by Ronnie Fellerath-Lowell, Pax Christi USA National Council member
on behalf of Back from the Brink Organizers
As members of the Back from the Brink campaign, Pax Christi USA is excited to invite you to please join us on Thursday, September 10 at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT for “Organizing to Prevent Nuclear War in the Current Moment”, a webcast and conversation featuring Dr. Vincent Intondi, historian and author of African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement. We’ll also hear from Back from the Brink organizers and discuss strategies to move the campaign forward.
Joining with hibakusha, frontline nuclear communities, security experts, and grassroots groups to observe the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki inspires us to redouble our efforts to prevent nuclear war. We are mindful, however, that our organizing is impacted by numerous ongoing national crises. The COVID-19 pandemic and related unemployment, racial justice uprising, and climate crisis are causing tremendous hurt and anxiety in the country, all in the context of an election that will determine the fate of our democracy and much more.
This moment certainly creates challenges for our organizing efforts, yet it also presents important new opportunities. Many people are gaining a deeper understanding of how federal policy impacts their own lives, and many are suffering from our misplaced national priorities. Local governments are also facing the consequences of federal policy failures and their own role in protecting public health and safety. This changing landscape may help expand our outreach to new constituencies, especially when highlighting the staggering cost of nuclear weapons and their threat to our security.
The police shooting of Jacob Blake and murder of peaceful protesters add new urgency for all of us to join efforts to stop the killing of Black people and dismantle systemic racism. It is incumbent upon us as nuclear abolition advocates to build and strengthen relationships with racial justice advocates in our communities. A growing awareness of intersections between race, health, and the environment exposed by our current crises can help us find commonalities and support one another. Nuclear disarmament should not be siloed from other social justice movements. If we are to end systematic racism, oppression, and state violence — and we must — we must also end nuclear weapons.
Click here to register for Thursday’s webcast.
Join us this Thursday to explore these critical issues, learn from each other’s organizing experiences, and discuss how to leverage the current moment to create a safer, healthier, and more just world — without nuclear weapons. Please share widely with your friends, colleagues, and networks.