Syracuse Peace Council Pages
compiled by Carol Baum

Staff Email Addresses:
Andy Mager <andy@peacecouncil.net>
Carol Baum <carol@peacecouncil.net>
Jessica Maxwell <jessica@peacecouncil.net>

Bush Must Go! Campaign Active This Summer
SPC’s Campaign to oust the current squatters in the White House has continued building momentum.

Lawn Signs
We’ve distributed 500 Bush Must Go! lawn signs. Stop by the office and pick one up for a donation of $5 (more if you can, less if you can’t).

Human Need Not Corporate Greed
The second phase of SPC’s Bush Must Go! Campaign is in full swing. Almost 40 people came to see the independent documentary The Fourth World War at our monthly program in June. We are working hard to distribute the second volume of Bush Must Go! educational brochures around the city. We need your help! Stop by and pick up a stack to hand out on your block or call us if you’d prefer to go out with a group of distributors. The brochure is available at our website along with other campaign materials.

We’re also mobilizing to send a contingent to the Boston Social Forum on July 23-25 and to support Central New Yorkers attending the Democratic National Convention protests in Boston July 26-29. To learn more or to help out, contact Jessica.

Protect the Earth
This phase of the Bush Must Go! Campaign got off to a great start with a spirited meeting of 11 environmentalists. More are welcome to join.

To find out about upcoming “Protect the Earth” events in August check SPC’s website, receive SPC’s weekly e-newsletter (see www.peacecouncil.net/Intouch.htm for how to subscribe), or contact Carol.

Fahrenheit 9/11, Benefit #2
Our first fundraising showing of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 was so successful that we decided to do another – at noon on Sunday, July 18 at the Westcott Cinema, 524 Westcott St., sliding scale $10-$15. See it again, and bring friends!

The first SPC showing was June 26, the day after it opened nationwide. We sold over 550 tickets, raising $3500. In addition, we sold 80 Bush Must Go! lawn signs and a plethora of buttons and bumperstickers. Special thanks go to the Westcott Cinema’s Nat Tobin, Dik Cool for making the initial arrangements, Janie Garlow for organizing the reception, the Westcott Day Hab for donating reception space, and all the volunteers who helped.

SPC continues to leaflet and table at the Westcott Cinema after the movie gets out each night. Contact SPC to help.

Syracuse Peace Council to Move
While most of SPC’s energy goes into our organizing and activist work, behind the scenes plans continue for our projected move to 1419 E. Fayette St. in Spring, 2005. Committees are hard at work creating action plans for this major effort.

We believe the move will significantly enhance our ability to work for peace and social justice. We also will add to the renewal of a neighborhood in transition. If you haven’t been through the 1400 block of E. Fayette in a while, take a look. Housing Visions is completely rehabilitating eight buildings, including the ones on each side of the SPC building. It will be a rejuvenated block we move into!

Capital Campaign
We are currently setting the groundwork for a Capital Campaign which will raise the funds needed to pay for renovation work and the move, assist with the added operating costs of the larger building and provide a more sustainable base for the Peace Council’s future. The campaign will solicit support from individuals, foundations and in-kind contributions of labor, materials and goods. Look for more information in September.

We are thrilled that Diane Swords has agreed to coordinate the Capital Campaign. Others involved include Tom Walsh, John Brulé, Sam Feld, Frank Malfitano, and Kate O’Connell. Bonnie Strunk has agreed to provide pro bono legal services.

The creation of the SPC Educational Foundation (working title), a new 501(c)3 organization to own the building, is underway with generous assistance from the firm Green and Seifter.

Hiroshima Day Commemoration
Once again SPC has joined with the American Friends Service Committee, Citizens Awareness Network, and Peace Action to organize a Hiroshima Day Procession and Vigil on August 6. We will gather at 11:30 am at Plymouth Church in downtown Syracuse for the procession and be at Columbus Circle at 1 pm.

Please join us as we remember Hiroshima and use it as a wake-up call for what is happening in the world today. Many people are needed to help carry banners and puppets in the procession, If you can come and help, contact Carol.

SPC Supports the Partnership for Onondaga Creek
At a June 7 County Legislature meeting, The Partnership for Onondaga Creek (POC) made a “Declaration of Resistance to Onondaga County’s Proposed Sewage Plant at Midland and Armory Square” (see page 21). The POC has been very busy, and SPC has assisted with phone calling and attending their protests.

NYS Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffmann has recently been targeted for her refusal to support the Partnership’s Title VI Civil Rights Claim against the county for environmental racism. Hoffmann garners media attention each year for her “Civil Rights Connection” program sending local high school students to study the civil rights movement in the south. The Partnership calls on her to stand up for the civil rights of her constituents by writing a letter in support of their claim.

After several days of picketing at her office, the Partnership escalated their resistance with a sit-in on July 12. The office was occupied for the entire day, and that evening Ed Kinane, Aggie Lane, Zac Moore and Quay Winfield were arrested and charged with trespass.

To help SPC support underground storage of sewage, contact Carol.

Iraqi “Sovereignty” a Myth
An energetic crowd gathered in Clinton Square in downtown Syracuse on June 30 to mark the Bush administration’s “transfer of sovereignty” from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi Interim Government. With 150,000 foreign soldiers in Iraq, restrictions on the legislative powers of the Iraqi Interim Government and the inability to void lucrative contracts awarded to foreign corporations by US Occupation authorities, Iraq is far from sovereign.

We lined up along Salina St. holding signs exposing myths, such as “2001: George W. Bush ‘elected’ president; 2004: Iraqis get ‘sovereignty.’” A tableau presented “Uncle Sam” holding a leash attached to a hooded “Iraqi Governing Council.” A skit re-enacting the transfer of sovereignty transformed “New” Iraqi Sovereignty into “No” Iraqi Sovereignty. The Radical Cheerleaders then rallied the crowd, asserting: “This corrupt regime we have in DC / Only cares about corporate sovereignty.”

Many thanks to those who helped create the skit, make signs and distribute flyers.

Bikes 4 Peace!
In our first two bike clinics for youth, SPC worked with about 40 young people. Tires were patched, brake cables tightened, seats adjusted and chains cleaned! We shared basic mechanical skills, encouraged cooperative problem solving and constructive recreation, and supported creative recycling and environmental sustainability. The free clinics will continue on the second and fourth Tuesdays of July and August from 5-7:30 pm. Both of our June clinics were at the Northeast Community Center. Our first clinic in July will continue at the NECC. In late July and August we’ll be at the Westcott Community Center. To get involved or support the project, contact Jessica.

Youth Collaboration To Start
In late July, SPC will begin work with the Dunbar Center’s “Each One Teach One” program for teens. Over the course of the next 11 months, SPC staffperson Jessica Maxwell and Steering Committee member Rae Kramer will offer workshops twice per month for youth in the program, addressing issues of violence, nonviolence and empowerment.

June 19 — A Day of Parades
June 19 was parade day for SPC. In the morning, a small SPC contingent marched in the Juneteenth Parade with a banner reading, “There Can Be No Peace Without Social Justice.” From there, a few of us headed to Armory Square for the Pride Parade. Seven people, and a very adorable dog, represented the Peace Council. SPC may well have been the only organization that marched in both parades.

Marching in parades is a fun way to make connections and support other groups. We hope to double our numbers next year!

Summer and Finances
Ah summer…a time when it’s easy to forget to send donations to your favorite groups. Please don’t forget SPC. We have fixed expenses which don’t go away when the summer comes, and are still spending money (while being as frugal as we can) to get Bush out. Help us put more time into organizing and less into fundraising.

For information on SPC’s finances, contact Carol.

Weekly Peace Outreach
A recent Peace Outreach drew 17 people, a record since our outreach became mobile.
Every Tuesday from 4:45-5:30 pm. Bring your own sign, or borrow one of ours.
• July 20 Rt. 695 exit ramp to W. Genesee St. (Fairmount)
• July 27 Teall Ave. and Rt. 690
• Aug. 3 Adams St. and Rt. 81
• Aug. 10 Thompson Rd. and James St.
• Aug. 17 E. Genesee St. and Erie Blvd. E. (Dewitt)
• Aug. 24 Rt. 57 and Vine St., Village of Liverpool
• Aug. 31 NYS Fairgrounds main entrance
• September 7 Valley Drive and Seneca Turnpike