Peace Council Pages

Anti-Wars/Anti-Drones
With the coming of Spring, we are resuming our weekly anti-war presence throughout the community, with a major focus on the drones. See Weekly Peace Outreach for details.

Building on last November's demonstration against the drones outside Hancock Air Base, we are organizing a similar protest for Sunday, April 25. We will gather outside the gates, rally to show our outrage and convene afterwards for a regional planning meeting. Look for more details on the SPC Announcements listserv and the website. Contact Carol.

Marching in DC Against Wars
A bus trip with 47 central New Yorkers aboard joined over two thousand others in Washington DC on March 20 to protest US wars and occupations. The weather couldn't have been better as the thousands rallied in front of the White House calling for peace in the Middle East. The thousands then took to the streets with coffins decorated with the flags of Yemen, Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somali, Iraq, US and others to represent the coalition forces as well as the civilians who have died in the many conflicts in the world today. They left the coffins all over DC as a reminder.

To get involved with SPC's anti-wars work, contact Carol.

- Katherine Raymond

The Radical Anarchist Baking Bowlers were among the creative prize winners at SPC’s Strike for Peace Bowlathon. Photo: Andy Mager

Yes - Peaceniks Can Bowl
SPC's 7th Annual Strike for Peace Bowlathon was a wonderfully successful day, with fun and fundraising in great supply. There were more teams - over 50 - and more income ($4,000) than in recent years. The Most (outrageous) Spirit Awards were given to the four (!) teams from Le Moyne's Women's Rugby Team and the two Citizen Action teams. Thanks to the expanded Bowlathon committee, other volunteers, Flamingo Bowls, and ALL the bowlers. Remember - you don't have to bowl well to have a good time with us.

See you next year.

Discussing Anti-Semitism and Palestine-Israel
CNY Working for a Just Peace in Palestine & Israel has continued its educational and advocacy work. Nine members met recently over a potluck dinner to explore both the reality of anti-semitism and its use as an accusation to silence people who criticize Israel's aggressive policies, illegal occupation of the West Bank and siege of Gaza. Given the emotionally-charged nature of the issue, such informal discussion helps us learn and better understand each other's perspectives. Contact Ann Tiffany, 478-4571, anntiffany@verizon.net.

Youth Outreach
SPC interns Marjory Elwell and Samantha Salvato continue to promote Art for Peace - a poster and poetry contest for Syracuse City High School students. Poster submissions (on white, 11x17 paper) and poems (less than 50 lines) are due by April 1 and will be displayed at an event at the ArtRage Gallery on Thursday, April 29 at 7 pm. Prizes will be awarded to winners in each category, and their submissions will be published in the PNL. We've begun receiving calls from interested youth; for more information see peacecouncil.net/MAEP/artcontest.html.

We continue our monthly presence at city high schools and are expanding our efforts. We tabled at a Nottingham High School career fair in March and recently sent outreach letters to three rural schools.

We now have display holders and brochures ready to distribute to local community centers, career offices, churches, etc. If you can help get these brochures into the community, especially anywhere that provides youth or parent services, please contact Andy or Jessica.

Three Onondaga Land Rights Programs in April

Phil Arnold speaks about the “Doctrine of Christian Discovery” to a packed crowd at the second program in the Onondaga Land Rights Series at Le Moyne College. Photo: Kristin Mosher

April is filled with seasonally-appropriate programs as part of the "Onondaga Land Rights & Our Common Future" series. The programs all begin at 7 pm at Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St. Admission is free.

•"Lacrosse: The Creator's Game" features Onondaga Faithkeeper and All-American lacrosse goalie Oren Lyons and former SU player and coach Roy Simmons, Jr. Monday, April 5.

•"Sacred Waters: Onondaga Lake and Creek" with Onondaga Chief Jake Edwards, Seneca scientist Henry Lickers and a panel of community respondents. Monday, April 19.

•"Sacred Waters II: The Danger of Hydrofracking" with Ithaca environmental attorney Helen Slottje and Onondaga Nation School teacher Denise Waterman (Oneida). Monday, April 26.

Contact Andy or see peacecouncil.net/noon.

Pedal Power
Bikes for Peace is gearing up for another summer working with youth. B4P organizers Jessica Maxwell and Ursula Rozum led a hands-on workshop at the YWCA's Girls Summit on March 27 for girls from 5th-10th grade. The owners of the new Mello Velo bike shop on Westcott Street have generously offered to provide professional staff to help lead our Bikes 4 Peace volunteer training in May (date TBA). We ask that all who attend the training commit to volunteer for at least one youth clinic. In addition to aspiring mechanics, we're also looking for people to help design and post flyers to promote our free summer youth clinics, and adults to help staff our sign-in table at clinics. Contact Jessica.

It's Fun, It's Fair - It's a Very Special Raffle!
ACTS' (Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse) major fundraising dinner is set for Tuesday, April 27, 6 pm at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool. The keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr., minister emeritus of Riverside Church in NYC. Please help SPC do our share as a member organization of ACTS.

Tickets are $50 each. If you can afford a ticket, please call the SPC office at 472-5478 to make a reservation. If you can't afford $50, you can buy a chance at a seat ($10 for one, $20 for two). You just might be a winner! And if not, you will have helped support SPC's work with ACTS. For raffle tickets, call Rae Kramer, 445-2840. Our expectation is that between individual ticket buyers and raffle gamers, we will fill a table of 10 - or more. It depends on you!

Thanks, Rae!
For five weeks SPC activist extraordinaire Rae Kramer joined SPC's staff while Carol Baum was in Chicago helping her 83-year-old mother move into a retirement community. Rae, jumping in with her usual enthusiasm and creativity, coordinated the PNL, organized the March 20 bus to DC, worked with interns, answered phones and much more. Rae, not a big computer person, courageously learned the SPC office's email and computer file systems on the fly - using the computer more in one month than she ever had in her life previously.

We deeply appreciate your work, effort and spirit. Thank you.

An early SPC staff member, David Easter is currently active in the Capital District. Photo: SPC archive

Activist Appreciation: David Easter
David Easter was hired as SPC's first real "organizer" in 1969. His five years on staff saw the organization develop its collective style. Dik Cool, who was recruited and mentored by David, wrote recently to an Albany gathering to honor David's four plus decades of activism, "The Viet Nam War raged and The Peace Council exploded in growth and influence. By 1972 there were five staff people, a new office building on Burnet Avenue and over 20 functioning committees. It was the committee system that David created and nurtured which brought people into the organization, gave them meaningful antiwar work, and built an infrastructure that supported increasingly effective and widespread work." In the 1980s, David and his wife Maud contributed periodic articles about Korea, where they worked for several years before settling in the Capital District.

Facilitation Workshop Draws Crowd
The opportunity to improve our facilitation skills drew 18 people to SPC for a skill-building workshop on March 10. The novice and experienced facilitators who attended found it a good chance to learn. We hope to do more workshops, and perhaps repeat this one if there is sufficient interest. You can find the handouts at peacecouncil.net/skills. Contact Jessica.

SPC Community Updates
SPC activists Mayer Shevin and Brent Bleier both celebrated 60th birthdays in the past month. May you have many more years of peace and justice-making ahead of you both! Longtime SPC supporter and PNL distributor in the Skaneateles-Jordan area for the past several years Ed Kendrick passed away on March 6. A month before his death, Ed sent us a note saying he regretted having to stop his distribution work "as it was a pleasure to do my little bit for peace." Send your updates to Andy.