December - Richmond Peace Education Center

November-December 2014
Kaine Explains His Stance on War Powers
On August 13, six RPEC members
met with Senator Tim Kaine’s regional director to urge the Senator to
sponsor legislation to repeal the 2001
Authorization for the Use of Military
Force (AUMF), which Congress enacted shortly after the 9/11 attacks.
The RPEC members, representing
RPEC’s newly formed “Alternatives
to Militarism Project,” argued that
the 2001 law had become the legal
justification for the “global war on
terror,” which was undermining civil
liberties, constitutional rights and
foundational values of the country.
A month later Kaine introduced
legislation that would repeal the open
-ended 2001 law and replace it by a
more limited “Authorization for Use
of Military Force against the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant.” (ISIL).
On October 21, Kaine addressed
the issue of America’s war powers at
a Public Square forum hosted by the
Richmond Times-Dispatch. Among
those who questioned Kaine was
Adria Scharf, RPEC executive director. The following are excerpts of
the Q-and-A as published by the
Times-Dispatch on November 2.
Adria Scharf: “This law (the
2001 Authorization) has really beContinued on Page 7
Holiday Giving
How To Confront Commercialism
By John Gallini
At no time of the year is the impact of our consumer culture more
pervasive and obvious than it is between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Or should I say,
"between the Halloween and Christmas holidays." The business section
of the November 1 RTD headlined
an article: "Optimize your game
plan for holiday toy shopping." The
message is clear: the best way to
show your love and appreciation to
your children, family and friends is
to give them expensive gifts. While
the custom of gift giving was presumably centered around the Christian holiday of Christmas, it seems
to have spread to everyone.
For many years the organization
Alternatives for Simple Living has
been confronting the commercialization of Christmas with its "Whose
Birthday is it Anyway" campaign
and materials (That effort has been
taken over by the group, Simple Living Works! (http://
simpleliving.startlogic.com/
index.php). Simple Living Works! is
an all-volunteer non-profit educational organization that equips people of faith to challenge consumerism, live justly and celebrate responsibly. Here are some suggestions
from Alternatives:
Continued on Page 7
Auction assistant Kristina Hicks displays
a stained glass work by Dave Depp.
Thanks To All
For a ‘Great Night’
The RPEC staff and board thank
everyone who supported the Peace
Center Dinner & Auction on Saturday, November 8. It was a great
night!
We thank all who were able to
join us Saturday, and every one of the
180 people and small businesses who
donated items.
(For a list of all who donated items,
see: http://www.rpec.org/support-us/
community-supporters.)
We thank Betsy Brinson and
Rhonda Ligon, our auction co-chairs.
Continued on Page 3
RPECnews
RPECnews
is a publication of the
Richmond Peace Education Center
3500 Patterson Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221
Phone: (804) 232-1002
E-mail: [email protected]
RPEC Web Page:
rpec.org
https://www.facebook.com/rpec.org
RPEC Staff
Executive Director: Adria Scharf
Asst. to the Director:
Paul Fleisher
Conflict Resolution Coordinator:
Santa Sorenson
Office Staff: Beth Holt
2014 Board of Directors
Bunny Chidester
Gordon Davies (Treasurer)
Rob Gabriele
Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez
Renee Hill
Jennifer Lewis
Lucretia McCulley (Secretary)
Valaryee Mitchell
Zandra Rawlinson (Chair)
Josi Riederer (Youth Representative)
Charol Shakeshaft (Vice Chair)
Michael Stone
Newsletter Committee
Editor: Charles Robideau
[email protected]
Jimmie Cloutier
John Gallini
Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez
Grant Rissler
Adria Scharf
Opinions and announcements
in RPECnews are those of the
individual writers and are not
necessarily endorsed by RPEC.
RPECnews is published 6 times per
year and has a circulation of
approximately 1,800. We welcome
article and calendar submissions.
Reflection
Adria Scharf
RPEC Executive Director
What Can We Do?
"Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother's sons,
we who believe in freedom cannot rest until this happens."
— Ella Baker, 1964
I was in college during the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the
acquittal of police officers who beat Rodney King.
Why the Ferguson grand jury chose not to indict the officer who shot
18-year-old Michael Brown is beyond my understanding.
What I know is that in the years between Rodney King and the shooting of Michael Brown, too little has changed. Extreme racial disparities
endure in every sphere of American society — our schools, the economy, law enforcement. A recent report in ProPublica shows that Black
teens are about 21 times as likely to be shot and killed by police than
their white peers.
Another recent study from USA Today shows that the sort of extreme
racial disparities in arrests experienced by people of color in Ferguson is
not unusual. It’s the norm. At least 1,581 police departments across the
country arrest African-American people at higher rates than in Ferguson.
However discouraging these trends – and the grand jury decision –
may be, we must recommit to challenging the grotesque system-wide
racial disparities in arrests, imprisonment, and sentencing that contaminate our “justice” system.
This moment is bigger than Ferguson. It’s about who we are as a
country. It’s about whether the principle of “justice for all” means anything.
What can we do?
-- We can get involved in or support work for racial justice here in
the Richmond region.
-- We can challenge racial bias in all its forms, starting with ourselves and our own communities.
-- We can hold police accountable. We can demand that local
law enforcement be completely banned from possession of military
weapons.
-- We can listen and seek to understand one another. We can support
one another in our struggles for change.
I believe that protest is best expressed nonviolently. But protest can
be a catalyst for change. And change is overdue.
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RPECnews
Auctioneer Karen Murphy. . .
‘A Great Night’
Continued from Page 1
We thank Ellie Meleski and Mary
Crutchfield for their work to make
the silent auction beautiful.
We thank Karen Murphy, our
auctioneer extraordinaire. We thank
the entire Auction Committee. We
‘Promises’
Film Screening and Discussion
Richmonders for Peace in Israel
and Palestine will show the awardwinning documentary Promises on
Wednesday, Dec. 10 at the Main
branch of the Richmond Public Library, 101 East Franklin Street. The
screening will begin at 6 p.m. with a
discussion to follow. Light refreshments will be served. The event is
free to the public.
The makers of Promises describe
the film as “a deeply moving portrait
of seven Palestinian and Israeli children. Israeli-American filmmaker
B.Z. Goldberg meets these children
in a Palestinian refugee camp, an
Israeli settlement, and in East and
West Jerusalem. Though these children live only 20 minutes apart, they
exist in separate worlds. Promises
. . .and assistants Shanella Weatherness, Khadijah Baker and Raquel Turner prompt the bidding.
thank every single person who solicited items and volunteered. And we
sincerely thank our event sponsors:
the First Unitarian Universalist
Church of Richmond, LaDifference,
Salomon & Ludwin Financial Advisors, Troutman Saunders, and Wythken Printing.
The night's proceeds come to over
$21,000, making it the second
strongest auction event in RPEC's
history. The proceeds will cover a
significant portion of RPEC's budget
this year. All of the proceeds will
strengthen the Peace Center's work
to build a more peaceful, just and
inclusive community
explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to
meet their neighbors.”
Released in 2001, Promises was
nominated for Best Documentary
Feature by the Academy of Motion
Arts and Sciences, and won the Emmy Award for Best Documentary.
Other awards include the
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Film, and
the Jerusalem Film Festival Special
Festival Award.
Promises is the second showing
in a film series co-sponsored by
Richmonders for Peace in Israel and
Palestine, the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Richmond
Friends Meeting, and the Richmond
Peace Education Center. The mission of the series is to encourage
audience members to see and feel
the humanity of both ordinary Palestinians and Israelis.
The next film (title to be announced) will be shown at Bon Air
Presbyterian Church on January 25.
On March 24 at 6 p.m., the film series will culminate in Richmond
Peace Education Center’s discussion
of Sandy Tolan’s book The Lemon
Tree at the Main branch of the Richmond Public Library.
Page 3
RPECnews
RPEC happenings
RYPP Youth Lead Rally Against Gun Violence
On Wednesday afternoon, October 29, Richmond teens rallied in
Monroe Park to address the epidemic
of gun violence against youth in their
community.
The event was sponsored by
RPEC's Richmond Youth Peace Project (RYPP), along with the Armstrong Leadership Program, performance group Drums No Guns and
the Virginia Center for Public Safety. About twenty young Richmonders presented a creative, dramatic public statement in response to
the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of
Michael Brown and to the continued
gun violence against young people in
our own community.
Drums No Guns provided musical
support as young people from local
high schools presented a powerfully
moving performance art piece recognizing some of the lives lost to to
gun violence in Central Virginia and
calling for an end to unacceptable
killing of unarmed youth by police
nationwide.
The event was well covered by
local media and drew about 75 onlookers. To see video of the event,
visit the Richmond Youth Peace Project - RYPP Facebook page.
‘Generation Dream’ Shows Set Feb. 6 and Feb. 28
Generation Dream, the Richmond
Youth Peace Project’s annual commemoration of the life and legacy of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be
held on Friday evening, February 6, 7
p.m. at the downtown Richmond
Public Library and again on Saturday, February 28, 2 p.m., at the Henrico Theater in Highland Springs.
This year's show promises to be as
exciting and inspiring as ever, with
talented young musicians, singers,
dancers, actors and spoken-word
artists from throughout the Richmond region. Don't miss it!
We've been holding auditions
beginning in October. There still
may be room for a few more performers in the show. Young performers interested in being a part of
the show are invited to contact
[email protected] as soon as possible.
HROC Program Offers 3-Day Workshop for Adults
The Healing And Rebuilding Our
Communities [HROC] program will
offer a 3-day Basic workshop for
adults starting Friday, Jan. 30 from
6-9, continuing Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, from 9-5 each
day. The training will be at the Fan
Free Clinic, 1010 North Thompson
St., Richmond. RPEC trainers and
educators Santa Sorenson and Ram
Page 4
Bhagat will lead the workshop. The
fee for this session is $175. Partial
scholarships are available.
To register, or for more information, email name, address and
phone number to [email protected].
Please mail your check in advance to
RPEC, 3500 Patterson Avenue,
Richmond, VA 23221, with HROC
Basic in the memo line.
Peace Essay Contest
Volunteers Needed
Yes, it's time once again to begin
work on RPEC's statewide Peace
Essay Contest, and you can help.
The Peace Essay Committee begins
work in December, selecting an appropriate writing prompt. Committee members will also help publicize
the program, plan and prepare for
judging the entries, and help with the
selection of the winning entries in
late spring.
The time commitment for Essay
Contest volunteers is generally no
more than about ten hours, and is
completed by mid-May. No special
skills or qualifications are needed
beyond an interest in offering this
opportunity to students and a willingness to read and evaluate their
work. If you would like to volunteer
for this important Peace Center program, please contact Paul Fleisher at
[email protected].
Workshops Completed
In recent weeks RPEC trainers
completed workshops with Pathways
of Petersburg, Martin Luther King
Middle School, Armstrong Leadership Program, Nehemiah House of
Prayer, Healing and Rebuilding our
Communities Training for Trainers
1, and the Salvation Army Boys and
Girls Club.
Upcoming workshops will be
with Martin Luther King Middle
School, Armstrong Leadership Program, Albert Hill Middle School,
Rites of Passage Program, and
HROC training programs.
RPECnews
Participants Testify to Impact of RPEC’s Programs
“My granddaughter has been bullied in her school.
The workshop gave her ideas of what to do. . . and
the bullying has stopped.” -- Pastor James Wilkins
"I wanted to tell you thank you so much for including
my daughter in last weekend's RYPP training. She said
that she had a wonderful and eye-opening time. I think
she might have even said life-changing. She also commented on the caliber of the people that she met. I was
so excited to hear that she was touched so fully by her
experiences with the group.” -- Parent of a participant
Teens Who Took RPEC's Training for New Teen
Conflict Resolution Trainers in 2014 said:
I feel. . . .
“Inspired.”
“Empowered.”
“Happy and confident about what I learned.”
"More understanding and understood.”
“Prepared.”
"Relieved and calmed through this workshop and its
supportive environment.”
I learned. . . .
"To teach my conflict resolution skills to other teens
throughout my community."
“How to defuse conflicts.”
“Understanding and empowerment”
“How to actively listen.”
“How to communicate my feelings.”
“There is a solution even when you feel there isn’t.”
“It’s not one person versus another. It’s two people versus the conflict.”
I wilI . . . .
“Use what I learned for the rest of my life.”
“Apply the skills I have to the world to make it a better
place.”
“Make a difference.”
"Try to stop conflict around me, and what I learned here
I will tell to others.”
Continued on Page 6
Page 5
RPECnews
RPEC Impact —
Continued from Page 5
RPS teachers trained by RPEC said:
— “I now have tools for conflict resolution that I did not
have before.”
—“RPEC techniques help my students work together
and learn.”
— “The exercises and role playing will set the foundation for dealing with real-world situations in my school.”
— Out of 177 teachers who responded, 170 (96%) said
the RPEC conflict resolution training "helped them."
Words of communities we serve:
RPEC’s conflict resolution programs . . .
— “. . . reduced fighting.”
— Made the youth "kinder to each other. They became
very aware that their words could hurt so you can see them
carefully choose their words."
— "Really changed the way the participants interact
with each other."
— Gave my youth "information that they would not
have received anywhere else."
At a rally in Richmond’s Monroe Park, RYPP member Sadia Pollard
reads names of young people lost to gun violence. (See story on Page 4)
“Drums Not Guns “ drummers perform at RYPP gathering..
An Important Message to RPEC’s Members and Friends
Community support has helped make RPEC a
stronger force for peace and justice in the Richmond
community.
This year, RPEC did so much. For example, we
taught 200 teachers conflict prevention tools for their
classrooms.
We empowered diverse teenagers to lead programs
on nonviolence and social change in the community.
We educated about the cost of war to Virginia with
the Eyes Wide Open display of combat boots.
We co-sponsored films and programs 0about race
and civil rights issues, reaching hundreds.
We advocated for a repeal of the 2001 law that has
become a legal blank check in the war on terror.
We educated about the roots of the Israel-Palestine
conflict.
We led conflict resolution programs with more
than 20 different groups across the region.
Our programs have touched the lives of thousands
in the past year alone. Read testimonials about our
impact inside in these pages.
RPEC counts on your support now as much as
ever. Your support is important because it provides
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resources to continue the center's work. Please consider
making an end of year gift to the Richmond Peace Education Center.
A gift of $500 covers supplies for our youth leaders
year round.
A gift of $300 would pay for a (badly needed!) new
copy machine for the office. . . or a free conflict resolution program for a group needing our services.
A gift of $100 would cover most office supplies for
a month.
A gift of any amount is appreciated!
Your gift will be tax deductible. . . and it will make
a world of difference to RPEC and the communities we
serve.
You can make a donation on www.rpec.org (click
"donate") or by mailing a check to RPEC / 3500 Patterson Ave. / RVA 23221.
Thank you for your partnership. We wish all of our
friends and supporters the warmest season’s greetings
and a happy new year.
— The RPEC Staff and Board
RPECnews
Holiday Giving
Continued from Page 1
1. Plan ahead. Have a family
meeting to decide how the group really wants to celebrate Christmas. Set
limits on the cost of gifts to be
shared.
2. Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.
3. Avoid stress. Don't assume
that things have to be the same as
they have been.
4. Draw names in your giving circle, rather than everyone giving a gift
to everyone else. Set a price ceiling.
5. Give children one gift they really want rather than so many gifts.
If need be, pool funds.
6. Give appropriate giftssomething that the person really
needs, rather than what you want to
buy.
7. Give alternative gifts. Give a
percentage of what you spent last
year to a homeless shelter or an organization working for a just society.
Give crafts made in third world
countries, when you know the artist
is receiving the proceeds.
8. Give of yourself -- something
you made or created, a coupon book
for future services.
Kaine Explains
Continued from Page 1
come a legal blank check for the war
on terror. You talked about how it’s
provided cover for drone strikes, and
strikes in Yemen, Somalia, everywhere. The American people don’t
realize that in addition, that law is
also the legal justification for things
like warrantless wiretapping and indefinite detention at Guantanamo
Bay. . . . How does your proposed
legislation affect that law? I believe
we need a full repeal of that law.”
9. Put the gifts under the tree
shortly before opening them, then
take turns opening gifts, so that each
gift can be admired and each giver
thanked.
10. Make changes slowly but persistently. Don't try to change everything and everybody all at once.
If you do decide to buy gifts as
part of your celebration (and most of
us do), try to select items that provide some benefit to people in the
Third World who really need the
support.
In Richmond, there are at least
two stores who market crafts in a
way that provides maximum benefit
to the craftspersons. Both are on
Cary Street: Ten Thousand Villages
at 2820 W. Cary St., “Fairly Traded
Handicrafts from Around the
World”; and AlterNatives at 3320 W.
Cary St., “Cool Mayan Stuff” (a project of the Highland Support Project).
RPEC Members Offer Gift-Giving Alternatives
We asked RPEC members how
they managed gift giving during the
holiday season. Some answers:
 purchase gifts from UNICEF,
Ten Thousand Villages, AlterNatives, or Goodwill;
 in lieu of exchanging gifts, contribute to charities such as the Heifer
Project or one that has a special connection for the family;
 and this special ritual from
Bunny Chidester:
“We choose a date and time to
gather. We have a meal together,
then lock the house, all cell phones
off, and I create an altar of special
family items and candles. We sit in
circle on the floor, and each person
brings an item for the altar that has
special significance for them. We
pass a talking stone, and each person
shares about the item they placed on
the altar, how the past year has been
for them, and what they are thankful
for. Second round we talk about
what we each envision for the coming year, for self, family, community,
and world.
This is a very deeply special time
we have created since our children
were little, and they come back every
year (with partners, and one now by
Skype) even as young adults.
Peace-full indeed."
Senator Kaine: “In the days
right after 9/11, Congress passed a
60-word military authorization. No
geographic limits, no temporal limits. And that law has been used in
many countries for the 13 years
since. . . . And the lessons we’ve
learned should cause us to shrink it.
But you’re right. It is that law that
has led not only to military action
and the drone strikes, but it is the
fundamental piece of law that is
keeping Guantanamo open.
“While we have concerns about
some of the wiretapping programs
that are subject to separate statutes,
I have long argued that most of those
statutes really have their origins in an
open-ended declaration of war, and
that you could fix the NSA wiretapping processes, or think you have
fixed them, but if you leave an openended declaration of war, you haven’t really fixed them.
“The best thing to do is to go upstream, and try to refine this openended declaration of war . . . I’m
working with senator McCain and a
group of about a dozen to take that
authorization and significantly
change it. Now, we are not proposing
its complete repeal until we come up
with the replacement.”
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RPECnews
Nonviolence as a Way of Life
By Chris Klug
Be kind because everyone you meet is carrying a great burden.” — Philo
Aligning one’s thoughts, words and actions with an ethic
of non-harming is a life-long process.
It is motivated by the desire to alleviate pain and suffering, one’s own and others, and an ongoing awareness of
the countless ways we participate, both individually and
collectively, in causing harm.
The web of relationships in which each of us finds ourselves is the place this harm occurs, ranging from a simple act of unkind speech, to often deeply ingrained biased
and prejudicial attitudes, to complex lifestyle choices
(though, for many, there may be few, if any, choices)
related to food, clothing, shelter, education, health, leisure, employment, governance, transportation, money/
investments, etc.
Awareness of the harm we cause directly and indirectly
can be heartbreaking and overwhelming and discouraging and numbing. It can lead to resignation, paralysis,
and cynicism, and is often resisted.
Yet, it is precisely this awareness that lights up the many
places where we can make choices that lead to less and
less harm, while at the same time planting the seeds for
and/or strengthening less harmful habits.
A Generous Offer To Benefit RPEC
RPEC supporter Charles Young, who is a real
estate agent, offers to give RPEC 1 percent of the
contract sales price of a home.
"If you contact me about buying or selling a
home during the month of December and state that it
is for RPEC, I will donate one percent of the contract sales price of the home to RPEC after closing,”
Young said.
Closing does not need to take place in December.
If buying, the seller must be willing to work with a
real estate agent.
If you are in a position to take advantage of this
remarkable offer, contact: Charles Young at
[email protected], (804) 301-5154.
Also please inform RPEC at [email protected].
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Here are a few examples. Acknowledging feelings of
anger and speaking kindly and firmly is possible, and
requires practice. Feeling afraid and making a sincere
effort to understand and get to know those who are different is possible, and requires practice.
Choosing to get from home to work on a bicycle or by
bus instead of driving one’s own vehicle is possible.
Shifting one’s investments away from corporations that
exploit their employees and the environment and avoid
paying their share of taxes, to ones that don’t, is possible.
Entering into this process more and more completely requires courage, commitment, patience and, especially, a
light and wise touch so that efforts to bring about justice
and peace don’t themselves cause harm in the short term
and sow seeds of injustice and violence for the future,
e.g., waging war to bring about peace.
Support from others who are also committed to the path
of a less violent way of living and being can be very
helpful. Here are some local and not-so-local organizations that could be helpful: Veterans for Peace, Pax
Christi, Peace Iowa (www.peaceiowa.org), Living Nonviolence ([email protected]), Buddhist Peace
Fellowship, etc.
Our Mission
The Richmond Peace Education Center is
working to build a more peaceful and just community in the Richmond, Virginia area.
Since its founding in 1980, the center has
been a leading voice for nonviolence and social
justice, offering programs on conflict resolution
and violence prevention, racial justice, and
global issues.
RPEC needs your involvement. Contact the
office to plug in: [email protected] or 232-1002.
Together, we can build a more peaceful and
just community and world.