Dear Friends,
In every concert on the Drop Beats Not Bombs fall tour, Invincible reminded our audiences that "we vote every day, with everything we do, with everything we buy, with every detail of our lives." The Drop Beats Not Bombs tour was launched on the heels of Obama's victory, but we all know that we can't wait for one person to bring about the change that we are hoping for. We the people are responsible to make our dreams a reality.
We worked towards that vision of change and hope every day on last November's Drop Beats Not Bombs tour -- and we'd like to send a huge THANK YOU to all of you who helped make the tour a success by organizing and attending the tour stops! In the end, we built relationships with over 1500 youth and youth allies through the workshops, concerts, and speaking events on your campuses and communities, bringing people together to connect the US funded war in Colombia and the poverty draft of young people and the poor in the US.
The tour, along with FOR's youth training & delegation work, feeds our strategy to support youth resistance to militarism through creative action. This strategy responds to youth requests for training in how to lead groups in using art - such as political concerts, murals, dance, theatre, banners, and wearable art - to resist the poverty draft and create community based alternatives to military service.
We are so glad to have met each one of you, and invite you in the first months of this new year to join with us in resisting the militarism of youth in the US and abroad! Here are some specific requests:
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GET TRAINED: If you are between the ages of 15 and 27, organize a Spring Break training for your campus or consider serving on the FOR Colombia team for a year and come to our August/September volunteer training. Click on the event you are interested in for details or to apply, or contact Shauen Pearce at 612-636-8263 or shauen@forusa.org.
- JOIN OUR YOUTH ARTS AND ACTION DELEGATION TO COLOMBIA: This spring 2009 the Fellowship of Reconciliation Colombia program will take a delegation of youth organizers and allies to collaborate with dynamic youth-led organizations working for the rights of Conscientious Objectors and advocating for anti-militarism in Colombia. The participants will continue to expand the network of youth in the US and Colombia who are seeking creative ways to resist militarism. This delegation will also be the focus of a documentary film produced by two participants through the Dar Papaya Project. This organizers exchange builds on the first youth arts and action delegation in March of 2008 and the fall 2008 Drop Beats Not Bombs hip-hop, speaking and workshop tour. For more information, please contact Liza Smith at 510.763.1403 or liza@igc.org, applications are due by February 20, 2009.
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GIVE THE GIFT OF TRAINING: Whatever you can give helps - even a small donation will help show your support for this program to continue. Donate here or contact Brie at 651-757-5353 or peacemakertraining@gmail.com to make a donation. How far does a gift go? $25 encourages a young person to seek more support; $100-$500 supports a young adult organizer to attend one of the art and action trainings; $625 provides a youth activist a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to attend a weeklong training & $1800 scholarships a youth delegate to Colombia. Scholarships often get built in donations of $25-$150 from various places - please go to your networks, faith communities, campus communities, etc to help train a young person in creative military resistance and community building!!
- TALK TO US: Check out the blog and post your comments: The Drop Beats Not Bombs tour crew blogged on their way across the country. You can read their reflections and look at photos, as well as post your comments and tell us what you think about the tour at FOR's Blog.
Again - thank you so much for being part of the Drop Beats Not Bombs tour last fall, and we hope it is just the start of our work together to support youth resistance to militarism.
In Solidarity,
FOR National Staff
Maryrose Dolezal, Shauen Pearce, Brie Phillips, and Liza Smith