Brooklyn For Peace
Mission Statement
Brooklyn For Peace is committed to eliminating war and the social injustices that are its causes. Through active education on international and domestic issues, we empower our community and ourselves to be a productive force in securing a peaceful future for generations to come by building a world where peace is the first response to conflict. We promote U.S. policies based not on coercion and violence, but on peace, justice, democratic advancement, human rights and respect for international law.
We Work To:
- transfer resources from military to human needs, leading to economic and social justice within and among nations
- Eliminate nuclear, biological, chemical and conventional weapons by all entities in an internationally coordinated process
- resolve international conflicts peacefully via the United Nations and the promotion of internationally accepted rules of law
Who We Are
Brooklyn For Peace is a diverse network of Brooklyn residents—parents, non-parents, adults, youths, and neighbors—alarmed by the militarism of our society and its impact on our lives as well as the lives of people around the world. We organize community meetings and forums, set up information tables, participate in phone and advertising campaigns, meet with elected officials and participate in demonstrations. We disseminate solid and carefully researched analysis on international and domestic policies.
We are a democratically functioning non-partisan group. We provide a host of opportunities for Brooklyn residents to work for peace and social justice in ways that can accommodate busy schedules. We believe, when given the right tools, ordinary people will change the world
Our History
Brooklyn For Peace was founded in 1984 as Brooklyn Parents for Peace, in response tot the U.S invastion of Grenada. Our earliest initiatives included organizing local opposition to the Staten Island homeport for nuclear-capable cruise missiles and the U.S. intervention in Central America. We subsequently mobilized local opposition to the 1991 Gulf War, while fighting to preserve welfare, Medicaid, and public education in New York City throughout the 1990s.
After the terrible events of September 11, 2001, we reached out to affirm our sense of community and to oppose a military response to this tragedy. We called for compensation for civilian victims of U.S. bombing in Afghanistan. In Brooklyn, we organized against the detention of immigrants arrested without charges in the wake of 9/11, and advocated for protection of our historic civil liberties.
After the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, Brooklyn For Peace sought to limit military recruiting in our public schools, and to inform students of non-milityary alternatives.
We have mobilized our community against the Iraq War before it began in 2003 and to end our military presence there as rapidly as possible.
We have sponsored events seeking to achieve a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
We host an annual Brooklyn Peace Fair which combines public awareness activities with culture, the art and experts in socio/political fields. In this venue, activists and artists work together to reach out to those not yet involved in the peace movement and to help build connections between those already involved.
We believe the current world economic crisis offers an important opportunity to move forward towards a peaceful more productive society.
