Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Author: Michael Coffey

  • A Citizens Weapons Inspection

    On November 11, 2002 (Veteran’s Day), a Citizens Weapons Inspection Team and over 200 supporters gathered outside the gates of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a key facility in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. Their presence emphasized the need for reciprocity given the recent United Nations Security Council Resolution calling for Iraqi compliance with weapons inspectors.

    A Notice of Intent was served to LLNL Director Michael Anastocio, detailing the lab’s near 50-year history of creating weapons of mass destruction and questioning plans for new weapon development. The letter cites U.S. disregard for sentiments among the international community opposing the proliferation on weapons of mass destruction, specifically the Biological Weapons Convention, International Court of Justice, and Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    Student leaders from numerous campuses shared their views. Some of the campuses represented were UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis.

    Similarly, event sponsors and endorsers included Tri-Valley CAREs, Western State Legal Foundation, California Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, Livermore Conversion Project, Global Exchange, Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Circle of Concern, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and Grandmothers for Peace.

    Links:

    Notice of Intent.
    URL: http://www.wslfweb.org/docs/citinspletllnl.htm

    UCSB Daily Nexus, Californians Protest Weapon Development.
    URL: http://www.dailynexus.com/news/2002/3910.html

    Contra Costa Times, Who Will Disarm America?
    URL: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4500387.htm

  • Notes from the Road, March of the Antmen

    Rennie Harris Puremovement, a dynamic Philadelphia-based hip hop dance company, performed at the University of California at Santa Barbara recently. As a college student in Philadelphia, I jumped at every chance my studies would allow me to join their cipher, to explore and celebrate our diverse and rich heritage through dance, spoken word, and theater. Their respect for capoiera and traditional African drumming combined with a distinctly urban edge and sense of urgency mirrored my own artistic sensibilities.

    Sitting at the UCSB session, feeling the thumping beats, taking in the acrobatic moves, and fully appreciating P-Funk and Endangered Species took me back a couple years to the sites and scenes of a city overflowing with arts, activism, and energy – back to master classes at the Pained Bride, Mumia rallies at City Hall, DanceAfrica at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Odunde processions to the Schulkyll River, bantubas at the Community Education Center, Penn Relay after parties everywhere, and then – the nostalgia ended abruptly. March of the Antmen had a new message for me, has new meaning as our leadership pursues the individuals responsible for the events of 9/11.

    I make no claims to be a dance critic, yet the opening and closing sequences alone held power – a battle scene of soldiers crawling along, hugging the earth contrasted against a group of young brothers perpetrating a drive-by and losing one of their own in the gunfire exchange. Antmen poses a number of pressing questions: why do men often march into war at a feverish pace? What parallels are there between “official” and “unofficial” war zones, between trauma resulting from gang violence and poverty as opposed to trauma resulting from warfare? And Who ultimately suffers? Whether you’re a b-boy, senator, dance critic, and/or peace activists, the question we must all ask ourselves is what role do I play in all of this?

    *Michael Coffey is the Youth Outreach Coordinator for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

  • Notes From the Road

    On Saturday March 10, 2001, I participated in World Peace through Human Revolution at the SGI-USA Santa Barbara Community Center. The event exposed attendees to Buddhist practices and allowed local non-profit organizations the opportunity to discuss our respective missions and programs with SGI members and event participants. Event organizers treated participants to a historical overview of Buddhism, brief discussion of the main figures who shaped present day Soka Gakkai International, and recitation of the Lotus Sutra. The program debuted Changing Society by Changing Ourselves, a captivating visual chronicle of the major figures and events shaping war and peace in the 20th century. Talented SGI members not only showcased their theatrical skills through a skit entitled Changing Poison to Medicine, which portrayed a day in the life a young women in the process of changing her life for the better by overcoming greed, foolishness, and anger, but also their musical skills through an inspirational piece combining turntable, spoken word, and vocal stylings. Many participants experienced the Victory Over Violence exhibit, learning whether it was their first time or viewing the exhibit as a reminder of our need to wage peace. Also, Nonviolence International Founder and local high school educator, Leah Wells, donated her own facilitation skills to a workshop on conflict resolution. Initiated and led by students, World Peace through Human Revolution relayed Gandhi’s message of be(ing) the change that you want to see in the world. I commend all of those who contributed to the success of the afternoon festivities.

    The video Changing Society by Changing Ourselves features Foundation President David Krieger. Video narrators reiterate his belief that the collaborative and organizational efforts among those of us working to affirm and expand the just and humane components of our society must equal and exceed the efforts among individuals, organizations, and corporations organized around preparing for and mounting war. This concept remains a rallying point today! Case in point – approximately three years ago, SGI youth collected 13 million signatures from Japanese citizens calling for both an international treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons within a fixed time period and for the reallocation of resources from military purposes to social services. David Krieger accepted the signatures on behalf of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons at a ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Being that the United States is twice the size of Japan, I believe it is possible to collect 26 million signatures through our current Appeal to End the Nuclear Threat to Humanity. Please join with me and voice our commitment to transforming society for the better starting with ourselves.

    *Michael Coffey is the Youth Outreach Coordinator for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

  • Notes from the Road

    Earlier this month, I participated in Make Our World 2000, a joining of minds between international youth peace activists. The event was held at a scenic retreat center just outside of Malibu, California. A group of remarkable, concerned southern California residents — and activists in their own right — convened the event and enlisted the assistance of the Global Youth Action Network to encourage young activists to attend, facilitate discussion, and develop a plan of action.

    Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

                                                                       -Margaret Mead

    Much was accomplished in the few days we spent together, and a number of larger themes surfaced. We spent valuable time getting to know one another, summarizing our purpose for heeding the call to attend, sharing meals, and hiking together in the Malibu hills. We brainstormed on how we could combine forces, better support one another, and create an international youth platform addressing and linking multiple social justice issues. We recognized the accomplishments of previous meetings with similar goals, yet seized the moment at hand to synthesize, organize, and contribute our individual and collective energies to the youth movement.

    Diversity is a cornerstone in building this movement! Unfortunately, a number of our allies experienced difficulties in securing the proper approval and means to attend the event. Their presence was sorely missed! In their absence, the group acknowledged a relationship between structural, global, macro-level injustice and individual, micro-level suffering.[1] As a means to find solutions to identify and act on solutions to end such suffering, the group recommitted itself to having a greater representation of indigenous peoples, people of African descent, and people of Asian descent at our next gathering, tentatively scheduled for June 2001.

    The facilitators and the group as a whole created and maintained a comfortable and flexible environment that allowed for changes to the agenda. One such change and subsequent discussion validated the point that often times activists work in isolation and/or lack adequate mentorship and support. Knowing this, all individuals working for a sane and safe world must better support one another, expand our network, and use new technologies to reinforce the sense of community.

    [Together we can be] 1,000 candles burning as bright as the sun.

    -Jimmy Hurrell

    I will spare you the specifics on the proposed projects out of respect for group members as we continue to discuss appropriate action steps and with the realization that Make Our World 2000 was just one very important step out of many more to come. Please check back with us soon at https://wagingpeace.davidmolinaojeda.com for an update on Foundation efforts to develop a network of other youth organizations around the world working on issues complimentary to our own. Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long!

     

    [1] Jonathan White, a sociology professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, visited the Foundation in November 2000 and discussed one example of such injustice – hunger – with area high school and college students.