Businesses for Peace is a new organization with a unique origin. In January 2008, the city of Berkeley became the center of a national firestorm about local opposition to the presence of a Marine Recruiting Station just blocks from Berkeley City College, UC Berkeley, and Berkeley High School. The peace group CODEPINK began protesting at the Station. The Berkeley City Council came out in support of CODEPINK and asked the recruiters to leave.

That unleashed a national backlash against Berkeley, with pro-war groups calling for a national boycott of the city and conservative elected officials calling for cuts in government funds to Berkeley.

Several businesses decided that it was time to come together to confirm their commitment to Berkeley as a city for peace and to encourage peace-loving people to frequent Berkeley businesses. That's how Businesses for Peace was born.

While we are presently a Berkeley-based association, we hope other communities will follow suit and create similar local networks under the Businesses for Peace umbrella. If you are interested in forming a local network, please contact info@businessesforpeace.org.