AFSC - Kansas City, Missouri
Working for Peace and Justice
Peace Building and Justice
Our work includes exposing the human and economic costs of the Iraq occupation and moving beyond opposing war, to promote a foreign and domestic policy based upon human security for all people and all nations.
Join us for two great summer
fun events and support our work for peace and
justice!
- July 4, Saturday, 10am - 2:00pm: Patriots Picnic with great picnic fare, music, kids activities, an Apple Pie Bake-off and more-Click here for details
- August 8th,
Saturday, 7:30pm, Summer Soiree: Movie,
Snacks and Live Music Under the Stars - Enjoy
the eclectic folk, blues, reggae and soul of
Nicolette
Paige and then Dr. Strangelove - Or How I Learned to
Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb - Click
here for more details
Community Festival for Justice and Peace: If you want Peace, Work for Justice!
Visionaries have urged humanity to strive to create communities of compassion, love, justice and peace. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. "Peace is more than the absence of war, it is the presence of justice.” Thomas Jefferson advised, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” And Anwar Sadat observed, “There can be hope only for a society which acts as one big family, not as many separate ones.”The Festival's theme was “If you want
Peace, Work for Justice!” Over 40 organizations
participated in the Festival and 200
people attended.
Eight leaders from different segments of
the community shared their view of “what
a world of justice and peace looks like
and what do we need to do to create it."
Speakers included:
- Prof. Linwood Tauheed, (Economic perspective, professor of economics and black studies)
- Dr. Josh Freeman, (Chair Dpt. Family
Medicine, KU Med Center and Physicians for a
National Health Program)
- Alex Solorio, (Hispanic / Immigration
perspective, lawyer and immigrant rights
activist)
- Prof. Cathleen Burnett (Death penalty /
Criminal Justice perspective, professor / death
penalty abolition activist);
- Judy Morgan (Education perspective,
President of KC Federation of Teachers)
- Fr. Jerry Waris, (Long-time advocate for
ending hunger and poverty)
- Wick Thomas (Environmental perspective, Student activist)
- White
Privilege – Rev. Sam Mann;
- Everybody In / Nobody Out: Healthcare for All - Liz Stephens;
- KC Peace &
Justice Congress -Henry Stoever;
- LGBT Rights: Are full legal rights inevitable now? -Dan Winter, ACLU;
- Lessons for Afghanistan from the Iraq War – Ira Harritt;
- The Herrminnators- original in-your-face folk rock and blues with a social conscience;
- Nicolette Paige - eclectic folk/blues/reggae/soul singer-songwriter;
- Checkered Past- acoustic music that zings with poignant, playful and sweetly subversive harmonies; and
- Esoke– traditional dance and drumming from West Africa and the Caribbean;
- Peace Exhibits, Kids Peace Activities; Creation of a "Tree of Justice and Peace," And Much, Much More.
Remembering 6 Years of War
Kansas City events marking the sixth anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, were moving and powerful. The March 14th Peace Race for the Human Race Vigil and Rally showcased the need to end the war and build a peaceful world.
The Breaking Bread Together: A Dinner with
KC Area Iraq Refugees and Iraq War Veterans was
a powerful and moving event which brought
together two hundred people-- Iraqi
refugees,
One of the many volunteers Rosanne Stoneking expressed the following,
"I have a glow from seeing so
many smiles, the beautiful delicious food being
enjoyed by everyone, the conversations between
Iraqis and vets and ordinary Americans, the
dancing by the young people and the
children smiling..."
We encourage you to remind our elected officials:
- There are no military solutions to the Iraq occupation.
- It is time to responsibly and completely bring all of our troops and contractors home.
- We must provide needed support to those most harmed by this war - the Iraqi people and Iraq war veterans.
Candle Light Vigil Remembering the 6th Anniversary of the Start of the Iraq War
AFSC KC also marked 6 years of war in Iraq with a March 20 Candle Light Vigil Remembering the 6th Anniversary of the Start of the Iraq War. Forty area residents came to remember, hold signs, light candles, honor those whose lives have been lost in 6 years of war and simultaneously read the names of 4,260 U.S. troops killed in the war and occupation.
Let Martin Luther King's Vision of Justice
and Peace Guide our Nation
Thank you to the over 2800 concerned citizens signed-on to the letter to President Obama encouraging him to be guided by Dr. King's call for a "radical revolution of values" and "to harness man's genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all the nations of the world. Click here read the letter.
The War Within: an Exhibit
Revealing the Veteran Suicide Epidemic and the
Hidden Wounds of War
The exhibit and the Veterans' Day event
which introduced it is another stark visual
reminder of the costs of war. The wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan have taken a huge toll on
veterans' mental health. White combat boots on
a black background show the 48 suicides in
Kansas and Missouri linked to the wars. "The
suicides and psychiatric mortality of this war
could trump the combat deaths." Dr. Thomas
Insel, Director of the National Institute of
Mental Health.