Two new items have just been uploaded to our website.
a description of and excerpts from our new book, YES To The Troops, NO To The Wars.
The book is part of our 40th anniversary observances. Yep, Quaker House has been witnessing for peace since 1969.
From the street, Quaker House is merely a modest bungalow on a quiet residential street.
But looks are deceptive.
Since 1969, Quaker House has been a persistent and visible witness for peace, close by Fort Bragg, one of the largest US military bases:
More than fifty thousand GIs have called its GI Hotline for help getting out of the m
ilitary.
And under its traditional cedar shingle roof, two generations of activists have hatched peace protests large and small, quiet and noisy, with more to come.
When it started during the Vietnam War, there were dozens of similar projects near military bases. But Quaker House is the only one that’s still going.
Fire-bombing couldn’t stop it.
Military spying didn’t intimidate it.
Even fallow periods “between” wars haven’t withered it.
Now, on its 40th anniversary, a new book: YES TO THE TROOPS – NO TO THE WARS, tells the exciting and improbable Quaker House story.
YES TO THE TROOPS – NO TO THE WARS describes how Quaker House not only survived next door to one of the largest US military bases, but in 2009 is still going strong.
It's been quite a ride. Jane Fonda came and went. So did Sixties radicalism, and official harassment. Founding organizers died in a car wreck. Money was often so tight it squeaked. Many staff didn't want to live in a tough military town. The Board repeatedly wondered if the venture was still needed or useful. The roof leaked.
But Quaker House stayed afloat.
One reason was because Quakers can be stubborn. Harassment toughened their resolve.
But another was that, after Vietnam, other wars followed: Central America. Desert Storm. Iraq again; Afghanistan. (And new wars are waiting: Iran? Pakistan?)
So while dozens of similar projects died out, Quaker House stayed alive and kept working.
Since September 11, it's been busier than ever:
The GI Rights Hotline. Iraq. Afghanistan. Torture flights from nearby airports. GI resisters and AWOLS. Violence and suicide within the military. Truth In Recruiting. You name it.
The recent changes in Washington haven’t ended the wars. So there's still need for an active, long-term peace witness "up-close and personal" with a military hub like Fort Bragg. That's why, with 2009 marking its 40th year, Quaker House is looking back i
n order to look ahead. Its anniversary slogan is: Forty Years of Front-Line Peace Witness – And Just Getting Started.”
Author Chris McCallum and Editor Chuck Fager spent nine months researching and writing YES TO THE TROOPS – NO TO THE WARS.
This remarkable saga of persistent, creative peace action is full of implications for future work to end war and find alternatives to militarism.
For more about the book, including excerpts, you can find them here.
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