|
|
Florida Mass March for Peace in Melbourne - Saturday MARCH 28
by Jeff Nall
Monday, Mar. 16, 2009 at 6:17 PM
sabletide@yahoo.com 321-368-5093
On Saturday, March 28 Patriots for Peace and Humanists for Peace will lead a mass march in Melbourne, Florida, calling for a transformation of America’s pro-war foreign policy away from militarism. Protestors will march at 2:00 PM from Front Street Park (2205 Front Street) in Melbourne to Melbourne City Hall to hear a variety of speakers and artists from around the state. The statewide mass march, endorsed by many Florida groups, is being held in solidarity with national protests on March 21 in Washington DC (ANSWER Coalition) and April 4 in New York City (United for Peace and Justice).
 fla_march_4_peace.jpg, image/jpeg, 669x400
Florida March for Peace
3/28, 2pm, Melbourne, FL
60 Groups Endorse, to Participate in Statewide Demonstration
Calling for an End to Iraq AND Afghanistan Wars
Activists Plan to Feed the Hungry and Homeless at Demonstration Site
On Saturday, March 28, hundreds will pour into the City of Melbourne to send a clear message to local, state, and national elected officials: demilitarize the budget, bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and fund human needs including housing, jobs, and healthcare.
The statewide march is being held in solidarity with national protests on March 21 in Washington DC (ANSWER Coalition) and April 4 in New York City (United for Peace and Justice).
The march starts at 2pm. Protestors will march from Front Street Park (2205 Front Street) in Melbourne to Melbourne City Hall to hear a variety of speakers and artists from around the state.
Organizers say that the issues of militarism, poverty, and racism, which Rev. MLK called the triple evils, are interrelated. As such chapters of Food Not Bombs (Melbourne, West Palm Beach) will serve food to the homeless, foreclosed, needy, and hungry. Food donations will also be collected to assist 'Food Not Bombs' effort of providing healthy meals to those in need around Florida.
Current march endorsers include national groups such as CodePink, World Can’t Wait, Courage to Resist; state groups such as Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice, The Green Party of Florida and The Florida Socialist Party USA; and multiple chapters of Veterans for Peace (South Florida, Central Florida, Gainesville, and Tallahassee.
In total, more than 50 groups have endorsed the march. Participants plan to caravan from cities including Miami, New Port Richey, Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Ft. Myers, Palm Beach, and Broward. (Complete list of endorsers below.)
The March 28 protest will bring together a variety of activists and their peace and social justice issues. Protestors demand that the Obama administration and Florida’s Senators and Congresspersons:
1. Bring an end to U.S. foreign wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
2. Stop attacks inside Pakistan – diplomacy not warfare
3. Close all U.S. operated military prisons around the world
4. Utilize diplomacy to relieve tension with Iran and Latin American nations including Cuba, Bolivia , and Venezuela
5. Pressure Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory
6. And reduce military spending in favor of domestic spending on health, infrastructure, education and jobs.
For more info contact Jeff Nall at 321-368-5093, sabletide@yahoo.com or Bill Burton at 321-727-1083, wburton444@aol.com. Go to http://www.HumanistsforPeace.com for up to the minute information on the march including info on area accommodations, speakers, post-march party, and new endorsers.
“[To] be militant merely means to be demanding and to be persistent, and in this sense I think the non-violent movement has demonstrated great militancy. It is possible to be militantly nonviolent”
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, March 25, 1968, ten days before he was killed.
Endorsers Include:
Patriots for Peace (march initiator) Humanists for Peace (march initiator) World Can’t Wait Courage to Resist CodePink (national) AfterDowningStreet.org David Swanson The Green Party of Florida The Florida Socialist Party USA Cindy Sheehan CodePink Florida Central Florida Veterans for Peace St Pete for Peace Rise Up Tampa Bay St. Augustine People for Peace and Justice StopWaronIran.org Broward Antiwar Miami for Peace Tampa 911 Truth Veterans for Peace chapter 14, Gainesville Veterans for Peace, Chapter 15 South Florida Veterans for Peace Chapter 32 Progressive Democrats of IRC CODEPINK of East Central Florida Palm Beach County Green Party Arlington South ( Naples , FL ) Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Tallahassee Humanists of Greater Fort Walton Beach The Peace Coalition Of Brevard Environmental and Peace Education Center Mark Weaver (progressive blog/radio) R&B vocalist, Benny S and hip-hop group, Da Tribe Social Concerns Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Key West NatureCoast Coalition for Peace and Justice Miami May Day Coalition Dr. Stephen Blythe, family physician and 2008 Democratic candidate for U.S Congress (FL-15) UninsuredinAmerica.org Marions for Peace Jews for Justice Bail Out the People Tallahassee Network for Justice and Peace The Patriots Lt. Col. Robert M. Bowman, Ph.D. USAF, ret. St. John XXIII Church Refuge Ministries The Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign ( Tampa Bay Chapter) Brevard NOW Critical Resistance( Tampa Bay chapter) Melbourne Drum Tribe Melbourne Food Not Bombs Jack Lieberman, Co-Chair Jewish Arab Dialogue Association (JADA) Florida Chapter of Military Families Speak Out Peace Now Citrus County South Florida Palestine Solidarity Network Wage Peace of Jacksonville Humanists at Barefoot Bay International Action Center, Atlanta Food Not Bombs, West Palm Beach Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice Florida Peace Action Network
http://www.jeffnall.com/
www.floridamassmarch.com
|
|