Dear Friends,
We invite you to join FOR Executive Director Mark Johnson at the memorial service for Scott Kennedy, former FOR National Council chairperson, this Sunday in Santa Cruz, California.
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Activist, educator, politician, great father and husband, Scott Kennedy died in his sleep of natural causes on November 19, 2011, at age 62.
Scott was born in Nebraska in 1948, grew up in San Jose, California and went to public schools, where he met his soulmate and future wife, Kristin Champion.
Scott was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and completed his alternative civilian service in Isla Vista, California, where he co-founded the Isla Vista Youth Project and several other community programs. He was a war tax resister from the Vietnam War until 2009.
Scott co-founded the Resource Center for Nonviolence in 1976 and ran the Center's Middle East Program. He engaged with a wide range of social movements and nonviolent campaigns from creating nuclear free zones in Santa Cruz and working for a nuclear free future in Santa Cruz and at Diablo Canyon, to the Farmworkers' fight to unionize, and human rights struggles in El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Scott was elected to three terms on the Santa Cruz City Council and served twice as mayor, where a resolution against the first Iraq war and completion of a city green belt, a community soccer field and several affordable housing developments, were some of his proudest accomplishments.
Scott worked to support those Israelis and Palestinians committed to waging nonviolent struggle to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. He led some 40 delegations to the region to help Americans understand U.S. foreign policy and support a just two-state solution.
Scott enjoyed humor, travel and going to movies. He loved the San Francisco Giants, Van Morrison and country music, and his dog, Barack, adopted the week President Obama was elected.
We are grateful for a world of friends, family, and companions who walked with Scott, and who continue to walk for freedom and justice through steadfast nonviolence and love.
--The Kennedy Family
Photo: Resource Center for Nonviolence
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Scott Kennedy Memorial Service
Sunday, Dec. 11, 2:00 PM
First Congregational United Church of Christ
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
Map and directions
View on Facebook
Scott passed away last month, just one week after leading an Interfaith Peace-Builders delegation to Palestine. Scott, who chaired the FOR National Council from 2000 to 2002, was also the recipient of the 2010 Pfeffer International Peace Prize.
A short reception will follow the service. If you are traveling from out of town, lodging may be available -- contact Kimlin McDaniel Keith.
Do you have a testimony to Scott? Videos, photos and reflections may be emailed to the Kennedys, posted on the Facebook event, or mailed to the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
Memorial contributions to continue Scott's peacebuilding work, in lieu of flowers, are appreciated. Donations will be split between the Resource Center for Nonviolence; New Profile, an Israeli feminist anti-militarization movement; and Wi'am, the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center, which works within the Palestinian community for human equality and basic rights. Donations may be made online by PayPal, or by mailing a check to the RCNV at the address above. Please indicate which organization you would like to support, if you have a preference.
Tributes to Scott Kennedy's life and work
"Palpable is the word that best describes for me, Scott’s understanding of and commitment to nonviolence, to peace, and to love. Herewith our tears of gratitude and sorrow."
--Mark Johnson, FOR Executive Director
"Scott Kennedy's death is a loss to not only family and friends, but to the larger family of nonviolent soldiers he has taught, shared with, laughed with, and loved. I'm fortunate to consider myself a member of his compassionate and passionate army. Not many people manage to make a dent in the world of conflicts, but Scott’s work in the Middle East defies all cynicism and hopelessness."
--Joan Baez, folk singer and co-founder of the Resource Center for Nonviolence
"To say that Scott had an enormous impact on Interfaith Peace-Builders would be an understatement. Our work of sending delegations (39 since 2001) was rooted in delegation work that he pioneered, starting with a trip that Scott and Allan Solomonow led in 1975. Since that time, Scott’s work with the Resource Center for Nonviolence, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Middle East Witness all contributed significantly to the program that we know as Interfaith Peace-Builders today. Scott has been a tireless advocate, a dedicated trip leader, an active and engaged board member, and a joy to learn from and work with."
--Mike Daly, Interfaith Peace-Builders Program Coordinator
"Scott’s dedication to the cause of attaining peaceful resolutions mushroomed into a successful network of individuals and organizations of like minds on both sides of the divide ardently working towards conflict resolution. Scott Kennedy will be missed, but his legacy, his teachings, and his endless energy will survive and shared among those who truly seek peace and are willing to pay the price."
--Tarek El Heneidy, FOR National Council member, 2003-09
"Kennedy in person was a man who, while incredibly persistent, could also be soft-spoken, thoughtful and able to see the humor in situations. When he took up the cause of individuals he felt had been wronged, oftentimes with the Sentinel, he was both a determined advocate and a man who could hear both sides of the issue."
--Santa Cruz Sentinel editorial, Nov. 22
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