3 Co-Sponsor Dept. of Peacebuilding in Season for Nonviolence

3 Members of Congress Co-Sponsor Dept. of Peacebuilding
During Season for Nonviolence 2018

Three members of Congress co-sponsored Department of Peacebuilding (DoP/ HR 1111) legislation during the Season for Nonviolence (SNV) 2018 as volunteers honored proponents of nonviolence by advocating for a cabinet-level DoP. Rep. Nanette Barragan (CA-44), Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-2) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-2) signed on to Rep. Barbara Lee’s (CA-13) bill, bringing the total to 40 cosponsors as of 6/15/18. SNV — January 30 to April 4 — is the period spanning the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

During SNV 2018, the National Department of Peacebuilding Campaign educated itself, volunteers and legislators that, as Dr. King said, “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.“

For a number of years, the National DoP Campaign has observed and participated in SNV by seeking Congressional cosponsors of HR 1111. To honor proponents of nonviolence such as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar E. Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet:

SNV 2018 DoP volunteers contacted approximately 45 members of Congress and Senators from 27 states via in-person conversations, phone calls to these DC offices and emails to congressional staffers.
Individuals from 18 states responded to our call for volunteers. We conducted several training/ coaching and/or informational call and connected with volunteers throughout SNV via email. Some individuals signed online petitions to their legislators.
The CA DoP group distributed hundreds of SNV flyers at the CA Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in 2/18 and spoke with many attendees who agreed to contact nine CA congressmembers. Others took this request to their local groups and Democratic clubs.
Multiple MA DoP activists participated in SNV.

For more information, see https://peacealliance.kontribune.com/articles/8642 .

Nancy Merritt
Peace Alliance/ National Department of Peacebuilding Lead