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.”

With this wisdom in mind the Kansas City AFSC Program held the Community Festival for Justice and Peace: If you want Peace, Work for Justice May 16 at UMKC University Center and Walkway, 50th and Rockhill Rd., KCMO.

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)
Informative workshops, including:
  • 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; 
Music and entertainment was provided by:
  • 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.
Contact us at 816 931-5256 or iharritt@afsc.org to find out about attending our next planning meeting or how your group can become a co-sponsor, endorser or table at the Festival.

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, Iraq war veterans and other Kansas City community members--to eat together, and demonstrate that we can come together in peace and fellowship.

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 are pleased that the dinner had such a powerful impact, embracing the Kansas City area Iraqi refugees and building bridges of peace and understanding.

Click here to read more about the Breaking Bread Together Dinner.


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.

Information & Resources

Updated stories from our work (PDF)

Upcoming Events

KC-AFSC Star Newsletter Winter 2008

Contact Us


Ira Harritt

Program Director
iharritt@afsc.org

Deborah Mellicker
Administrative Associate
dmellicker@afsc.org

AFSC-Kansas City
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110

Phone:
(816) 931-5256
Fax:  
(816) 561-5033