Peace Council Pages

Educate, Agitate, Organize

SPC IN ACTION

compiled by Jessica Maxwell

SPC Birthday Dinner
Saturday, June 4 at 6:30 pm at St. Andrew the Apostle Church, 124 Alden St., Syracuse.

Help us celebrate our 69th birthday on Saturday, June 4 at 6:30 pm at St. Andrew the Apostle Church (124 Alden St., Syracuse - map available on our website). The dinner will feature scrumptious vegetarian fare; the program is "Honoring Our Connection with the Onondaga Nation," including words from Clan Mother Audrey Shenandoah, Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, and attorney Joe Heath.

This is our first birthday dinner, after several years of birthday desserts. Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 31 if you can - this will help in food planning. There is a sliding scale fee of $10-69 (no one turned away for lack of funds). People are welcome to attend the program only, at (about) 8 pm.
See you there!

Opposing the Occupation
Two national groups, United for Peace and Justice and Military Families Speak Out, are coordinating a research project on NYS National Guard deployments and the impact on local communities. SPC is currently looking for local information that might be useful. Earlier this spring, communities across Vermont passed resolutions calling for the state to investigate the use of their National Guard in Iraq and urging Congress to withdraw US troops (see April 2005 PNL). Could New York be next?

Many peace activists feel that the anti-war effort has lost its focus. On June 4 a daylong Northeast Regional Peace and Justice Action Conference will be held in Albany. The conference aims to build regional networks so we can better coordinate actions and campaigns. SPC is sending representatives. Contact Jessica if you are interested in going and would like to carpool.

Military Alternatives Education Project (MAEP)

Hashim Bey spoke at the Military Alternatives Education Project May 17th program about his experience being recruited in high school and his life in the army. -photo Liz Stacey

The Military Alternatives Education Project (formerly called The Youth and Militarism Taskforce) is gearing up for a busy summer of outreach and strategizing! On May 17, a panel discussion on military recruitment was held at the Northeast Community Center. About 20 youth from the community center attended. We welcome more youth and parents to get involved distributing materials and helping us to organize events and actions. We continue to provide materials and presentations to local schools. Local artist and activist Kevin Caron will be interning 20 hours a week with SPC to work on MAEP initiatives from mid-May through June.

High NOON in CNY
Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) continues its outreach and educational work to support the Onondaga Nation and their Land Rights Action. The primarily positive response to their court action and to our work heartens us.

Nearly 250 people have signed our Statement of Support (see [www.peacecouncil.net/NOON/solidarity.htm]). We've sold many of our Proud Neighbor of the Onondaga Nation buttons and distributed much literature, including our new four-page brochure on the action (available at the office and at [www.peacecouncil.net/noon]).

In collaboration with the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, NOON has been acknowledged and supported with a $5,000 grant from the Central New York Community Foundation.

Our next public meeting is Monday, June 13 at 7 pm at the Westcott Day Hab Center, 522 Westcott St., Syracuse.
Don't miss SPC's June 4 Birthday Celebration featuring friends from the Onondaga Nation (see above).
Contact Andy or Carol.

Baseball Anyone?
SPC will join friends from the United Methodist Church to attend a Syracuse Sky Chiefs baseball game on Tuesday, June 21 at 7 pm. We're selling tickets at a discounted rate of $5 each, part of which goes to the Peace Council. We'll also have an information table, including information about the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba coming through Syracuse on July 6. Longtime SPC activist Bill Griffen will throw out the first ball.

Tickets are available at the SPC office, Syracuse Cultural Workers and the Syracuse Real Food Coop.

Bikes 4 Peace Rolls Again!
Bikes for Peace will restart our free bike clinics for youth in June. Clinics are designed to help youth fix their own bikes and to work with youth to repair donated bikes that are then given away. There will be a training Saturday, June 11, 2-4 pm at Eastside Neighbors in Partnership (2013 E. Genesee St.) for new volunteers. The training will teach volunteers how to fix the most common bike problems we've seen during our clinics. Our first two bike clinics will be Wednesday, June 15 and June 29, 5-7:30 pm in the parking lot of the Northeast Community Center (716 Hawley Ave.). We'll soon have dates for July and August on the East and South sides of the city. Contact Jessica.

Weekly Peace Outreach

“End the War; Bring the Troops Home” Join us at busy intersections to say "End the Iraq War." Every Tuesday, 4:45-5:30 pm. • May 31 E. Genesee St. and Erie Blvd. (Dewitt) • June 7 Geddes St. and W. Genesee St. (Westside) • June 14 Teall Ave. and Rt. 690 (Eastside) • June 21 Rt. 695 exit ramp to W. Genesee St. (Fairmount) • June 28 Adams St. and Rt. 81 (Downtown) • July 5 Rt. 57 and Vine St., Village of Liverpool • July 12 Seneca Tpk. and S. Salina St. (Valley)

Hip Hop Anti-violence?
On May 7, there was an anti-violence hip hop concert held in Syracuse, sponsored by a local organization that works to connect youth with mentors in the entertainment industry. SPC and the Dunbar Association partnered to send several youth who have been participating in our anti-violence workshops. One of the headline artists was Fabolous. We were disappointed to learn that a number of the songs featured on his cds glorify violence, gangs and drugs. In a follow-up discussion facilitated by SPC and Dunbar staff, we engaged youth in a challenging discussion about the role of music in the culture of violence and the role of artists in the community.

We'll finish our eight-month project with the Dunbar Association at the end of June. We'll evaluate its impact and determine how SPC can best use its resources to address local youth violence issues.

Activist Appreciation
Without student interns this summer, SPC is relying on many of our longtime activists to help cover daytime hours.

Marge Rusk staffs the phones, waters the plants, writes thank you notes, takes mail to the post office and helps in a number of other ways to keep the office going year round. She's at the SPC office reliably every Wednesday from noon-3 pm.

Joan Conley also comes in every Wednesday to work on data entry, keep our mail organized and update our online calendar.

Now that skiing season is over, you'll probably see Sam Feld around the office regularly. Sam answers phones, helps prepare PNLs for distribution and keeps our collective sense of humor sharp.

There will be new activists staffing our office this summer. Jackie Hayes has been doing layout and design work, updating our calendar and helping to staff the office two days a week. Roger Cunningham regularly joins our weekly Peace Outreach, picks up the PNL from the printer and does the final cutting, and will now staff the office occasionally.

Gonna Keep on Marchin' in Pride and Juneteenth
Saturday, June 18
Once again, SPC is excited to march in two parades on the same day - June 18. This year's challenge is that both parades are at about the same time - so we'll need more people! Help hold our signs and banners or bring your own. Please let us know if you're coming so we have an idea about how many people will be where. Contact Carol.

• SPC contingent in CNY Pride Parade: meet at 12 noon at Trolley lot behind Armory Square. Parade starts at 12:30 pm
• SPC contingent in Juneteenth Parade: meet at 10:30 am at Tallman and Salina Sts. Parade starts at 11 am

Waddle Up for the Duck Race - Saturday, June 11
SPC is happy again to participate in the Third Annual Duck Race to End Racism, a fundraiser for the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism. The Duck Race is a festival with games, music, ethnic foods and, of course, duck races. It's Saturday, June 11, from noon to 4 pm at the Syracuse Inner Harbor (two blocks east of the Carousel Center on Kirkpatrick St.).

SPC is selling duck sponsor certificates for $5 each. Buy yours through SPC, and we get to keep half the money. SPC Ducks are available at the office, at the Real Food Coop and at Syracuse Cultural Workers.

SPC’s Monthly Program

Video: The Take Thursday, June 16, 7 pm Westcott Community Center, 826 Euclid Ave., Syracuse

SPC Steering Committee Meetings
The Steering Committee is responsible for SPC's overall political direction and financial health. We want the process to be open, so anyone who supports the SPC Statement of Purpose may attend Steering Committee meetings. The meetings are usually 7-9 pm on the second Thursday of the month at the SPC office.

Before you come, please call to confirm the date and location. Also, if you would like to suggest an item for the agenda, please contact SPC two weeks in advance. If you want to speak to an item already on the agenda, please contact us one week in advance so we can adjust the agenda accordingly.

July/August Peace Newsletter
Look for the next issue of the Peace Newsletter in mid-July. The PNL traditionally takes a break in the summer by having a combined July/August issue. Look for our regular monthly schedule to return in September.