United for Justice with Peace - United for Justice with Peace is a coalition of peace and justice organizations and community peace groups in the Greater Boston

Boston Marathon Bombings: Impact and Response

ujpadmin1 — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:24:01 -0500

Start: 2013 May 20 - 7:00pm

A forum sponsored by United for Justice with Peace

As we grieve the devastating impact of the Marathon bombings had on many families and communities in the Boston area, we are also aware of the need to examine the impact of those bombings on peace and justice issues in our communities, campaigns and organizing.

Presentations will provide analysis and ideas for response from the anti-war, immigrants’ rights, civil liberties, anti-war, economic justice, and Muslim communities.

How do we change the violent discourse and build solidarity between our movements? There will be ample time for discussion, and the forum is open to the public.

with Carlos and Mélida Arredondo, Joseph Gerson, Gladys Vega, Cyrus McGoldrick, and Hillary Farber

Creating a New Boston, Designed to Include Us All

Chuck Turner — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:17:32 -0500

Reflections from Behind the Wall

Introduction: Freeing Ourselves from Plantation America and its Corporate Masters, the 1%

I was blessed to have been born into a family with a love of knowledge, a passion for teaching, and a commitment to the advancement of our people. Given that legacy, I have devoted the fifty years since my graduation from college to the pursuit of knowledge, a passion for teaching through the process of organizing, and my commitment to the liberation of my people.

30 drone protesters arrested at Hancock air base at conclusion of weekend rally

ujpadmin1 — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:17:35 -0500

by James T. Mulder, Syracuse Post-Standard, April 29, 2013.

See Video

Anti-Drone Protests at the NY Air National Guard Base at Hancock Field

About 250 activists took part in an Anti-Drone Protest, outside the NY Air National Guard Base on East Malloy Road on Sunday April 28, 2013. The protest started in front of the Thompson Road entrance to the base. After several speeches, the protestors marched down East Malloy Road to the base’s main entrance, where 30 were arrested by Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputies. Sundays’ rally was part of the three-day weekend event ‘Resisting Drones, Global War and Empire: A Convergence to Action’. Video by Stephen D. Cannerelli |

Syracuse, N.Y. – About 30 people were arrested outside the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base this afternoon during a protest against the use of unmanned aerial drones.

The arrests came at the end of a series of workshops and rallies held in Syracuse this weekend and organized by the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars.

Today’s rally attracted more than 250 people who gathered on the grounds of OCM BOCES on Thompson Road, then marched in a funeral like process to the gates of the base, home to the 174th Attack Wing of the New York Air National Guard. The unit operates unmanned, armed drones thousands of miles away. The drones are used for intelligence gathering and bombing ground targets.

Environmental Justice Denied: Why the BU Bio-Terror Lab Must Be Stopped

Klare X Allen — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:17:24 -0600

by Klare X Allen and Vicky Steinitz

This article appears in the Poor People's United Fund Newsletter.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” Fair treatment means "no group of people should have to deal with an unequal share of the harmful environmental effects that happen because of policies or operations run by businesses or government.” Meaningful involvement means that “potentially affected community residents have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions.”

In Massachusetts, the Environmental Justice Policy of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) aims to remedy “the disproportionate share of environmental burdens experienced by lower-income people and communities of color who, at the same time, often lack environmental assets in their neighborhoods. The policy is designed to help ensure their protection from environmental pollution as well as promote community involvement in planning and environmental decision-making to maintain and/or enhance the environmental quality of their neighborhoods.”

Noble words, indeed! But how do we reconcile them with the National Institutes of Health’s decision to approve Boston University’s application to build The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL) adjacent to low income, densely populated, Roxbury/ South End communities? Funded in the aftermath of 9/11, this lab proposes to research the most deadly, infectious, incurable pathogens known to man such as Ebola, Marburg virus, and the plague, all of which are agents that can be used in bioterrorism and biowarfare.

Statement on the Boston Marathon Bombing

masspeaceaction — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:35:21 -0500

Faith Madzar at Natick prayer vigil April 17. Metrowest Daily News photo

Massachusetts Peace Action shares in the sadness, appreciation, restraint and solidarity shown by President Obama, Governor Patrick, faith and civic leaders, and neighbors in the face of the violence at Monday’s Boston Marathon and during the days following.

Visions: America after Hegemony

rozziecole — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:50:14 -0500

With the Iraq war fading into memory even as the country still simmers, the U.S. peace movement faces the need to reframe its message.

We have spent the last 10 years resisting the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – tragedies that have not only devastated those two countries and taken tens of thousands of lives, but have left thousands of returning veterans with lifelong disabilities and taken a huge toll on our national economy.

We’ve exposed nuclear weapons’ threat to human survival, organized against sanctions and war on Iran and the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and built alliances with labor and community groups to cut the military budget.