Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice (CCPJ) is a non-profit organization committed to peace and justice. The organization was founded in the early 1980's originally to oppose nuclear arms, but has evolved to oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Petitioning Council
- In January 2003, the group presented a petition against the Iraq War to City Council that had 2,401 signatures. [1]
- In January 2012, the group lobbied City Council to pass a peace resolution that called on the United States to avoid war in Iran. [2]
Mission
CCPJ describes its mission as promoting education and action for peace and justice in our community. CCPJ says it is committed to:
- Peace, Justice, and Understanding
- Maintaining an organization that brings the community together with groups engaged in peace and justice work.
- Halting deployment of nuclear weapons.
- Abolishing Virginia’s Death Penalty laws.
- Practice of non-violent strategies for resolving conflicts
- A living wage for all workers
- Ending U.S. proliferation of violence, militarism and racism}}
Board of Directors
- Robert McAdams (President)
- Nancy Carpenter
- Richard Lord
- Evan Knappenberger
- Julia Calland
Activities
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CCPJ holds monthly meetings that are open to the public. Individuals and organizations often bring proposals to CCPJ to request collaboration. The meetings are held at the Friends Meeting House and the details are posted well ahead of time on the organization's website. CCPJ is not a religious group and includes many long term members who are religious and many who are not.
CCPJ holds weekly vigils against war on Thursday afternoons on the corner in front of the Federal Court House in Charlottesville, and has been doing so for several years.
CCPJ has brought many speakers to Charlottesville over the years on various topics related to peace and justice. In September 2011, CCPJ was part of a coalition that organized a conference on the Military Industrial Conference at 50. The event led to publication of a book on the topic and to passage of a resolution opposing military spending by the Charlottesville City Council in January 2012. The resolution also opposed any military attack on Iran. This was in the tradition of other resolutions passed by the City Council following proposal by CCPJ and promotion through public petitioning, including a resolution passed in 2003 opposing an attack on Iraq.
References
- ↑ Web. Charlottesville City Council meeting minutes, .pdf, Council Chambers, City of Charlottesville, January 21, 2003.
- ↑ Web. WNRN Wake-Up Call: Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, Rick Moore, Podcast of February 5, 2012 Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, WNRN, February 5, 2012, retrieved February 6, 2012.