 In the early 1960s, the Committee for Nonviolent Action (CNVA) frequently staged protest demonstrations at and around the General Dynamics: Electric Boat facility in Groton, Connecticut — the place where some of the world’s first nuclear-armed submarines were being built at the time. Many of those CNVA EB demonstrations involved attempts by young activists to physically block, board, or otherwise disrupt the launch of those submarines. They used canoes, other small boats, or just their bodies swimming in the Thames River to disrupt public ceremonies, drawing attention to the fact that 1) there were people in their community who had deep and well-considered misgivings about the area’s involvement in producing such weapons, and that 2) even just a few strong swimmers or paddlers armed with nothing but their convictions could outmaneuver dozens of other military watercraft and reach the nuclear leviathan to pose the question: were these weapons really worth the taxpayer money and the danger of annihilation? Neither the CNVA nor modern anti-sub activists have expected their demonstrations to immediately end the construction of nuclear submarines in southeastern Connecticut. Instead, these groups have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate to bear witness to the tragedy of our area’s nuclear-armed submarine manufacturing: weapons ostensibly designed for the express purpose of killing as many people as we can after we have already lost a nuclear war. Transforming society most often requires community organizing, collective action, and large systemic changes — but those things don’t happen overnight. They start with small groups and actions that eventually grow, inspire more acts, and build more momentum, until they become an unstoppable force. (Click one of the images below to download the PDF version of the original clippings)
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Take Action The CT Committee for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at nuclearbanct@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Crisis and the Individual.” Polaris Action Bulletin. 6 May 1961 (Bulletin #22), insert.  In March 1961, two antiwar activists disrupted a commissioning ceremony for the world’s fifth ever nuclear missile submarine in order to raise awareness of the danger and absurdity of the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. The two activists nonviolently attempted to board the submarine by paddling through frigid waters and dodging the patrol boats in nothing but a canoe. As alluded to in last week’s story, this action occurred during the Easter-time 3-Week Walk for Peace through the Northeast US, organized by the New England Committee for Nonviolent Action (NE CNVA) as a companion walk for the much bigger San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace. (See our previous posts: “Organizing the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace (1960-1961)” “‘Call to a 3-Week Walk for Peace’ (1961)” “‘Report on the Walk’ (1961)”) Longtime readers will be familiar with this kind of action that the CNVA popularized in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As the United States unveiled the world’s first line of nuclear missile submarines with patriotic pomp and military ceremony, at least two teams of activists would often show up. The larger group would amass visibly, often near the entries to the ceremonies, and hold signs and/or pass out leaflets about the dangers of nuclear weapons to those in attendance. Meanwhile, the smaller group would sneak onto the banks of the water near the ceremonies, launch their canoe or other small vessel (or simply dive in), and cause a great commotion playing cat-and-mouse with the patrols — stealing the limelight from the military. Indeed, this seems to be exactly how it played out in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1961. What is so striking about the action is its drama. We live in a very different world now compared to 1961, and it is questionable whether such actions would be effective (or even safe) to attempt today, but they seemed to have worked multiple times in those early years specifically in large part because they were using a new tactic to respond directly to the unveiling of a new and world-changing technology. If there is a lesson to be drawn, perhaps it is that, as activists and organizers, we must constantly adopt new tactics to disorient the military-industrial complex and the State — and that when violence as a response is removed from the table, new possibilities and innovative tactics often suddenly spring forth. (Click the image below to download the PDF version of the original clippings)  --
Take Action The CT Committee for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at nuclearbanct@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Civil Disobedience at Portsmouth, N.H.” Polaris Action Bulletin. 10 April 1961 (Bulletin #21), page 4.  In solidarity with the 1960-1961 San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace, one of the longest and most ambitious peace walks in modern history, many companion walks were organized throughout the United States and Europe. The New England Committee for Nonviolent Action (NECNVA), based at VPT in Voluntown, Connecticut, organized the New England companion walk which started in Kittery, Maine and passed through cities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut before ending at the UN Building in New York City. Along the way, hundreds of people participated either as walkers or providers of hospitality, and thousands more heard the NECNVA message: that the US military plans during the Cold War were both ethically and strategically compromised. By many measures, the “3-Week Walk for Peace” through the Northeastern US in 1961 was a massive success. (See our previous posts: “Organizing the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace (1960-1961)” “‘Call to a 3-Week Walk for Peace’ (1961)”) Shortly following the action, one of the NE CNVA founders, Bob Swann, wrote a brief report about the walk. He divided his report into three main sections: “Outreach,” “Publicity,” and “Participation.” Through his words, we can glimpse some of the smart organizing that may have contributed to the walk’s success. For example, Bob Swann recounts that the walkers held on average one public meeting every evening, in which an average of 20-60 people would attend. These meetings offered multiple ways for people to engage with the CNVA message: by watching a film, participating in discussion, or just actively listening. The walk also enjoyed much positive publicity in the newspapers, radio, and television news. One factor may have been the explicitly nonviolent behavior of these activists, and another, the quality of responses given in the many interviews conducted along the walk. But one crucial factor — and one that many modern activist groups sometimes overlook — seems to have been the fact that the NE CNVA purposely connected with some locally respected figures who agreed with the NE CNVA program to help lend legitimacy to the cause. Reaching the local community by having the area’s religious, academic, or otherwise culturally important leaders articulate the CNVA message proved to be a very effective strategy. But the walkers were not limited in spreading their message to just these public meetings. Along the walk, there were countless opportunities for spontaneous discussion: with bystanders as the participants walked; during breaks and at evenings with those providing hospitality; at universities, places of worship, community centers, and more. Indeed, the infinite opportunities to spread the message up close was one of the great strategic strengths of the 3-Week Walk for Peace and for other such peace walks in general. See below to read the report and determine for yourself why the walk was so successful. (Click the images below to download the PDF version of the original clippings)  --
Take Action The CT Committee for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at nuclearbanct@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source Swann, Bob. “Report on the Walk.” Polaris Action Bulletin. 10 April 1961 (Bulletin #21), page 5.  In September 1960, three peace activists met at Hygienic Restaurant in New London, Connecticut and started to form a plan for their next big action: the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace. No other group had ever attempted a peace walk across the entire continental United States, and they only knew of one other peace group that had ever attempted to cross into the Soviet Union. And yet, working with the Committee for Nonviolent Action (CNVA), the three activists not only successfully organized the longest and most dramatic peace walk ever, but spawned several more peace walks in solidarity. (See our previous post: “Organizing the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace (1960-1961)”) One such companion peace walk was organized in eastern Connecticut. Inspired by the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace, as well as the UK’s Aldermaston to London “ban the bomb” marches that had been held every Easter since 1952, the New England CNVA (based at VPT in Voluntown, Connecticut) organized a peace walk from Kittery, Maine to the UN Headquarters in New York City. Named the “3-Week Walk for Peace,” the initial call was put out on February 2, 1961 in the Polaris Action Bulletin, about two months after the San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace began. Protest marches and peace walks had been held in the past, but none of the scale of the San Francisco to Moscow Walk. Thus, this was a relatively new tactic of the progressive left at the time, and one with several appealing factors. It was fast enough to cover a lot of ground, but slow enough to make real connections between people. It brought participants directly into communities to discuss the arms race face-to-face with folks and through the local media. It reminded some of the old religious itinerant holy people or pilgrims journeying to sacred sites. It reminded others of Gandhi and the success of the Salt March. Supporters were invited to participate in a number of ways. Those who could not walk the route themselves could put walkers up for a night and provide other hospitality. Volunteers were encouraged to contact their local media to arrange interviews or public discussions. Direct financial support was always useful to fund the whole operation. And, of course, one could sign up to walk. Although most walkers only committed themselves to just a portion of the full 340-mile, 3-week walk, it was often still a significant sacrifice of time and energy, even considering that the CNVA paid for food and other expenses for the participants. But in the comparatively more religious 1960s, such sacrifice during the Easter season was part of the point; like Dr. King in the civil rights movement around the same time, using the popular religious language and imagery allowed these activists to communicate their message on multiple levels. (Click the images below to download the PDF version of the original clippings)   —
Take Action The CT Committee for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at nuclearbanct@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Sources “Call to a 3-Week Walk for Peace.” Polaris Action Bulletin. 2 February 1961 (Bulletin #19), page 3. “Details of 3-Week Walk for Peace.” Polaris Action Bulletin. 2 February 1961 (Bulletin #19), page 4.  For the last few weeks, we have been telling the story of Eroseanna Robinson’s refusal to pay taxes used for war, her imprisonment and absolute noncooperation with the prison system, and the grassroots community of supporters her story generated. She never signed anything the legal system mandated, refused to follow prison rules, and maintained a hunger strike from the first minute of her incarceration to the end. As a Black woman from Chicago imprisoned in West Virginia in 1960, “Sis” Robinson took great risks by challenging the sentencing judge, the correctional officers, and the rest of the punitive institution that kept her. And yet, she was released after serving just a quarter of her sentence. Why? (See our previous posts to learn more about Eroseanna Robinson and her arrest: - Eroseanna Robinson: Black Olympic Athlete, Desegregationist, War Tax Resister - "This is Why Eroseanna Robinson Refuses to Pay Taxes", 1960 - Solidarity with War Tax Resister Eroseanna Robinson, 1960) Members of the Peacemaker movement (to which Eroseanna Robinson belonged) had picketed outside of IRS offices and other federal buildings in various cities around the country, generating greater publicity to Robinson’s situation. Clergy and regular people wrote to the sentencing judge, Judge Robson appealing to his conscience and urging for leniency. Meanwhile, other peacemakers had protested outside of the Alderson prison at scattered opportunities during those months of her imprisonment, but in the week before Robinson’s release, ten people had set up a more permanent Peacemaker encampment outside the Alderson prison gates. They were of mixed genders, roughly half of them Black and half white. Most of them had taken up a hunger strike in solidarity with Eroseanna. All of them were willing and eager to talk with local people to explain why they were there. And all of this was announced to the Alderson community through a statement in the town newspaper — which caused many local people to go and hear for themselves the Peacemakers’ vision for a world without war. Judge Robson and the Alderson prison warden Nina Knisella both maintained that the letters and picketing did not influence the decision to release Eroseanna Robinson early, but that it was because her resistance had become too great of a burden on the prison medical staff who had to force-feed and monitor her. This may be true, but it should also be noted that the federal strategy toward the antiwar movement at the time was to ignore and downplay its actions to prevent the movement from growing — such pronouncements of denial should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, if Robson and Knisella are to be believed, it is perhaps an even more incredible story: that a northern Black woman imprisoned south of the Mason-Dixon line in 1960 would be released just one-quarter of the way through her sentence simply because through nonviolent resistance and noncooperation, she made her own imprisonment too difficult for the prison system to maintain. When Robinson was released, the prison bought her a ticket to Chicago and sent her directly to the train station, trying to avoid the publicity moment with the Peacemakers encampment outside of the prison gates. But the Peacemakers quickly made chase and met up with Robinson at the train station, where the correctional officers watched impotently as Robinson let the train leave without her and then drove off in the car with her Peacemaker friends. (Click the images below to download the PDF versions of the original articles)    --
Take Action Visit the War Resisters League (WRL) page on war tax resistance to get an overview explanation of the movement. The WRL website is also where you can find the pie chart of federal income tax distribution, as well: https://www.warresisters.org/war-tax-resistance Learn more about war tax resistance, including how to resist war taxes yourself, and get involved in today’s national war tax resistance movement at the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee website: https://nwtrcc.org/ — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Pacifists Camp At Prison Gate.” The Charleston Gazette. 16 May 1960. “We at the Gate to Alderson Prison Speak.” The Alderson Times. 19 May 1960. “Prison To Free Hunger Striker.” Beckley Post-Herald. 20 May 1960. “Victory Celebrated by ‘Peacemakers.’” The Charleston Gazette. 21 May 1960. “Robinson Released; Still Won’t Pay Taxes.” The Peacemaker. 28 May 1960, Volume 13, Number 8. Page 1.  Over the course of February and March 1960, in the weeks following Eroseanna “Sis” Robinson’s arrest for war tax resistance, people across the United States in the Peacemaker movement expressed their solidarity with Robinson and took action to find justice for her: they protested outside the IRS offices in three major cities, wrote to the ruling judge appealing for leniency, and some became war tax resisters themselves if they weren’t already. And while other publications covered her story, Sis Robinson was an active member of the Peacemakers, and that organization’s newsletter covered her story the closest. (See our previous posts to learn more about Eroseanna Robinson and her arrest: - Eroseanna Robinson: Black Olympic Athlete, Desegregationist, War Tax Resister - "This is Why Eroseanna Robinson Refuses to Pay Taxes", 1960) Indeed, the articles and notices we have now have become a part of the story itself: how an independent newsletter created such a wide-ranging community of supporters for Sis Robinson in multiple cities so quickly, and the success of their efforts. This week, we see that Robinson’s story from previous issues had generated greater interest in the finer details of war tax resistance. On page 2 of the March 5, 1960 issue, the editors included three specific methods to resist supporting war through income taxes. We also see that people answered the earlier calls the Peacemaker had made for solidarity actions. At least one other Peacemaker, Karl Meyer, even caused a bit of “good trouble” in protest, drawing even more attention to the case. But it wasn’t just individuals who were making and distributing leaflets about Robinson’s case; other local groups joined in the work of educating the public, like the committee from the Washington Park Forum mentioned in the “Chicagoans Support” story. This combination of small local organizations active in their own communities, audacious individuals willing to take a stand, and a broad national movement invested in widely sharing these stories and calls to action — altogether made a real difference to Sis Robinson as she continued to resist cooperation with the authorities. (Click the images below to download the PDF version of the original clippings)   -- Take Action Visit the War Resisters League (WRL) page on war tax resistance to get an overview explanation of the movement. The WRL website is also where you can find the pie chart of federal income tax distribution, as well: https://www.warresisters.org/war-tax-resistance Learn more about war tax resistance, including how to resist war taxes yourself, and get involved in today’s national war tax resistance movement at the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee website: https://nwtrcc.org/ — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Chicagoans Support Sis Robinson.” The Peacemaker. 26 March 1960, Volume 13, Number 4. Page 3-4. “Ideas for Action.” The Peacemaker. 5 March 1960, Volume 13, Number 4. Page 1. “Nonpayment of War Taxes and Nonfiling of Returns.” “Unity with Sis Robinson in Three Cities.” “Literature on Sis Robinson.” “Militant Unity with the Best.” The Peacemaker. 5 March 1960, Volume 13, Number 4. Page 2.  Following in the tradition of such great Americans as Henry David Thoreau, Black Olympic athlete and social justice activist Eroseanna Robinson was arrested on January 26, 1960 for her refusal to pay her income taxes. The main concern in her day was the threat of nuclear weapons and their radioactive fallout. To US war resisters like Robinson, the fear was not merely that they themselves may fall victim to a nuclear attack, but that their own government might be responsible for a nuclear attack and all of the attending death and suffering that would follow — once again, not two decades out from the first attacks made on Japan. (See our post from last week here to learn more about Eroseanna Robinson and her arrest) There has been much discourse in the last several years about taxes, how high or low they should be, and what kinds of people in our society should pay them. Former-President Donald Trump still remains embroiled in the scandal of his alleged tax fraud. Activists constantly remind us that tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg and their respective industry giants have never paid their fair share. Indeed, few Americans are not aware of the existence of the tax breaks and other loopholes the ultra-rich use to hoard their wealth and avoid paying taxes. The refusal to pay taxes due to a refusal to participate in the war economy is a different matter altogether. Many war tax resisters, like Eroseanna Robinson, choose to live extremely simply so as to make less than a taxable income. Other war tax resisters purposely make enough income to be taxable — whether just barely or at an average income level. Some resist 50% of their income taxes — about the percentage that goes to the military. And the military budget of the US government only continues to grow. It grew under Bush for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; it grew under Obama, even as he promised to end the war in Afghanistan; it grew under Trump, even as he promised to close off-shore military bases; and it continues to grow under Biden as the military-industrial complex demands upgrades and replacements to Cold War nuclear missiles and other doomsday weapons. As we have watched in horror the Russian invasion of Ukraine lately, many of us have felt powerless to do anything about the situation. The invasion has been shown clearly to be an unjust act of aggression. Even more disturbingly, the Russian nuclear weapons system has been put on alert in anticipation of a direct NATO military intervention. But let us recall that NATO was established to oppose the Soviet Union, which has been gone for over three decades, and that NATO persists to this day primarily because it is too profitable for the military-industrial complex to give up. And the war-profiteer corporations like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics depend largely on government contracts paid for by US tax dollars and, increasingly, funds from other foreign governments eager to keep up. The refusal to pay war taxes in the United States is the refusal to participate in the funding of “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world.” (Click the image below to download the PDF version of the original clipping. See also the pie chart from War Resisters League “Where Your Income Tax Really Goes FY2022” to see how much of your tax money goes to the military-industrial complex — an updated chart for FY2023 will be out in a few weeks.)   -- Take Action Visit the War Resisters League (WRL) page on war tax resistance to get an overview explanation of the movement. The WRL website is also where you can find the pie chart of federal income tax distribution, as well: https://www.warresisters.org/war-tax-resistance Learn more about war tax resistance, including how to resist war taxes yourself, and get involved in today’s national war tax resistance movement at the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee website: https://nwtrcc.org/ — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Federal Budget Card.” The Peacemaker. 5 March 1960, Volume 13, Number 4. Page 8. “Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes FY2022.” War Resisters League. https://www.warresisters.org/store/where-your-income-tax-money-really-goes-fy2022  One of the primary programs of the mid-20th century antiwar group Peacemakers was war tax resistance. Many across the country either lived purposely below the poverty line to avoid paying an income tax or flatly refused to file their taxes. Of just the six people in the movement arrested in the 1950s-1960s, one was the Black Olympic athlete Eroseanna Robinson. Long before Muhammad Ali was jailed for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, Eroseanna Robinson inspired innumerable people by making multiple stands against the US war machine. Since at least 1951, years before the Civil Rights Movement really took off, Robinson was a desegregation activist in Maryland, Ohio, and beyond. As an Olympic runner, Robinson refused to compete in Russia, not wanting to be used as a pawn in US-USSR Cold War political games. And on February 18, 1960, Robinson was finally arrested and jailed for years of refusing to pay income taxes. Most of the income tax collected in the United States is directed towards war. This was true during the Cold War, and it absurdly remains true now, even with the “specter of communism” long gone. Robinson, like the rest of the Peacemakers, did not want to contribute anything to the United States military — what Dr. King would later call “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” Throughout the arrest and incarceration process, Robinson followed her nonviolent resistance training and refused to cooperate with authorities, even forcing law enforcement and correctional officers to physically carry her into court and to and from various holding sites. She went on a hunger strike for months, resulting in her jailers force-feeding her — but the force-feeding upset many in the clergy and put the legal system that jailed her under intense scrutiny. As mentioned last week, Eroseanna Robinson was one of the featured faculty of the 1960 Peacemakers training program in New London, CT. Indeed, her description in the brochure was the longest of all, in part due to the drama of her story as a war tax resister. (See last week’s post here: http://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/a-peace-of-history-blog/february-17th-2022) Next month during Women’s History Month, we will pick back up Eroseanna Robinson’s story, including how she was released from jail after completing just a quarter of her sentence. (Click the image below to download the PDF version of the original clipping)   --
Take Action The CT Committee on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at vptcomm@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source Insert sheet. The Peacemaker, March 5, 1960. The Peacemakers were the most active and influential nonviolent direct action group in the United States for almost a decade, from its founding in 1948 on into the mid-1950s. For decades later, the Peacemakers would remain a steady ally of other peace activist organizations, many of which had been founded by members of the Peacemakers themselves. This was the case in 1960, when the Peacemakers moved their annual summer nonviolent direct action training from their headquarters in Pennsylvania up to the New London area of Connecticut in order to support the Committee for Nonviolent Action’s Polaris Action campaign there; as the CNVA organized and demonstrated in dramatic public actions to raise awareness of the dangers of the US nuclear strategy, the Peacemakers would train new activists to join these actions and get immediate firsthand experience. While largely unknown today, the Peacemakers were rather well-known in certain circles at their peak. On the Faculty list for the 1960 Peacemaker Training in New London several famous names jump out. To name just a few: Anne Braden, the renowned civil rights activist; David Dellinger, one of the Chicago Seven; Eroseanna Robinson, the athlete-activist imprisoned for war tax resistance; and Fred Shuttlesworth, legendary cofounder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In the brochure, the 16-day Program is divided into four parts: (1) An Introduction to Nonviolence, (2) A Consideration of Violence, (3) Resistance to the Old Society, and (4) The Development of Free, Nonviolent Relationships. What’s noteworthy is the breadth and depth of the Peacemaker vision. The Peacemakers were not simply resisting injustice, but attempting to transform lives and perhaps society itself. And as a fundamentally anarchist organization, they questioned many of the fundamental assumptions of mainstream society all the way in 1960: “What is violent about an employment relationship?” “Can advanced technology exist in a nonviolent society?” “What is [sexual] ‘normality’?” “What is ‘crime’ or ‘criminal’?” Also notable is the flexibility for anyone to participate regardless of ability to pay or stay for the entire duration. Travel costs, lodgings and food, and even childcare were provided. All efforts were made to ensure that folks of all walks of life would attend. And judging by first-hand accounts, those efforts successfully brought in a great diversity of individuals. (Click the image below to download the PDF version of the original clipping)     -- Take Action The CT Committee on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at vptcomm@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source “Important Notice! Peacemaker Training in Nonviolence has been Moved to New London, Connecticut.” Peacemakers, 1960. In the summer of 1960, peace activists from around the country came to New London, CT, where some of the world’s first nuclear-armed submarines were being designed and built. Polaris Action, as the activists called it, was a summer-long public action and education campaign to raise awareness of the dangers and unethical nature of nuclear weapons and the entire US nuclear strategy. While the Committee for Nonviolent Action (CNVA) was the primary organizer of Polaris Action, other peace groups also participated in the project that summer including the Peacemakers, who held their annual intensive two-week orientation and training program on nonviolent action in New London that summer for anyone who wished to join. Early members of the Peacemakers included World War II resisters, including Wally Nelson and Ernest Bromley. Those two men also participated in the Journey of Reconciliation, the first freedom rides in 1947. Peacemakers projects were varied and included such initiatives as the formation of a short-lived interracial intentional community in Cincinatti called “Gano Peacemakers.” Wally and Juanita Nelson were both principal participants of the Gano Peacemakers community. Wally also became the first nonviolence trainer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and he and Juanita were organizers for Peacemakers training programs, including the ones in 1960 New London. In the info sheet below, the Peacemakers explain how they formed, how they are different from other peace organizations, how they aspire to “a positive way of living for peace,” and the reasoning behind those aspirations. While the Peacemakers values and methods may at first seem to limit the behaviors and actions of activists, that perceived limitation is only a matter of perspective. As Barbara Deming, a writer who attended the Peacemakers training in New London and whose life was changed because of it, commented on exactly this perception of nonviolent action in her December 17, 1960 article for The Nation: “Many in the group had chosen to be poor because of a wish to identify their lives with those of a majority of the world’s people. But also they had chosen to be poor to fit themselves for battle — lest anxiety about losing what they had should make them hesitate. What soon became apparent about these people was that they were above all people ready to act. Somewhere in the history of nonviolent resistance, the term “passive resistance” has been picked up. This term should be discarded. The “pacifists” are the only freely active people I have met in a long time. Coming face to face with them was, in fact, like entering a new world.” (Click the image below to download the PDF version of the original clipping)   Take Action The CT Committee on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons organizes pro-disarmament demonstrations throughout the year. To participate in these demonstrations against nuclear arms and in support of the UN’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, please get in touch with us on Facebook at facebook.com/voluntownpeacetrust or email us at vptcomm@gmail.com. — Support Us If you like our weekly posts, please consider supporting this project with a one-time or recurring donation. Contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Click this link to learn more about what we do and how you can donate: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Voluntown-Peace-Trust — Source Deming, Barbara. “The Peacemakers.” We Are All Part of One Another: A Barbara Deming Reader. “What is Peacemakers?" |
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