National Congress of Peace Action, July 2006
By Sara Malkani

The National Congress of Peace Action, which brought together chapters and members of Peace Action across the country, was held on July 14-16 in Detroit. The Coalition for Peace Action sent a five-member delegation, which included Executive Director Rev. Bob Moore; Chairwoman Irene Goldman; National Board Rep Carol Allen; Pennsylvania Board Representative Marta Steele; and Sara Malkani, CFPA’s summer intern.

The annual congress is an opportunity for grass-roots peace leaders across the country to discuss common issues of concern and to share accounts of their successes and challenges. It also allows some of the most active and effective peace activists across the country to discuss and formulate the common goals for the peace movement.

Underlying the Congress was the recognition that while a successful peace movement relies on education and mobilization at the grass-roots level, a strong nationwide network is essential for having a national impact. The proceedings of the Congress reflected this understanding: a number of workshops (including one led by CFPA on Membership Development) and panel discussions were held in which peace activists shared their knowledge and experience about effective strategies for mobilization.

In addition to the workshops, there were panel discussions including one on American foreign and military policy that was led by Professor Paul Schroeder of the University and Illinois and Greg Speeter of the National Priorities Project. Paul Schroeder, a professor of History at the University of Illinois, offered illuminating insights on current trends in American foreign policy by placing it in a historical context. He argued that history teaches us that the imperial ambitions of nations not only incur tremendous human and economic costs, but are also ultimately self-defeating. Greg Speeter of the National Priorities Project shared statistics on the cost to the American taxpayer of the war against Iraq. The figures he presented show that the war is not only an assault on the Iraqi people, but it is also an attack on all aspect of American civil society, including the economy, health, education, housing and so on.

Some of the most prominent leaders in the struggle for peace were invited to speak at the conference. The keynote speaker was Tom Hayden, a leader in the peace movement since Vietnam, a former member of the California legislature, and a writer. He offered encouragement by pointing to the shift in public opinion against the war in Iraq, as well as a corresponding change in the attitudes of many politicians and members of Congress. He was optimistic that by continuing grass-roots education and mobilization, the peace movement can eventually force the end of the occupation of Iraq. Other speakers at the Congress included US representatives Lynn Woolsey, one of the strongest opponents of the war against Iraq in Congress; and Representative John Conyers, who was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his support for progressive causes in the Congress for the last four decades.
 
The Congress also included workshops specifically for young student activists. These were led by Angela Kelly, who runs the Student Peace Action Network, a coalition of activist groups in high schools and college campuses across the country. This allowed student activists from different parts of the country to discuss the impact of the war against Iraq on young people, and the strategies that students can use in their schools, colleges and communities to build public opinion against the war. The issues that were believed to be among the most pressing for young people was the costs of the war in terms of government spending on education, as well as the military recruitment drive that targets high school and college students and provides misleading information about their future in the military.

Grass-roots activism awards were distributed. CFPA won two as an organization: for excellence in Membership Development and in Student Organizing. In addition, Carol Allen won an award for excellence in board leadership, both on the CFPA and National Peace Action boards.

The National Congress of Peace Action reinforced the scope of the peace movement in the country and highlighted its effectiveness on a grass roots as well as national level. The Congress also struck a fine balance between realism and optimism: the speeches, panel discussion, workshops and conversation in general reflected the understanding that while we would like to see an immediate end to the war in the Middle East, a halt to weapons trafficking and a change in the priorities of government spending, these aims can only be achieved gradually through education and mobilization at the grass-roots level.