This article appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of the Massachusetts Peace Action newsletter
Outside Boston, regional peace and justice groups are keeping up their work. Here is a sampling of their activities.
Merrimack Valley People for Peace celebrated their 30th anniversary in June and continue to hold regular vigils on Sundays at 12:00 in Andover at the intersection of Rts. 133 and 138. They set up tables at the Lowell Folk Festival in July and the Bread and Roses Festival and Andover Day in September. They commemorated Hiroshima Day and hosted Brayton Shanley of the Agape Community at their annual Stone Soup event on Nov. 18th.
The Salem Peace Committee meets monthly and offers a free peace and justice film on the first Tuesday of the month. In July they tabled for two days at the Salem Culture Fest highlighting peace and justice issues and rallied at Rep. Tierney’s office to say no to war in Syria.
Milton for Peace continues its monthly standouts on the first Wednesday of the month from 7 to 8 am at the intersection of Eliot St., Blue Hills Parkway and Blue Hill Avenue under the big beech tree. Each year it sponsors a $200 award for an essay contest on peace for high school students. In October members set up a table at Milton Day and shared common interests with bottle bill supporters.
In September, MetroWest Peace Action (MWPA) held a No War on Syria demonstration in Framingham at a busy intersection near the College and saw many thumbs up from passing drivers.
Walpole Peace and Justice hosted Rebecca Gordon on “Mainstreaming Torture”, Reese Erlich speaking about his book “Inside Syria”, and held vigils to stop the deportations of child refugees.
Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment continues to offer speakers, films, and organizing efforts through its subgroups Friends of Bees and Rethink Plastic. It is opposing US military action in Syria and Iraq, drone attacks in Pakistan, and the militarization of police departments. They also hosted a talk by Reese Ehrlich, who recently returned from Iraq.
Metrowest Peace Action held a No War on Syria demonstration in Framingham at a busy intersection and saw many thumbs up from drivers.
Newton Dialogues continues to hold their Thursday vigils at 5 PM at Beacon and Centre St., and in September they organized a powerful event with Helen Caldicott and Diane Turco on Facing our Nuclear Responsibilities.