Savannah FOR

From Violence to Wholeness, Savannah, GA, May 14-16

A group’s first experience with FOR Nonviolence Training

Though the participants were from different peace groups, we all came curious to learn about nonviolence, especially in the anxious build-up to the G8 Summit, being held in our area in June. The workshop was a chance to finally share fears and hopes with others about the G8 Summit’s potential impact on our community – and to hear what others were experiencing. We became grounded in the long history of nonviolent movements, and studied the spiral-like nature of social change. The hands-on exercises were fun, but also revealing. For instance, what is violent protest in the eyes of some is nonviolent to others – and vice versa. The “Circle of Truths” put us in the shoes of the “other,” until we recognize each as a piece of the whole. We laughed and quickly formed a human chain as facilitator Tom Brackett came toward our imaginary peace-loving community with a “bulldozer.” It showed me how vulnerable the creative, visioning process is to an outside force. It is a challenge to hold fast to these hopeful visions – and draw on the courage of those who have gone before us. I came away with an understanding of nonviolence as an active stance. It is one that puts up a hand of resistance, while extending the hand of compassion to those who may come from a completely different, perhaps even personally threatening, worldview. I also came away with the realization that healing the rifts in our own community is perhaps a task more daunting than this international event – but one that is a challenge to practice what we’ve learned about non-violence. 

Molly Hall, Savannah FOR

Olympia FOR (www.olyfor.org)

While some organizations slow down for the summer, the Olympia (WA) FOR charged ahead full-tilt with an ambitious mix of activities. Besides vigiling twice every week, producing new one-hour TV programs every month and airing each program twice a week, publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, holding two summer picnics, and providing ongoing information and consultation, we accomplished some special activities this summer: “Choosing Peace” series: We’re organizing a second annual community-wide series of dozens of activities for peace, social justice nonviolence from September 1 through mid-November. Death Penalty: We staffed information tables in Olympia and Tacoma. Documentary Videos on TV: Apart from our regular TV series, we also broadcast documentary films at 10 p.m. every Sunday. Economic Justice: We work with others in urging the City of Olympia to purchase city clothing only from suppliers with good labor practices. Float Lanterns for Peace: We organized the community’s annual peace lantern floating ceremony. Gandhi: We organized a group to study two books about Gandhi and showed the 1982 film. Nuclear Weapons: We organized Jackie Hudson’s informative and inspiring presentation in Olympia about nuclear weapons and civil disobedience shortly before her 2 ½ year federal prison sentence. Peacekeeper Training: We trained about 25 people to provide nonviolent peacekeeper services to help rallies and other public events be safe and effective.

Western Washington FOR 

The Western Washington FOR led a community forum last evening with Max Blanchet, a Haitian giving a powerful presentation.  People signed a letter of protest to our senators for their inaction on Haiti and we took a group photo with a banner reading, "Senators Murray and Cantwell Do you support the recent violent overthrow of democracy in Haiti or a Restoration of Democracy to Haiti?"

Justice Works! members and supports at a general meeting

Justice Works! A Grassroots Criminal Justice Reform Organization

Mission: Undoing Racism in the Criminal Justice System as Experienced by African Americans

These are our ongoing programs and projects: building the organizational strength through technology, outreach and relationship building, providing and strengthening our JW! alternative media platform, building our mobilization network with our People's Network based in the community through black owned businesses and faith based organizations, building our Black Prisoners' Network with our 2 newsletters and with our incarcerated liaisons, researching current transitioning resources, providing support to returning incarcerated people and their families, and providing support to people accused of a crime and their families.

In addition to that, we work on the following issue campaigns: challenging the "geographic profiling" release address rejections for Blacks who live in the inner city, working to remove Robbery 2 from the 3 strikes list since it is a crime which does not involve a weapon or injuries, working to free the wrongly convicted, educating previously incarcerated people about their rights to register to vote and registering African Americans to vote, resisting Seattle City Council's plan to send accused people housed in the King County Jail to the Yakima Jail and fighting the racist Seattle Police Department drug enforcement policy called "buy-bust". If you would like more information, please contact us at PO Box 1489 Lake Stevens, WA 98258 or call 206-309-2087 or email: justice_works@yahoo.com or log on to our website at: www.justiceworks.info

Washington, DC FOR - In the past month (August 2003) -- we've told people about the 40th Anniversary Martin Luther King Jr. Rally, and some of us went. That evening, we went to the FOR Forum about King and the "beloved community". On the panel was, among others, Sonia Dueno, who works in D.C. for the FOR in Vieques; she comes from Puerto Rico; we will have her talk about Vieques in a forthcoming meeting. Also coming up in September 2003 -- the "Arms Bazaar", i.e. the Air Force Association's annual National Convention and Aerospace Technology Expo -- we've been going for more than 20 years, and still hope to finally "shut it down" for good!

Soulforce, a nationwide interfaith LGBT organization with a network of local groups and nonviolence trainers, is a new affiliate of the FOR. Their mission statement is: “Soulforce is an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. We teach and apply the nonviolent principles of M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.” www.soulforce.org Another good resource for LGBT organizing is FOR’s Stop the Hate Toolkit. Order it from rej@forusa.org

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If there isn’t yet a local group in your area and you’d like to start one, go to Start a Group or contact us at:

Local Groups Coordinator 
localgroups@forusa.org
845-358-4601 x39