A big THANK YOU from the Peace Table to the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO and to 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. They donated printing of thousands of the peace posters, “Jobs Not War” stickers, and flyers which we distributed on October 2!!
At the historic One Nation Working Together march, activists made the connection between unemployment and our outsize military budget.
by Phillis Bennis
His always-identifiable, once-in-a-generation voice booming across the sun-drenched National Mall, the legendary actor-activist Harry Belafonte evoked the words of his long-ago friend and colleague, Martin Luther King, Jr. As he spoke, a hundred thousand people rose to their feet in a roaring ovation. Whatever had come before, this was the real reclaiming of the legacy of another speech that had issued decades earlier from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
King, Belafonte reminded the crowd, “said that America would soon come to realize that the war that we were in at that time that this nation waged in Vietnam, was not only unconscionable, but unwinnable. Fifty-eight thousand Americans died in that cruel adventure, and over two million Vietnamese and Cambodians perished. Now today, almost a half-a-century later, as we gather at this place where Dr. King prayed for the soul of this great nation, tens of thousands of citizens from all walks of life have come here today to rekindle his dream and once again hope that all America will soon come to the realization that the wars that we wage today in far away lands are immoral, unconscionable, and unwinnable.”
This past Saturday, October 2nd, 175,000 from all walks of life and from all 50 states gathered at the Lincoln Memorial under the umbrella of One Nation Working Together. The Peace Table worked hard to bring peace and antiwar activists to this mobilization and then made sure some of the most pressing issues of the peace movement were visible throughout the day.
We distributed over 5,000 posters with our five slogans:
Jobs, Peace, Justice
Bring Our Troops and War Dollars Home
Funds Jobs, Not War
End War, Rebuild America
End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Now! – Bring Our War Money Home
We also handed out 25,000 stickers that said Jobs Not War, and almost 15,000 leaflets making the connections between cutting military spending, ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the urgent need to revitalize our economy and create new green jobs here at home.
The Peace Table organized one of the several feeder marches of the day. Following our lead banner – Money for Jobs, Not for War: Bring Our Troops Home Now – upwards of 1,000 people carried posters, handed out leaflets and marched to the main rally site with our peace message.
In addition to our visibility efforts throughout the day, we were thrilled that so many of the speakers at the Lincoln Memorial made the same connections we were making! The strongest speech was delivered by Harry Belafonte – we hope you’ll take a moment to listen to his powerful presentation.
Two other presentations that gave antiwar messages were those by the UAW’s Bob King and Green for All’s Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins (at 9:00 into the clip), and by the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. who mentions Afghanistan, veterans and cutting the military budget starting at 8:45 in the clip.
What comes next?
As the One Nation Working Together focuses on the mid-term elections in November, we are already looking further into the future. What we know for sure is that our work to strengthen the peace movement and our alliances with other struggles for economic and social justice must be grounded in our local work. The Peace Table brought together nearly 100 national and local groups – all of which would welcome your involvement. Take a look at the list of organizations in the Peace Table and find one that you want to work with. Most of the groups in our list are linked to their own websites and that’s the quickest way to get more information.
We also have some posters and leaflets left over. The Washington Peace Center is able to ship these out to you and all you have to pay are the shipping costs. Send an email to sonia@washingtonpeacecenter.org to make arrangements.
Also, the posters and leaflet are available on our website for you to download and reproduce. They are all generic and can be used in your ongoing peace activities.
Be sure to check back here for announcements and information about upcoming peace and justice campaigns and activities!
