Update on Back From the Brink’s New House Resolution on Nuclear Disarmament (April 2025)

by Ann Froines, Back from the Brink-CT

To all friends in the peace and nuclear disarmament community:

A new House Resolution 317 for this Congressional session (2025-27), the McGovern-Tokuda Resolution, has added further language on goals for U.S. policy regarding the nuclear weapons arms race and fears of nuclear war.

It makes the same basic arguments that were included in House Resolution 77 on the need for action by our government (Congress and the President) to take a leadership role in restoring diplomatic talks with other nations on arms control treaties, “no first use” of nuclear weapons, and other urgent actions to de-escalate this frightening nuclear arms race.

It also includes three additional clauses highlighting the current environmental and human costs of nuclear weapons production, and the need for a just economic transition to ease the economic costs to communities of converting weapons factories to peaceable productive manufacturing.

Here is the language you need to know to call or write to your Congressional representative urging support for House Resolution 317. We need to flood their offices with our message.

For more information see preventnuclearwar.org.

Thank you. Ann Froines for BftB-CT, [email protected].

Resolved, That the House of Representatives calls on the President to—

  1. Actively pursue a world free of nuclear weapons as a national security imperative; and
  2. Lead a global effort to move the world back from the nuclear brink, halt and reverse a global nuclear arms race, and prevent nuclear war by—
    1. engaging in good faith negotiations with the other eight nuclear-armed states to halt any further buildup of nuclear arsenals and to aggressively pursue a verifiable and irreversible agreement or agreements to verifiably reduce and eliminate their nuclear arsenals according to negotiated timetables, and, in particular, pursuing and concluding new nuclear arms control and disarmament arrangements with the Russian Federation to prevent a buildup of nuclear forces beyond current levels, and engaging with China on mutual nuclear risk reduction and arms control measures;
      B. leading the effort to have all nuclear-armed states renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first;
      C. implementing effective checks and balances on the Commander in Chief’s sole authority to order the use of United States nuclear weapons;
      D.  ending the Cold War-era “hair-trigger alert” posture, which increases the risk of catastrophic miscalculation in a crisis;
      E.  ending plans to produce and deploy new nuclear warheads and delivery systems, which would reduce the burden on United States taxpayers;
      F.  maintaining the de facto global moratorium on nuclear explosive testing;
      G. protecting communities and workers affected by nuclear weapons by fully remediating the deadly legacy of environmental contamination from past and current nuclear weapons testing, development, production, storage, and maintenance activities, and by providing health monitoring, compensation, and medical care to those who have and will be harmed by nuclear weapons research, testing, and production, including through an expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program; and
      H. actively planning a just economic transition for the civilian and military workforce involved in the development, testing, production, management, and dismantlement of nuclear weapons and for the communities that are economically dependent on nuclear weapons laboratories, production facilities, and military bases.

The Dorothy Day Award Goes to Mahmoud Khalil

by Stanley Heller, Promoting Enduring Peace

Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP) has given out the Gandhi Peace Award since 1960, recognizing laureates for decades of peace or environmental work. We have long thought of giving out another award, for a political prisoner, for someone in great danger, or someone involved in an important campaign. In 2025 we established the “Dorothy Day Award” for that purpose. Dorothy Day was a journalist, a Catholic reformer and co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, and winner of the 1975 Gandhi Peace Award.

Our inaugural award was given to Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who was abducted from his home by ICE and sent 1,000 miles away to a Louisiana prison. Khalil was a leader in the protest movement at his university against the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. He is a Palestinian himself, a green-card holder and legal resident of the U.S. He was born to a refugee family in Syria and made it to the U.S. through some eight security checks. The award this year comes with $1,000.

See https://bit.ly/4iroDkw about our April 14 press conference, which included remarks by Stanley Heller, Martha Hennessy (granddaughter of Dorothy Day), Mark Colville, and Shelly Altman.
Visit PEP’s website at pepeace.org for more information about our campaigns and actions and how you can be involved.

History of New Haven’s Peace Garden

by Friends of the West River Peace Garden

The West River Peace Garden has a truly unique and special history. It grew out of New Haven’s leadership in the international peace movement and its association with the United Nations, as well as a unique partnership with the West River neighborhood.

Selected as one of the first Peace Messenger Cities in the 1980s, New Haven is one of fewer than 100 cities in the world to be recognized by the U.N. General Assembly as a Peace Messenger City for its outstanding leadership in the peace movement and contributions to global peace.

The garden is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Ella Grasso Boulevard, and Legion Avenue. Volunteers are always appreciated and needed to help weed, plant, mulch and water, and can come by every Friday at 9:30 a.m. for an hour or two. There is a large curb cut at the corner of Ella Grasso Blvd. and Legion Ave. where you can drive to the garden. For more information, please contact Aaron Goode at [email protected], 203-507-8985.

Martin Luther King Love on March Wed. Jan. 15

WYBC Radio, 94.3 FM

Join 94.3 WYBC and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Love March on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in New Haven.

The MLK Love March in New Haven has been going strong for over 50 years and it celebrates the life and work of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Love March will begin at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church located at 100 Lawrence St. and continue to Whitney Ave. to Edwards St. to State St. to Lawrence St. We will march on this day rain or shine to commemorate the dreams and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Love March, which was started by Shiloh’s late Founder and Pastor, Rev. George W. Hampton, Sr., has been a positive force in the community of New Haven for more than 50 years. The Love March was created to preserve the notion of nonviolence.

Come out and lend your voice of support to the community in making New Haven a better place to live. Scheduled to attend will be some of our political leaders from New Haven and the State of Connecticut.

For more information, please call (203) 776-8262, by email at [email protected], or visit www.smbcnh.org.

Dr. King’s ‘Beyond Vietnam’ Speech

Henry Lowendorf, GNH Peace Council

The annual public reading of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s revolutionary Beyond Vietnam speech will take place Wednesday, Jan. 15, at noon in New Haven City Hall, 165 Church St. It is being organized by the Greater New Haven Peace Council, City of New Haven Peace Commission, and Veterans for Peace.

This speech shook the establishment into denouncing King because, among other things, he connected the movements for peace, civil rights and economic justice.

If you are interested in receiving a pdf of the speech and/or reading a page of the speech on Jan. 15, please email [email protected].

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Vigils – We Remember

by Millie Grenough, New Haven Peace Commission

On August 6, peace activists gathered at the New Haven Green to remember the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and to advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission opened the event by highlighting the lack of awareness among his generation regarding the nuclear threat. He emphasized that the United States was the first to use nuclear weapons and continues to develop more powerful ones that could endanger the planet.

The vigil included readings of a proclamation from Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi

Youth activist Adrian Huq from the New Haven Climate Movement spoke of the two existential threats, nuclear weapons and climate change.

The vigil included readings of a proclamation from Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi, who reminded the audience of the catastrophic human toll of the bombing and the ongoing risks posed by nuclear weapons. Former Mayor Toni Harp reflected on the personal significance of August 6, as it coincides with her birthday and the tragic events in Hiroshima.

The commemoration continued August 9 at New Haven City Hall, marking the 79th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. Henry Lowendorf, Chair of the Greater New Haven Peace Council, stressed the importance of remembering past atrocities to prevent future ones. Mayor Justin Elicker expressed gratitude to those who work tirelessly for peace, noting that funds used for nuclear weapons could better serve community needs. Roberto Irizzary, Chair of the New Haven Peace Commission, read a proclamation from Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, urging global action for peace.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission opened the event by highlighting the lack of awareness among his generation regarding the nuclear threat.

Youth activist Manuel Camacho from Ice the Beef and the City of New Haven Peace Commission relates details about the deaths, city destruction, and ongoing deaths and diseases brought on by the August 9 bombing.

Atomic veteran Hank Bolden shared his harrowing experience of being used in a Defense Department experiment to test the effects of radiation, describing the long-term health consequences he and others endured. Despite the ongoing challenges, the events were a powerful reminder of the urgent need to abolish nuclear weapons, a call echoed by many speakers, including Manny Camacho, who again underscored the horrific legacy of these bombings and the continuing dangers of nuclear proliferation.

Resolution 77: End the Madness of New Arms Race

by Ann Froines, CT Back from the Brink

As a representative of Back from the Brink (BftB), I spoke at the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance events this August 6 and 9 in New Haven, asking the attendees to join the campaign to get House Resolution 77 passed in the U.S. Congress. Experts are sounding the alarm that the risks of nuclear war are greater than ever since the beginning of the Atomic Age. (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has an excellent, free, online newsletter to keep up to date on the risks of nuclear war.)

The events were organized by the Greater New Haven Peace Council, the New Haven Peace Commission, and Veterans for Peace. Each organization had representatives who spoke movingly about the human suffering after the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings and the existential threats from a future nuclear exchange, whether intended or accidental.

House Resolution 77 calls for our government to actively pursue negotiations for arms control with other nuclear powers, to end the madness of a new arms race, and to take nuclear weapons in the U.S. off hair-trigger alert. Forty-four Congresspeople have signed on to the Resolution, and BftB groups are working nationwide to get support from a majority in the House.

None of the five CT members of the House of Representatives has yet endorsed the resolution, and BftB and other groups will pursue this goal into 2025, when there will be a new House of Representatives and a new administration.

We ask you to write your Congressperson and urge him or her to cosponsor House Resolution 77. You can reach Congressional offices through their switchboard at 202-224-3121. For further information on getting involved in CT, please contact Joe Wasserman at [email protected].

Visit the website of Back from the Brink at www.preventnuclearwar.org to learn more about the urgency of communities working together to stop the arms race and reduce the threat of nuclear war before a catastrophe happens that could threaten human existence on the planet.

Betsy Ross Arts School and New Haven Peace Commission Celebrate International Day of Peace

by Millie Grenough, New Haven Peace Commission

Cultivating a Culture of Peace is the 2024 theme of the United Nations’ International Day of Peace. To celebrate this theme locally, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School will collaborate with the City of New Haven Peace Commission to host the annual planting of the Peace Tree on their school grounds, 150 Kimberly Ave., New Haven, on Friday, September 20, at 10 a.m.

For decades, the City of New Haven Peace Commission has planted a tree on the grounds of a different city school, library, or public building. The trees and plaques remind us of those killed by gun violence in our community and in wars abroad, and affirm the commitment of New Haven as a United Nations-designated Peace Messenger City, for action toward peace and justice everywhere.

At the Sept. 20 event, students will perform and will unveil an inscribed marker bearing a message that expresses their desire and commitment to work actively for peace. The plaque will be mounted near a tree that they choose, donated and planted by Urban Resources Initiative.

When the General Assembly of the United Nations initiated the Day of Peace in 1981, it stated that peace “not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.”

Betsy Ross teachers and students are known for their creativity in music, dance, theatre, and the visual arts. We are eager to see how they will highlight their vision of peace. Expect creative performances by students and a few peace-loving grown-ups.

Photos of earlier peace monuments and dedication ceremonies: www.PeaceCommission.org. Put the date on your calendar now: Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 at 10 a.m. at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, 150 Kimberly Ave., New Haven 06519.

Up-to-date info: http://www.PeaceCommission.org and http://www.rossarts.org

Social Media: http://facebook.com/newhavenpeacecommission and Instagram: @nhpeacecommission

Contact: Principal Jennifer Jenkins, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, email: [email protected], phone: 475-220-5300 and Fred Brown, City of New Haven Peace Commission, email: [email protected], phone: 203-415-1370.

Walk with Guilford Peace Alliance Sept. 21

by Yann van Heurck, Guilford Peace Alliance

The Guilford Peace Alliance (GPA) invites all progressives to join them walking in the annual town fair parade on Saturday morning, Sept. 21, 2024. The march begins at 9:30 a.m. at 40 High Street in central Guilford to walk in the parade at 10. Join and help hand out leaflets.

The GPA holds weekly Saturday morning vigils, which have been going on for 45 years! Attend their Saturday peace vigils on the Guilford Green (11 a.m. to noon) to highlight important issues of the day.

ALL ARE WELCOME! Bring signs and issues, come to talk. GPA also sponsors public lectures, opposes the arms industry and US colonialism and supports pro-democracy movements and freedom for Palestine from the US political arrangements that partitioned and stole its land.

For more information, contact Yann at [email protected] and 203-245-9720.

Ceasefire Now! No Support for Israel’s War on Gaza! Humanitarian Aid Must Be Allowed!

As we prepare this newsletter for print, the rallies and demonstrations demanding an end to Israel’s war on the Palestinian people have not ceased. Students continue to demand their universities divest their holdings from Israeli companies and from companies that service Israel’s war-making. Graduations have become visible displays of dissent against the war and the killing and enforced starvation of Palestinian citizens. Non-student peace groups continue their protests and meet with their congressional representatives. The 3-day Walk for Gaza in CT, to raise awareness of the situation and to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Palestinians through UNRWA, is occurring now (see article in the May issue of the PAR newsletter, par-newhaven.org/2024/04/28/walk-for-gaza-may-23-25/).

Veterans for Peace on May 7 began the Peace Walk 2024. The 700-mile journey, from Maine to Washington, D.C., will culminate on July 5. To find out more about the march and how you can join in, please go to https://peacewalk2024.org.

New Haven Alders Cop Out on Ceasefire Resolution

Five months after a proposed ceasefire resolution was presented to the Board of Alders, and five days after hearing testimony via Zoom that lasted five hours, the Board of Alders voted to “read and file,” and not act on the resolution. Would your alder have supported a ceasefire? We’ll never know, according to the meeting.

Only East Rock Alder Caroline Smith was opposed to dismissing the resolution in this way.

[The New Haven Independent coverage can be read here:
newhavenindependent.org/article/ceasefire_resolution_vote_results]

1 2 3 17