Annual Membership Meeting
Keynote speaker: Greg Coleridge – “Cultivating Peace with Justice in a Militarized World”
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
See Greg’s presentation on our YouTube channel
Annual election of board members and officers for Cleveland Peace Action and Cleveland Peace Action Education Fund.
See candidate slate and read bios for new candidates, Jabir Asa, Terry Lodge, and Mark Alvarado
On Moving Towards Peace in Ukraine
May 9, 2022
Cleveland Peace Action condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which continues to indiscriminately kill civilians as well as destroy vital infrastructure. We condemn Russian imperialism in relation to Ukraine. We call for an immediate ceasefire by all forces in Ukraine and negotiations to resolve disagreements between the two nations.
We stand with the Ukrainian people and with our comrades, Russian antiwar activists who are now subject to retribution and imprisonment for their peace advocacy and opposition to this war.
We also recognize our own government’s role in promoting de-stabilization in the region and escalating tensions with Russia. We demand our government take the following steps toward reducing tensions and ending this war:
- Reject calls to enforce a No-Fly-Zone
- Pledge No First Use of nuclear weapons
- No US warplanes to Ukraine
- End efforts to include Ukraine in NATO
- Reject any additional funding for the Pentagon
- Dial down inflammatory statements about Putin and Russia
- Funds for humanitarian assistance and the rebuilding of Ukraine
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz: Not “A Nation of Immigrants”
Book discussion Saturday, April 23rd, 2022
Author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz in conversation with Detroit-based activist and writer Frank Joyce.
The eye-opening and transformative new book from the author of An Indigenous People’s History of the United States will challenge what you believe about U.S. history. An essential text for the twenty-first century, Not “A Nation of Immigrants” charges that it’s time to stop perpetuating simplistic and ahistorical fantasies and embrace the true, complex and often sobering history of these United States.
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma, the daughter of a tenant farmer and part-Indian mother. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. She lives in San Francisco.
Frank Joyce is a lifelong Detroit based writer and activist. He is co-editor with Karin Aguilar-San Juan of The People Make The Peace: Lessons From the Vietnam Antiwar Movement and he is currently writing a book about unlearning white supremacy.
Co-sponsored by these bookstores: Mac’s Backs, Loganberry, Learned Owl
Other co-sponsors include American Indian Movement-Ohio, Cleveland Nonviolence Network,
Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Hip Hop
Congress, Black on Black Crime Inc., Lake Erie Native American Council, End Poverty Now!, Ohio
Poor People’s Campaign, NEOH Black Health Coalition, Young Latino Network
Cleveland Rally for Peace in Europe
12 Noon, Saturday April 2nd, Market Square Park
Calling for immediate action by the collective governments of US, Russia, and Ukraine.
Ceasefire Now!
Unconditional Humanitarian Assistance!
Reject No-Fly -Zone!
Reject Funds to the Pentagon!
No NATO Expansion!
No Use of Nuclear Weapons!
Negotiate Peace!
Breaking the Silence 2022
On April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a landmark speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence,” at Riverside Church in New York City. He drew the connections between US militarism, racism, and economic injustice, three ills that afflicted our nation then and still do today.
On the steps of Cleveland City Hall, Monday, April 4, 2022 at 5:00 PM, a diverse group of community leaders and activists will read Dr. King’s speech. Last year, a broad coalition of Northeast Ohioans organized a virtual and intersectional reading and discussion – view here. This year we gather in person!!
Our local reading is one of many such events on this day. A national event, at 7:15 PM will feature a pre-recorded group reading of the speech, followed by a live panel discussion – register here
Co-sponsors: Black on Black Crime Inc., Carl Stokes Brigade, CLEAN Cleveland Environmental Action Network, Cleveland Jobs With Justice, Cleveland Move to Amend, Cleveland Nonviolence Network, Cleveland Peace Action, Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, End Poverty Now!, Hip Hop Congress, InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia (IRTF), Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, Ohio Poor People’s Campaign, Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership (OPAWL), SPAN Ohio, Survivors and Victims of Violence, Tamir Rice Foundation, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, Young Communist League, YWCA