Dear Friends,
We invite you to join the Fellowship of Reconciliation at three national events this October where the work for peace and justice will be tangible and participatory -- through opportunities to engage in nonviolence training, peace vigiling, civil disobedience, educational workshops, and grassroots organizing.
Join FOR at the following events this October:
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Washington, D.C.: Ending the war in Afghanistan and resisting the corporate war machine
On October 6, members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation -- including former National Council member David Hartsough from California and former Western Washington staff organizer Mike Yarrow -- will join the people's assembly to determine just and sustainable solutions to the crises we face, and engage in creative acts of civil disobedience in support of those ends.
 October is the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan and the beginning of the 2012 federal austerity budget. It is time to light the spark that sets off a true democratic, nonviolent transition to a world in which people are freed to create just and sustainable solutions.
We encourage you to join FOR members in this pledge:
"I pledge that if any U.S. troops, contractors, or mercenaries remain in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 6, 2011, as that criminal occupation goes into its 11th year, I will commit to being in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with others on that day with the intention of making it our Tahrir Square, Cairo, our Madison, Wisconsin, where we will nonviolently resist the corporate machine to demand that our resources are invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation. We can do this together. We will be the beginning."
If you are not in a position to be arrested, there will still be many events in which you can participate, including permitted vigils, food and medical support, jail solidarity for those who are arrested, and logistics.
If you're thinking of joining us in Washington, October2011.org has details on carpooling and other group travel, housing, and preliminary events scheduled for October 6 and beyond. (Others may wish to come to DC later if the protests continue beyond the first week, as is the intention: FOR Executive Director Mark Johnson will be in Washington the following week, for instance.) There are also local organizers in many states who may have details about regional events for those unable to attend in person.
Miami: Ending U.S. militarization of Latin America
 On October 8 and 9, members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, including national staffer Susana Pimiento, will be in Miami, Florida. We'll be participating in the march on the U.S. Southern Command, together with School of the Americas Watch and many others, including the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, National Immigrant Solidarity Network, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, United for Peace and Justice, and Veterans for Peace.
We encourage you to join us in Miami!
People from all over the Americas know the role the U.S. Southern Command has played in the U.S. intervention, militarism, and economic domination of the region. It is time to show the U.S. government and the military that people in the United States will no longer tolerate a boot to the neck in foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean. From free trade agreements to immigration, U.S. policy has had a devastating effect on the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. This must end!
The weekend will include a forum on the militarization of the Americas and demilitarization movements, a free concert, a rally and march to U.S. Southern Command, and a solidarity event with the Immokalee workers.
The march in Miami will be a precursor to the annual vigil and civil disobedience in November at the gates of Ft. Benning, Georgia, demanding the U.S. close the School of the Americas.
Memphis: Organizing a "living movement" in the spirit of Gandhi and King
 From October 21 to 23, members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation will be attending and presenting at the joint Gandhi-King/Peace and Justice Studies Association conference in Memphis, Tennessee. Speakers and workshop presenters will focus on the theme of "a living movement," with an outstanding list of keynote presenters, including Dolores Huerta, David Bacon, Clayborne Carson, Pancho Ramos-Stierle, Nipun Mehta, and David Rovics.
Attendees will include FOR staffers Mark Johnson and Shauen Pearce, with Ivan Boothe presenting. FOR National Council member Mark Meade and past National Council chairperson Paul Dekar will also be presenting, and representatives from several FOR chapters and affiliates will participate.
We encourage you to join us in Memphis! Registration is available for as little as $20 per day. |
