African-Americans raise voices for peace
Fri Feb 14, 8:13 AM ET Add Op/Ed - USA TODAY
On Saturday morning, Damu Smith and two busloads of mostly African-American peace activists will trek from Washington to New York City to rally near the United Nations (news - web sites) for world peace. They will be among thousands expected there on a day that some say will be the world's largest mobilization for peace: Rallies, marches and protests are planned in at least 350 cities around the globe.
The presence of African-American leaders at the New York rally is significant. United for Peace and Justice, the rally's sponsor, is co-chaired by Bill Fletcher, president of Washington-based TransAfrica Forum. Like Smith, who founded Black Voices for Peace, Fletcher is committed to making sure African-Americans are heard as part of the peace movement.
Smith and Fletcher are part of a rich tradition of African-American peace activism. In 1917, W.E.B. DuBois, who maintained his pacifist philosophy through World War II, spoke out against ''the U.S. propensity toward war . . . driven by the greed for cheap labor and materials at the expense of people of color.'' Similarly, Paul Robeson lifted his powerful voice for peace, as did Martin Luther King Jr., whose scathing comments about the war in Vietnam were as important as his leadership on civil-rights matters. The late poet June Jordan was a powerful voice for peace, as is University of California professor Angela Davis.
It is easy to support peace when world conflicts are not imminent. How can today's peace activists maintain their views as the terrorism alert rises to orange and the FBI (news - web sites) and CIA (news - web sites) say that another attack by al-Qaeda is likely to happen soon?
''I believe that the Bush administration's policies are exacerbating conditions that give rise to people wanting to attack us,'' Smith says. ''If we attack Iraq, we will be more vulnerable to retaliation. Our best path to security are policies that support human rights and negotiation, not confrontation.''
People around the globe are mobilizing to make that very point. Our entire world would be a safer place if we would shrug off the rhetoric of confrontation and negotiate instead of attempt to annihilate. Smith, Fletcher and thousands more are planning to gather in New York in the best of African-American traditions: raising our voices for peace.
Julianne Malveaux is a syndicated columnist. |
