San Jose Peace and Justice Center

More Than Fifty Years of Activism for Peace and Justice

The San Jose Peace Center was founded in 1957 by individuals profoundly concerned about peace and justice issues, especially the growth of nuclear arsenals and atmospheric nuclear testing.

More than fifty years later, the Peace and Justice Center, along with our affiliated organizations, continues to educate and engage the South Bay community around critical issues of peace and justice, with a current focus on ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fred Iltis 1923 – 2008 Scientist, Photographer, Fighter for Peace & Justice

A book that is currently available (for a $10 donation) at the Peace & Justice Center contains the beautiful photographs taken in Mexico and the U.S. by Fred Iltis, emeritus professor of SJSU and good friend of the Peace & Justice Center.

The video shows an exhibit of his work that was organized in Milan in November 2009 by the same Italian friends who published the book. Information about Fred's remarkable life is available in the book's introduction, as well as online in a reminiscence by American friends, a blog by Italian friends (with a video of the photo exhibit) and a Wikipedia entry

We've Lost a Friend: Bill Weller

weller The Peace & Justice Center has lost a long-time friend - William Joseph Weller passed away on April 16, 2010 at the age of 88. Bill and his late wife Mary were active in the peace movement, and supported a wide variety of environmental groups A medical doctor, Bill spent several months on the hospital Ship HOPE in Peru in the 1960s, and volunteered with the Farmworker Medical Clinic in Salinas after his retirement.

A celebration of Bill's life was held in May. Donations in his memory may be made to either the Yosemite Association, P. O. Box 230, El Portal, CA 95318, or the San Jose Peace & Justice Center, 48 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112.

Transit Users Group -- New Community Partner

vta The Peace & Justice Center is happy to welcome Silicon Valley Transit Users as a new community partner. The group is made up of people who use mass transit such as VTA buses, light rail, Caltrain, and ACE instead of a car to commute.

More information about the group and their work to pressure the the Valley Transportation Authority, its Board of Directors, and elected officials to ensure excellent service for transit users can be found on their web site. People can follow the Transit Users on Twitter at @svtransitusers. There is a Yahoo! Groups mailing list available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vtaridersunion

The Transit Users will hold a meeting at the Peace & Justice Center on Thursday, July 29 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., open to the public -- especially transit users!

Join our TV/video team!

The SJ Peace & Justice Center has a TV show on San Jose Comcast cable Channel 15. Starting August, 15 48south7th will be broadcast on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m.(Until then, it's Thursday at 10 p.m.) Since its launch in June, we have produced and aired four shows dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the military's plan to control the world from space, South Bay residents' efforts to cope with the health care crisis, and a benefit concert by David Rovics. You can watch the shows online and get more information about the issues covered in each show at 48south7th.org

If you or your group would like to know how to get involved, contact us. If you have or would like to develop your camera skills (studio and field), video editing, interviewing, graphics, research, or outreach savvy, we'd like to hear from you. Email us at video@sanjosepeace.org.

New TV Show: 48south7th

creatv The Peace & Justice Center has launched a TV show, 48south7th, highlighting issues of concern to our community. The show is currently broadcast every Thursday at 10pm on Channel 15 for Comcast cable subscribers in San Jose and can also be seen online in that timeslot at the CreaTV web site. In August, the show will move to a new timeslot: Tuesdays at 5:30 pm.

An upcoming show in July, "Health Care is a Human Right, South Bay residents seek answers to the healthcare crisis" focuses on the need for a Medicare-style system that would cover all Americans.

A related web site provides additional resources.

Mainstreaming Peace & Justice

sharat by Sharat G. Lin, president of the Coordinating Council of the San Jose Peace & Justice Center

Since the beginning of 2010, several initiatives have been taken to "break out of the box" of our traditional peace and justice activism.

MLK Celebrations
We have joined in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday celebrations, spearheaded by the MLK Library and the African American Faculty and Staff Association (AAFSA). This was possible by recognizing that we must rediscover the true Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To honor him for advocating "non-violence" is to vastly understate and misunderstand his true contribution to social justice and peace. Our involvement in these activities has intruduced us another realm of local social justice activism in the African American community.

SJPJC Award Honors Free Gaza Pioneers

by Sharat G. Lin, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010

award

The San Jose Peace and Justice Center awarded its Gertrude Welch Peace and Justice Award to pioneers of the Free Gaza Movement who sailed the first small boats to break the Israeli siege of Gaza. The award prompted the city of Milpitas to present commendations and Congressman Mike Honda to award Congressional recognition to the recipients.

“In recognition of the pioneering vision, courage, and perseverance in establishing the Free Gaza Movement and sailing the first boats to break the Siege of Gaza on the 23rd of August 2008,” reads this year’s Gertrude Welch Peace and Justice Award. The award was presented to three founders of the Free Gaza Movement, Greta Berlin, Paul Larudee, and Kathy Sheetz. in a public ceremony held in Saratoga, California on Saturday, January 30, 2010.

Our Principles of Unity

1. We strive to promote cooperation and united action between rganizations working for progressive social change. Recognizing ifferences in political strategies and priorities between affiliated groups, SJPJC provides an arena for building unity within diversity.

2. We seek to contribute toward building a just and sustainable society in which the gross and obscene concentration of corporate power and personal wealth is overcome by the achievement of basic economic rights for all: secure jobs at living wages; decent, affordable housing and public transit; adequate food and clothing; niversal health care; quality education; a safe, clean environment; sustainable food production; and protection from economic insecurity caused by disability, old age, sickness, accident or unemployment. We support workers' rights to organize, to collective bargaining, to strike without the threat of reprisals or replacement, to safe and healthy working conditions, and to a living wage, a pension and benefits.

3. We are committed to the principle of human equality and struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. We support full rights for immigrants and opposes the scapegoating and repression directed against immigrants, particularly immigrants of color.

4. We support struggles against militarism and the culture of violence that permeates our society. We oppose military intervention and interference abroad, economic coercion, colonialism and
neo-colonialism, and political interference in the sovereign affairs of other nations, including the indigenous Native nations within our own borders.

5. We encourage creative models of community organizing and action and promotes shared leadership and decision-making. We promote the sharing of resources including knowledge, skills and equipment. We are democratic, inclusive and respectful in our dealings with one another,
making room for constructive criticism and honest disagreement. We recognize that a prerequisite for participation in the decision-making process is the contribution of an individual's labor to the group.

Looking Back: July to October 2009

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Rally for single payer health care on July 4; City Hall rally for police accountability; Picking strawberries during Farmworker Reality Tour in Watsonville; Protest against coup in Honduras at King & Story Roads; SF Mime Troupe presents "Too Big to Fail" at Circle of Palms; Tabling at Tapestry Festival on Labor Day weekend; Outreach to SJSU students at Community Resource Fair;

Time is Running Out -- Donate Now!

Become a member of the San Jose Peace & Justice Center during our membership drive and your tax-deductible contribution will be matched!

Your membership contribution of $25 or more will be matched, bringing SJPJC a total of $50 or more! Contributions are tax-deductible.

A special low-income membership is available for $15.

Click here to donate online through the Collins Foundation or send a check to San Jose Peace & Justice Center, 48 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112. If you cannot contribute, but would like to become a member, please contact us at sjpjc@sanjosepeace.org to volunteer with us.

Thank you for your support!

San Jose Peace & Justice Center Announces New Officers

June, 2009:
President: Sharat Lin
Treasurer: Charlotte Casey
Secretary: Joan Bazar

The San Jose Peace & Justice Center also thanks Charlotte Casey (outgoing President), Joan Bazar (outgoing Treasurer), and Anu Mandavilli (outgoing Secretary) for their hard work and commitment to the peace movement and the San Jose Peace & Justice Center. Anu Mandavilli will continue to act as our representative to the Rising Together community coalition.

Memorial Service for Lisa Kalvelage on June 20

A memorial service will be held for long-time peace activist Lisa Kalvelage on June 20 at 2 p.m. The memorial service will be held at the Palo Alto Unitarian Church, 505 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto. The San Jose Peace Chorale will sing at the memorial service.

Lisa Kalvelage passed away on March 8. She was active at the San Jose Peace Center and in Women's International League for Peace & Freedom for many years. In 1966, along with three other WILPF members, Lisa engaged in an act of civil disobedience against the Vietnam War which was commemorated in a song by Pete Seeger and is described in this 2003 article in the Cupertino Courier.

You can listen to a 2003 interview with Lisa by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! here.

Donations to the San Jose Peace & Justice Center are suggested by the family. Read more...

Peace & Justice Award to Free Gaza Movement

Dedicated to the memory of citizen activist, Gertrude Welch, this award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to peace and justice locally and globally. The San Jose Peace and Justice Center is awarding the Gertrude Welch Peace and Justice Award to the pioneers of the Free Gaza Movement -- Greta Berlin, Paul Larudee and Kathy Sheetz.
The award ceremony will take place Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 5:30-6:30 pm, at the home of Barby and Vic Ulmer, who were among the original founders of the San Jose Peace Center over 52 years ago. The address is 13004 Paseo Presada (corner of Paseo Lado), Saratoga.

Collins Foundation

The Collins Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1985. Its purpose is to support the San Jose Peace & Justice Center by providing its non-profit status and by owning and maintaining the Collins House at 48 S. 7th St., where the Peace & Justice Center has its office. Read more...