and world. These organizations are of two kinds: governmental and non-governmental. I will mention a few of each which, following my "visitors guide" intention, have physical locations open to visitors.

A main governmental category is the education and research institute which often includes action programs. The greatest is the United Nations in New York City. With its membership of over 180 nations, its six main organs (General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, etc.), and its fourteen specialized agencies (WHO, UNESCO, etc), the UN is the single most effective organization for keeping peace in the world. The United States government has its own peace institute-the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) located in Washington, DC. The International Peace Garden connecting Manitoba and North Dakota (1932) is a joint US/Canada Center, while the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso (1963) is a joint US/Mexico Center.

The largest category of governmental peace centers are the research and teaching programs on college campuses. The Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development (COPRED) has published a Global Directory of Peace Studies Programs (1995-96, copred@gmu.edu) Here are a few: Swarthmore College Peace Collection in Pennsylvania; Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, Beaver College, Glenside, PA; Colgate University Peace Studies Program, Hamilton, NY; International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA; Peace Studies Association, Earlham College, Richmond, IN; the Center for Peaceful Change, May 4 Resource Center, and Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University; Wilmington College Peace Resource Center, OH; the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University; Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii; M. K. Gandhi Institute, Christian Brothers University, Memphis; Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution/Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development (COPRED), George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

Numerous non-governmental peace organizations expand peace consciousness and advocacy. For example, in California: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara; Grandmothers for Peace International, Elk Grove; Peace Brigades International, Oakland. Elsewhere, The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, MA ; Institute for Peace and Justice, St. Louis, MO; Jeannette Rankin Peace Resource Center in Missoula, MT; Fellowship of Reconciliation, Nyack, NY. In New York City: Educators for Social Responsibility, War Resisters League; A. J. Muste Memorial Institute, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. In Washington, DC: Council for a Livable World, Peace Action, National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, World Federalist Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Peace centers connected with established religions also invigorate the national peace voice. Many faith-based colleges offer peace programs, for example: Peace Studies Program, Siena College, Loudonville, NY; Peace Studies, Loyola University, Chicago; Justice and Peace Studies, University of Saint Thomas, St. Paul, MN; Peace Studies Institute, Manchester College, N. Manchester, Indiana; Bethel College, North Newton, KS. Independent religious peace groups include: Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Berkeley, CA; Pastors for Peace, Chicago; Jewish Peace Fellowship, Nyack, NY; Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Nyack, NY; Catholic Worker Movement, NYC; Friends Meeting House and American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Philadelphia; Mennonite Central Committee Peace and Justice Ministries, Akron, PA; Pax Christi USA, Erie, PA; Plowshares Network, Baltimore, MD; Brethren Peace Fellowship, New Windsor, MD; Washington, DC: Sojourners, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Methodists United for Peace with Justice; Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Lake Junaluska, NC.

Public Peace Memorials

Public peace memorials reflect a variety of aims and programs. Parks, gardens, and plazas dedicated to peace engage people in memorable experiences of peace. Here are a few of the government-sponsored peace parks (or located on government land, some or all of the money privately raised): Peace Garden, Fresno State University, with statues of Gandhi, King, and Chávez; Lyndale Park Peace Garden in Minneapolis; Peace Plaza in Salem, OR; Peace Garden in Harrisburg, PA; Prairie Peace Park, near Lincoln, NE (40 exhibits on 27 acres, plus publications, peace camp). Also: International Peace Garden linking North Dakota and Manitoba; International Peace Park composed of Glacier Park, Montana, and Waterton Lakes Park, Alberta; and International Peace Arch Park at Blaine, WA.

Monuments

Significant peace monuments are found in many of the states: J. William Fulbright Peace Fountain and Statue at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Frank A. Miller Peace Tower and Bridge, Riverside, CA; Fountain of Time in Chicago; Samantha Smith Statue in Augusta, ME; Pacifist Memorial at the Peace Abbey, Sherborn, MA; International Peace Monument, Belle Isle Park, Detroit; Stop, Look, and Listen sculpture, Hope College, MI (for A. J. Muste); Vision of Peace sculpture, St. Paul City Hall, MN; Medgar Evers Statue, Jackson, MS; Jeannette Rankin Statue, Helena, MT, and US Capitol; Sadako Sculpture display and World Peace Mural, Prairie Peace Park, near Lincoln, NE; Children's Peace Statue in Albuquerque. In New York City: Isaiah Wall, Ralph Bunche Sculpture, Gandhi Statue, and several monuments at the United Nations Headquarters: Single Form in front of the Secretariat Building, Non-Violence on apron of General Assembly Building, Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares sculpture, north garden, etc. Elsewhere, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, South Bass Island, OH; May 4 Memorial, Kent State U (1990); Peace Wall and Gate, Bluffton College, OH; Orangeburg Massacre Memorial, SC; Emery Reves Arch of Peace, Dallas; Guns to Plowshares, DC; Fin Project: From Swords Into Plowshares, Seattle; International Peace Arch, Blaine, WA. Two Peace Pagodas (stupas) create a strong focus on peace in two states, all built under the inspiration of the Buddhist Nipponzan Miyohoji sect: in Leverett, MA and Petersburg, NY (Grafton Peace Pagoda). Both exhibit striking white domes; the Leverett Peace Pagoda measures 160 feet in diameter.

Peace Poles are spreading throughout the country. Of the approximately 100,000 peace poles standing in the world, with their message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in numerous languages, approximately 6000 are planted in the US at colleges, churches, parks, and other public places, and in private yards.

Finally, mention should be made of the Nuclear Weapons Free Zones. By 1988, more than 4200 cities, counties, and provinces in 24 countries around the world had declared themselves "nuclear-free zones," including 150 in the US.

In a recent issue, Peacework printed several of Denise Levertov's poems. One began with these words: "They speak of the art of war,/but the arts/draw their light from the soul's well,/and warfare/dries up the soul and draws its power/from a dark and burning wasteland." Kamla Chowdhry in the same issue warned that "civilisation may not survive." But our warmaking country can be restored to peace consciousness through the guiding presence of the arts and sciences of peace studies centers, museums, parks, and memorials, public and private, which lead us to peacemakers and active peacemaking, These foundations inspire us to extend them until wasteland, war, and warriors become the smaller voice and vision.