Original Art by Shawn G. Hart

Please join United for Peace and Justice in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington on August 24th in our nation’s capital. We need a strong peace and anti-war contingent to speak to the injustices faced by marchers in 1963, and those still endured today. We will echo King’s words about the inextricable links between poverty, war and racism, including hate in all its forms. We must ensure that the nation hears these parts of King’s message loud and clear on this anniversary of the March on Washington and I Have A Dream speech.

It’s important for activists of all economic and social justice struggles to gather for this march because it marks an essential part of our common history of struggle. The March on Washington not only helped pave the way for activism of the 1960’s, it also helped set into motion 50 years of struggle for peace and justice, the torch for which each of us carries today. To paraphrase King, we are the whirlwinds of revolt that will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. What better time and place to come together in a collective effort to continue building the dream?

The challenges faced by the nation in 1963 in many ways mirror those we face today. How different is Trayvon Martin from Emmett Till? How is it that decades after people lost their lives for simply trying to exercise the right to vote, we have a U.S. Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act and states like Texas and North Carolina following to immediately limit access? And how far have women come? In 1963 women did not have legal access to abortions or credit without their husband’s approval. Today, women continue to receive less pay than men for the same work and face an epidemic of sexual assault and violence. And, thanks to the Hyde Amendment, abortion rights extend only to those women who have the money to pay for them.

The economic front is no better. Fifty years ago African Americans faced 10% unemployment. The working poor both Black and White struggled to make ends meet with low wages and little hope of upward mobility. Today the nation faces a stagnant economy with too few jobs for anyone no matter their demographics and 12.6% unemployment for Blacks – far worse than in 1963. Yet, we have no jobs program in sight and sequestration has added to already deep cuts in local, state and federal human needs services. All this, while the Pentagon budget remains higher than that of the next ten nations combined. And today, like in 1963, the U.S. continues to be the greatest purveyor of violence in the world as the number one exporter of weapons, the main actor in the global war on terror killing tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, not to mention rampant gun violence here at home.

The similarities do not end there. Our country’s xenophobic trends of the past continue, targeting many groups with their hate. The acceptance of marriage equality has resulted in a backlash aimed at the LGBT community. Immigration reform hasn’t advanced because bigots fear Hispanics who come to the U.S. to pursue safety and security for their families (the same reason most U.S. citizens ancestors immigrated to these shores). Labor Rights endure unrelenting attacks with efforts to cut benefits for the working poor, keep wages low and deny healthcare.

It doesn’t stop here – the environment, corporate power, individual privacy rights and over-incarceration are all on the table, just as in 1963. All this and more must be talked about as the nation looks back to 50 years ago.

Many ask when, will this end? When will this change? The answer is when we the people bond together, across interests, to end it.  The commemorative March on Washington is a perfect building block for the platform of collaboration we need to create the change we want to see. I hope you will join me by marching in Washington DC or in your own community!  I look forward to seeing you there.

Michael T. McPhearson
National Coordinator

The post Continuing to Build the Dream appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

However, there is more work to do as Washington is not moving in the right direction. Today we have Federal budget sequester cuts hitting communities that have already faced years of local budget reductions. Yet the war in Afghanistan continues and Congress gives the Pentagon so much money that it votes to fund weapon systems and projects the generals do not even want! (Read story here.) How ludicrous is that? Unfortunately, with corporations spending millions on lobbyists and donations to push their influence on Capitol Hill, it makes complete sense.

The Jobs-Not-Wars campaign is organizing local actions or events from Friday, June 21st to Wednesday, July 3rd that highlight the disparities between runaway military spending and cuts to social spending in the federal budget, as these play out in our communities. We will place a spotlight on the priorities and needs of the majority of people. The aims of this initiative are:

To make visible the sites and corporations where military contracts enrich a few, or serve immoral and useless wars, and the places and people hurt by federal budget cuts to social programs;

To put forward the vision and prospect of converting military spending to projects that both generate jobs and serve desperately needed and socially constructive ends;

To help create coalitions of local people, especially involving communities, organizations, agencies and individuals who have not worked together before; and to reach folks that previous actions have not reached.

Join a scheduled event or plan one yourself: Take action. It’s going to take pressure from us, the people to move the nation in the right direction. Let’s empower and motivate each other to speak out. Help plan an event or action. You be the start of an event by planning one yourself. Have you been affected by budget cuts? Do you or someone you know have a story to tell? Contact us to help you connect to a local group and to tell you story.

As events are planned, the Jobs-Not-Wars campaign will post information on its website www.job-not-wars.org Check there often to find events near you. You can download this toolkit to help you organize. If you are involved in planning an event, be sure to send us information so that we can list it (info@jobs-not-wars.org)

Please donate to UFPJ to help us with this effort.

We will keep you updated.

The post Jobs-Not -Wars organizers are moving to the streets to take action. appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

I.             Strengthening our network: To strengthen our network, UFPJ must increase it fundraising and outreach efforts. UFPJ will contact our member groups to reaffirm their affiliation, strengthen bonds and create renewed interests in the network. We will especially look for opportunities to connect Peace Centers we know exist in many cities and towns, and we will increasingly look to colleges and universities for networking opportunities.

II.            One Campaign (Currently Jobs Not Wars). With our limited resources UFPJ will focus attention on one campaign at a time for 2013 and coordinate with others.

III.           Nuclear Free Future Month (August) The crisis on the Korean Peninsula has reminded us of the present danger of nuclear confrontation. Coordinated by the UFPJ Nuclear Disarmament/Redefining Security working group, the purpose of Nuclear-Free Future Month is to stimulate action and raise awareness about the continuing existential threat from nuclear weapons and the dire environmental and proliferation risks posed by the global addiction to nuclear power.

IV.          Legislative Working Group

a. National Defense Authorization Act

b. The Federal Budget (Defense Spending)

c. Supporting the Jobs Not Wars legislative agenda

d. Any related war and peace legislation (Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, nuclear weapons budget, Africom, etc)

V.            Make our newsletter and phone briefings more useful as outreach and information tools including highlighting the work of small affiliates and following climate change, immigration, civil liberties campaigns and other issues.

VI.          Maintaining and updating the UFPJ website, e-blasts and action alerts, and social media presence.

The post United for Peace and Justice 2013 Priorities appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Peace and Justice Groups, Military Families, Veterans, Unions, Retirees, and the Unemployed are all supporting our Jobs Not Wars Petition demanding that Congress and our President Give Us Work Not War. If you have not yet signed, simply click here to Sign the Petition.

If you have already signed, we Thank You! Now it’s time to HIT THE STREETS! The Jobs-Not-Wars campaign is organizing local actions or events from Friday, June 21st to Wednesday, July 3rd that highlight the disparities between runaway military spending and cuts to social spending in the federal budget, as these play out in our communities. We will place a spotlight on the priorities and needs of the majority of people. Learn more about the initiative here.

Please continue to help Spread the Word by forwarding this Petition to all your friends and associates.  If you belong to an organization, no matter how big or small, who agrees with our Petition, ask them to Endorse the Campaign here.

A Quick Summary of our Petition’s Demands:

• End the War in Afghanistan Now
• Make Substantial Cuts to the Over-bloated, Out-of-Control Pentagon budget
• Create Good Paying Jobs
• Let the Bush tax cuts expire for the top 2%
• The wealthiest and corporations must do their fair share and pay a little more
• Protect our social safety net including Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid
• Rely on negotiation and determined diplomacy rather than military power

Click here for a downloadable copy of the Petition and bring it to your church, union, parent teacher meeting, and ask them to Sign the Petition. Hungry American children, the children of the poor and unemployed, are becoming the new face of America. All Our Voices are needed to fight against the influence of the very powerful, money laden Wall Street and Corporate CEOs and the Military Industrial Complex.

If you can afford to, please consider making a donation. Any size donation will be gratefully received – remember that even very small donations added together make a BIG difference. Thank you for your time and continued support

In Struggle,
Michael McPhearson
National Coordinator

The post Sign the Jobs Not Wars Petition and Join the June 21st-July 3rd actions appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

We rejected deficit reduction at the expense of working & middle class Americans, the poor & elderly.

We rejected more tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy. Corporations and the wealthy have “raked in” all the benefits while everyone else has suffered economic loss.

One of the best ways to reduce the deficit is to put people back to work – it’s time to invest in our people and our communities.

Congress and President Obama must do the will of the people.

• End the War in Afghanistan now, bring all our troops home and care for them when they return
• Create jobs – invest in our communities and our people to grow the economy and put people back to work;
• Let the Bush Tax Cuts expire for the top 2%;
• The wealthiest and corporations must do their fair share and pay a little more
• Protect our social safety net including Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid
• Make substantial cuts to the bloated, out-of-control Pentagon budget
• Focus on negotiation and determined diplomacy rather than military power

We must invest in America’s future, create jobs and grow the economy.

Our priorities are clear: Jobs & Economic Growth, End the war in Afghanistan now, and substantial cuts to runaway Pentagon spending.

Keep the pressure on – remind Congress and President Obama that they work for the American people.

We will present the Jobs Not Wars Petition to Congress & President Obama around the time of the Inauguration.

The petition has been endorsed by more than 50 organizations, including UFPJ.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

Tomorrow – December 5th – is a NATONAL CALL-IN DAY to members of the House and Senate and the White House.

Take a moment to call Congress and the President to tell them your priorities.  Click here for more information.

Call 1-866-426-2631 or 1-800-998-0180 on Dec. 5th to say NO cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and vital services; make the rich pay their share; and redirect funds from the Pentagon to create jobs and invest in the economic security of our communities.

We’ll send you a message tomorrow to remind you to call Congress.

Forward this email to everyone you know – ask them to join you in signing the Jobs Not Wars Petition. There is strength in numbers. Don’t let our elected officials forget who they represent.

We can, and must do better for all Americans

PS: Don’t forget to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, or email us at info@jobs-not-wars.org!

The post Sign the Jobs Not Wars Petition! appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.