April/May 2011 E-NEWSLETTER
The Peace and Economic Justice E-NEWSLETTER serves as a source of information on AFSC actions and activities for those in our community interested in peace work.
*Find AFSC online*
www.afsc.org/greensboro | http://afscnc.blogspot.com| www.facebook.com/afscnc
1. Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan
2. Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace
3. Greensboro Plans for Participatory Budget
4. Action Alerts
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1. Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan
The Windows and Mirrors Exhibit was in Greensboro from March 25- May 8. Megan Fair, AFSC intern and lead coordinator of the Exhibit shares her final reflections of Windows and Mirrors.
Window and Mirrors might have left Greensboro but this is definitely a situation in which the old adage “gone but not forgotten” applies. Yes the lingering posters and pending reports is a constant reminder that those murals were hanging on those now bare walls. But what has really kept the exhibition in the forefront of my mind are the reflections in the guest book and the conversations with community members, the knowledge that my mind is not the only one in which these images remain.
But what do we do with these impressions loitering in our consciousness? Do we write a line of poetry here, wipe a tear away there and go about our lives, moved but not moving? Does being content with only signing our names to a postcard cheapen what we experienced in front of each piece of art? These are tough questions that only lead into another question, what else can we do?
Windows and Mirrors was never intended as a onetime event, it was not meant to come and go leaving minimal effects like a mouse in the pantry. This exhibition was more like the metaphorically bull in the china shop, shattering preconceived notions and challenging mindsets of ignorance and unawareness. These pieces should not be put back together but can they be part of a new puzzle?
And that is what I am struggling with in the aftermath of Windows and Mirrors. The quote that has been traveling with the murals reads “Windows on a war torn country are also mirrors reflecting back on our own identity as a nation at war”. I’ve looked through these windows and seen myself in the mirror that they become. I ‘m ashamed to say I see myself complacent, saying that I have done enough to amplify the voices of the suffering. But as any recovering addict will tell you, the first step is admitting your problems. So in a way Windows and Mirrors has put me on the path to recovery, to recovering knowledge of latent injustices, to recovering a desire to make the sacrifices necessary to challenge those injustices, to recovering a love for all humanity over myself and the advantages of my life.
So I didn’t actually answer the question of what we do after Windows and Mirrors, what do we do once we’ve had our eyes and hearts opened to the plight of so many. I didn’t answer this question because that is a question that can only be answered by one person: you.
You can view Megan Fair’s final reflections on the Windows and Mirrors exhibition through digital story click here
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2. Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace
Every year during the Holy week several social justice organizations come together and participate in the Pilgrimage for Peace and Justice. Core walkers and other participants walk to highlight issues of justice happening around the world and in our state. This year the pilgrimage took place during the week of April 17th- 25th. There were eight core walkers, including AFSC intern Starlet Tetteh. The pilgrimage convened in Goldsboro and core walkers stopped in Burlington, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Cary, Chapel Hill, Garner, and Raleigh. Focal points of the pilgrimage were jobs, education, justice for immigrants and the human cost of war.
AFSC intern Starlet, documented her experience as a core walker and made a digital story about the Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace. You can view her story here.
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3. *Engaging People through Participatory Budgeting*
The economic reality faced by the nonprofit sector today may be the most difficult in decades. As funding sources erode, nonprofit directors and fund developers need to build stronger relationships with existing donors and the communities they work within. A new tool called “participatory budgeting” could help. In over 1,000 cities around the world, organizations have used it to attract more resources and support for their activities. Participatory budgeting engages community members in directly deciding how to spend budget money in cities, schools, housing authorities, and organizations.
On May 5, the Fund4Democratic Communities provided an open forum to discuss participatory budgeting. An AFSC intern attended the forum and found ways to use participatory budgeting to build community trust in our organization, stabilize our funding, and engage more people. This event was free and opens to anyone with a stake in a local nonprofit.
For more information on Participatory Budgeting, please contact:
Dave Reed
pbproject@f4dc.org
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4.* Action Alerts*
Time to end the war on terror
This is the time for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as a first step in bringing this decade-long tragedy to an end. Sadly, right now some legislators are trying to expand the war on terror.
Please write your member of Congress now to insist they oppose H.R. 968 and to say that now is the time to end — not expand — the wars.
Write Congress Now
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