About
What is PDX Peace?
PDX Peace is a coalition that was born out of the ad-hoc "March 18 Coalition" which organized the March 18 Mobilization on the 4th anniversary of the Iraq war, under the theme of "Stop The War and Bring the Troops Home Now!"
After the successful mobilization, many of the organizers wanted to continue to collaborate and strategize together to build a vibrant peace movement in Portland. This grew into the PDX Peace coalition which developed a mission statement and a structure document (pdf).
Membership
Membership is open to any organization or individual in the Portland, Oregon area who agrees with the mission statement and to work in good faith with other coalition members.
List of current member organizations
How PDX Peace Works
Details about how the coalition functions can be found in the structure document (pdf).
The coalition organizes its work through "action groups" where those interested in collaborating on a particular aspect of the mission can work together on joint actions and strategy. We have formed two initial "action groups" that are carrying out work of the coalition. They include:
1. Military Resistance and Recovery Action Group which is organizing events and working on issues such as building a sanctuary city for GI resisters, support for returning veterans, and counter recruitment. This group generally meets every other Monday evening; see the calendar for upcoming meetings.
2. Defund the War/ Cost of War Action Group is organizing a presence for the coalition at fairs and festivals this summer to educate about the cost of the war and developing a campaign for August and September to pressure congress to vote to fund US troop withdrawal from Iraq. See the calendar for upcoming meetings.
We also have a Coordinating Committee that was elected at the August 6th meeting of the coalition. Two seats on the committee are appointed representatives of the two Action Groups above. The other three seats are elected at-large by the body of the coaliiton. During preparation for a large event (for example the March 15 Mobilization for a World Without War), representatives of the event planning committees join the Coordinating Committee. This committee handles the administrative business of the coalition and communication among the action groups between general member meetings.
We plan to add more action groups as the interest arises. If you have any ideas for new action groups or are interested in convening one, please get in touch with us through the Contact page.
Coordinating Committee members will serve for a 12 month period starting on August 6, 2007. They include:
- Curt Bell, Oregonians Against the War (Defund the War action group rep)
- Megan Brooker, Military Families Speak Out (Military Resistance action group rep)
- Kelly Campbell, American Friends Service Committee
- Katie Heald, individual member
- Adam Sanchez, International Socialist Organization
The coalition maintains this website and email lists to help promote events by coalition members. Coalition members are encouraged to list their upcoming events on the web calendar.
Coalition Membership Meetings
General membership meetings are generally held every month, and more frequently when there is a major event being planned (As of January 2008 we are meeting every other week, while event planning committees are meeting other weeks). Please check the Events calendar for the next events meeting, or contact us to find out when the next one is.
If you are planning to attend the membership meeting:
- Make sure to join the coalition so that you can participate fully in the meeting!
About this Website
If you are a member of PDX Peace and would like to contribute items: writing, events, artwork - or gain access to future community features please please register as a website user, to create content. Content is moderated - so your event or blogpost will not immediately appear, but it will go up as soon as we can approve it.
Mailing address
PDX Peace Coalition
PO Box 15287
Portland, OR 97293
More Questions?
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