working for peace and justice
May 1st, 2006 by webmasterby Dawn Terry, Brown ‘03, Venture Intern
This article originally appeared in the April 2003 issue of E-Venture, Venture’s former online newsletter.
To be socially conscious in the world today can seem to be an exercise in futility. Even within the protective bubble of a liberal arts college-campus, it is easy to feel as if the Dark Forces have converged and present an insurmountable challenge to a young idealist. Investment in the world may seem to produce more feelings of impotence than empowerment.
But pessimism should be reserved for better times. Just like on campus, there are amazing people in the “real world” doing inspiring work in organizations that fight for peace and justice at all levels and in diverse ways. As we approach the middle of the semester (and graduation for the class of ‘03) e-Venture is bringing you a little sampling of some of the groups fighting for a saner, more equitable tomorrow.
Social movement starts from the ground up, so it makes sense that we would start with local-level organizations. There are progressive organizations in towns and cities of all sizes, all over the United States. For example, in my hometown of Manhattan, Kansas there is MAPJ, the Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice. Providence, Rhode Island (my current location) has an analogous organization called DARE, Direct Action for Rights and Equality.
Organizations like this generally work with directly with members of the community to make changes on the local level, such as instituting living wage and ending predatory lending. They also work on state and national campaigns. Many community groups are affiliated with ACORN. ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been around since 1970 and is the nation’s largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families. Check out their very informative web-site to learn more about them and the many things they have accomplished.
On the other hand, some peace and justice groups operate on a national level, focusing on large-scale coordination and federal-level advocacy. One such group is United for Peace and Justice, an organization that formed in October of last year to focus and coordinate anti-war efforts and affirm the connections between peace and social justice issues. United for Peace and Justice is brand-spanking new, but not all such organizations are. For example, The War Resisters League was founded in 1923 by pacifists opposed to WWI. It is a component part of the London-based War Resisters’ International, which was founded in 1921 and has affiliates in 32 countries.
Finally, while activist work is traditionally based in communities, the mushrooming of the internet has opened up some incredible possibilities for organizing. The best example of a group that has taken advantage of this medium is MoveOn. MoveOn builds online advocacy groups through things like web petitions, virtual marches, and a kind of direct virtual democracy that uses special software to let members vote on the organization’s projects and priorities. Its stated goal is to bring ordinary people back into politics and close the broad disconnection between citizen opinion and legislative action.
For each of these organizations there are ten more with the same principles at heart. When we leave our campuses for the summer or for good, that is no reason to leave our concern and engagement behind as well. Most peace and justice groups hire interns and employees. If those avenues close up, and you wind up serving coffee or setting up servers, remember that they also accept volunteers. Working with other people who care about the world and its people is the best defense against cynicism.
Click here for more info about peace organizations.