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I
was first drawn to CODEPINK because as a
women-initiated and led
organization, I felt that the group had
a unique perspective on
issues of war, peace, and social justice—a
much needed element in the peace movement.
I could not have been more right on. Since
joining CODEPINK I have been privileged
to organize around challenging militarism
and its ugly friends with the support and
encouragement of a community of inspiring,
creative, and daring women from all walks
of life.
Together—in PINK—we
work to give a voice to our communities
who desperately want to end U.S. funded
wars and advocate for more sustainable,
life-affirming possibilities here at home.
— Cristina Castro,
New York City, New York
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Desperate
to find others involved in ending the war
on Iraq, I searched online and found a thumbnail
photo of women vigiling in pink at the White
House. I vowed to get involved locally with
the fledgling chapter in Fort Worth, TX.
Soon after, I realized that vigiling on
the streets of Dallas/ Fort Worth and protesting
George W. Bush from the ditches of Camp
Casey or marching in major mobilizations
in DC were not going to be enough to end
the war. I had to do more.
When the opportunity arose for me to take
on more responsibility I jumped at the chance
to help manage the CODEPINK activist house
in Washington DC. Leaving my home and my
teaching job, I believed that together women
could bring an end to the horrors happening
to the families of Iraq. After almost two
years as house "mama" working
alongside superactivista, Liz Arizona, I
moved to nearby Arlington, VA to work as
a children's librarian by day and activist
"by night". Currently I am involved
in local affordable housing issues, an anti-drone
resolution, and the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions movement. I would like to
do more around counter-recruitment as well.
Mujeres unidas jamas seran vencidas! Women
united will never be defeated!
— Desirée
Fairooz, Arlington, VA
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Here
on The Farm we started PeaceRoots Alliance
in October right after 9-11-2001 because
we saw that Bush & Co would love the
firework display of a bombing war. Then
Medea came to The Farm to talk about what
was happening in Afghanistan and I will
never forget the eyes of the children in
the pictures she brought. We had a project
started by Judy Meeker called More Than
Warmth, and Medea said she would take to
Afghanistan some of the quilts put together
by school kids in Tennessee. Then when we
heard about the action in front of the White
House before the Iraq attack, Judy went
to DC and fasted and huddled under plastic
in the rain until they found a room for
awhile. I stayed in Tennessee and coordinated
the info and kept people informed. We had
some folks come to the Farm for R&R
during that winter and so we were right
there at the beginning.
I have always considered CODEPINK and
PeaceRoots as sister organizations. Judy
and I started to organize Mothers'
Day: A Call For Peace in honor
of Julia Ward Howe's call to women to come
out for peace and held a couple of Mother's
Day events in Nashville and The Farm, and
then asked CODEPINK, “Why not have
a national CODEPINK Mothers' Day?” …and
you know the rest.
— Eliz Barger,
Tennessee
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Originally from Denver and New York, in
1996 I took up residence in Berlin, where
I'd previously been an exchange student
1965-72 and had worked with GIs against
the Vietnam War. After the invasion of Iraq
some of us started a new project to support
GI resistance on US bases in Germany, and
that's what brought me to the 2005 Veterans
for Peace convention in Dallas, where I
first heard Cindy Sheehan speak and also
met Ann Wright. Which is how I wound up
camping in the sweltering fields near Crawford,
Texas. The most amazing women, all dressed
in gorgeous pink and armed only their cell
phones, were winning the battle for hearts
and minds and clearly having fun doing so
-- summoning virtually all the major news
outlets to cover the story of a mom.
European peace movements tend to be more
hierarchic and patriarchic, and have much
to learn from CODEPINK, I feel. So after
I returned to Germany that fall, I stayed
in touch.
My respect for CODEPINK has deepened over
the years. PINKs have been on the cutting
edge of so many issues and know how to "tell
the story," with impact all over the
world: for example, German friends called
me, sobbing, after seeing the newspaper
photo of Desiree with bloody hands extended
to Condoleeza Rice. I was in Cairo with
a German delegation on Gaza Freedom March,
with participants from 42 countries: this
was another path-breaking CODEPINK project
that helped jump-start BDS here in Germany.
Almost every week I try to share a PINK
initiative with activists here, and I also
represent CODEPINK on the International
Coordinating Committee (ICC) of No To NATO.
Hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart and step-by-step,
women around the world are key to stopping
the waste, madness, and downright unfairness
of war.
—
Elsa
Rassbach, Berlin
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I
joined CODEPINK in late spring 2003, heartsick
over the horrific US attack on Iraq and
the degrading, violent occupation. I had
been a "lone activist"
in San Francisco, and was one of 5 women
who stood in protest of the US bombing of
Afghanistan in fall 2001.A year and a half
later, I went to my first CODEPINK meeting,
connected with some lively, funny, good-hearted
women, and started wearing the pink and
turning out for the actions.
The last 8 years of activism have been
agonizingly frustrating and enraging as
the wars of plunder and imperial power have
ground on in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now
Pakistan. Going to DC, networking with allies,
keeping in touch with local group coordinators,
speaking and singing with all my heart at
rallies, doing interviews and sharing great
online resources from CODEPINK have kept
me sane and engaged from the shock of Bush
II and Crew to the weary-but-still-standing
"Bring Our War $$ Home, You
Can Keep the Change!" Obama
Era. I believe in the wisdom of the
"common woman" in the
words of Oakland poet Judy Grahn, and I
have found my voice as I have listened to,
laughed and wept with, and cheered on many
other women's voices.
— Janet Weil,
San Francisco
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I
found CODEPINKs Gael Murphy and Medea
Benjamin as they were tabling in DCs
Dupont Circle after an antiwar march. They
invited me to the office for a party and
later to talk about organizing with them.
I was then a MoveOn organizer but was looking
for more autonomy and consistency in goals.
I suggested that CP participate in the
upcoming Take Back America Conference and
wanted to organize a march to the White
House after Senator Obamas final speech
to the Conference. Ann Wright said that
was fortuitous because she had been asked
by Cindy Sheehan to do some action to commemorate
the 2500th military death that was sure
to happen during the Conference period.
During the conference Ann and the other
wonderful CP women gave out slips of paper
with the number 2500 and asked attendees
to put them into their badge holders and
to attend the march to the White House on
the last day. By the end of the Conference
almost everyone had the slip of paper in
their badge holder and, if they didnt,
they were coming to the table to get one.
The march went off well with 25 flag-draped
coffins and Ann setting up a military honors
ceremony on the street in front of the White
House.
What so amazed me then and now was the
trust and openness CODEPINK gave me so quickly
and warmly. I felt immediately useful and
at home and this feeling continues today.
Now, after so many actions, rallies, protests,
seminars, speeches, prop making, laughter,
dancing, singing, and working together to
create a movement to end the wars, bring
freedom and autonomy to Palestinians, to
stop the use of drones, and so many other
issues, I continue to be awed by the courage,
creativity, warmth, and energy of the women
(and men) of CODEPINK and am proud to be
with them.
— Joan Stallard,
Washington DC
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I
was appalled at the "shock
and awe" strategy that was
shown to the American public via national
television in March of 2003. … I am an artist
and a musician and love the fact that CodePINK
relies on color and eye catching venues
as well as music and sometimes even dance
to attract the attention of those we are
trying to reach. I also love that fact that
CODEPINK sisters (and sometimes brothers)
are not afraid to speak "truth
to power."
I have used my artistic abilities to create
many signs that we use weekly while demonstrating
at a busy intersection in the heart of Daytona
Beach. By the way, we have been demonstrating
on this corner for the past five years.
— Kathy Bracewell,
Dayton Beach, Florida
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I
am a 53-year-old mother, grandmother and
peace activist. I am an active member of
CODEPINK, Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign,
Veterans for Peace and Ground Zero Center
for Nonviolence. I work as a Massage Therapist
and am a volunteer Firefighter/EMT in Quilcene,
WA. In addition to promoting peace and social
justice I spend time with my family and
grow organic food.
I am particularly passionate about peace
and justice in Palestine. I have been to
Gaza five times in the last three years
with CODEPINK and other peace organizations
working with doctors, farmers and children's
groups. I was in Cairo, Egypt for the Gaza
Freedom March in January 2010 and in Tahrir
Square during the Egyptian Revolution in
January 2011. I have also participated in
the last two Gaza Freedom Flotillas, the
Audacity of Hope in June 2011 and the Tahrir
protests in November 2011.
— Kit Kittredge,
Seattle
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My
first encounter with the CODEPINK was in
2005 at Camp Casey, outside of Bushs
ranch in Crawford, Texas. Having never as
much as put a bumper sticker on my car before
that, I was thrilled to find a community
of peace and justice activists from all
over the country, including the Dallas/Ft.
Worth area. I became fast friends with seasoned
activist and rabble rouser, Rev. Diane Baker,
who eventually convinced me we had to go
to DC to participate in direct actions there.
As soon as we arrived, CODEPINK welcomed
us into the fold. They took us into what
was my first senate hearing, where pink
women donned orange t-shirts, each
with one big letter, and stood up in the
middle of the hearing, spelling out NO
TORTURE! As Arlen Specter groused
while news cameras clicked away and congressional
staffers absorbed it all, I realized that
this was sending a bold message to Capitol
Hill and the public that We The People
didnt have to sit back idly while
atrocities were being committed in our names
and with our tax dollars.
Whether it be through satire, song, art,
workshops, congressional visits, banner
drops, aerial photography, international
peace-keeping delegations, that special
pink brand of visually wonderful street
theater, or any of the myriad other creative
endeavors they undertake, the amazing women
and men of CODEPINK are always
raising awareness to the highest level.
I am constantly in awe of the skill, energy,
tenacity, creativity, courage and compassion
of these feisty, dedicated activists, and
honored to have the opportunity to learn
from them and be part of their journey towards
peace, justice, and sustainability.
— Leslie Harris,
Texas
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My New England grandmother had a couple
of sayings that have stayed with me.
"Fools' names
and fools' faces are often seen in public
places" is one. "Pretty
is as pretty does" is
another. I want to get my picture in the
paper wearing my towering hot pink wig.
It's happened before, with the result that
people stop to ask me: "Why
do you do that? Why are you standing there,
dressed up in so much pink?"
I want them to notice that I am witnessing
for peace. I want my grandma to realize
that pretty is a tool, not a goal. Acting
pretty would mean acting out of love, on
behalf of the people who the government
uses my tax dollars to kill. Children sleeping
in their beds while an unmanned drone fires
smart bombs at their village would not care
if I was pretty. They would care if I was
speaking up for their right to live, fear
free, in the world as we know it.
— Lisa Savage,
Maine
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I
watched with interest news stories that
showed CODEPINK members in Senate Hearings
with signs and with red painted hands. We
(in Tucson) were emboldened to start leaving
peaceful messages in chalk along the way
to and from the University of Arizona. My
friend Jhan and I decided to make banners
to contribute to the Peace Ribbon
project... and we got others involved
in knitting squares for a tea cosy for the
White House fence for Mother's Day. We contacted
Jacque Betz about the Peace Ribbon and found
how easy it was to schedule a visit to Tucson,
where we have an annual All Souls
Procession around the Day of the Dead.
Meeting Liz Hourican
(of CODEPINK Phoenix) really gave us a shot
in the arm - what vivacious and fun energy
she emanates! ... And each action strengthened
my resolve to do more to push for peace.
Now we're bridging with other peace-loving
groups to collaborate on messaging opportunities.
We just had a big celebrity Valentine's
Day wedding on the UA campus mall where
brides married corporations - the Raging
Grannies sang and Women's International
League of Peace & Freedom were among
the brides & guests. Knowing we aren't
all alone in our quest is refreshing. I
like getting the updates and when I got
a personal note from Medea Benjamin, I was
thrilled! The You-tube videos that update
us on what is happening elsewhere help solidify
the attachment I feel to the courageous
women on the front lines.
— Mary DeCamp,
Tucscon, Arizona
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In
2007 Medea Benjamin came and spoke at the
Alliance for Peace and Justice in Manhattan
, Kansas. I was there, and I bought a CODEPINK
T-shirt from her. I wore it often, and in
June 2011, I decided to wear it again when
I went to rally in Leavenworth, Kansas alongside
hundreds protesting the unjust jailing of
Pfc Bradley Manning. There were some CODEPINKers
there, and they decided to adopt me and my
T-shirt. I spent the day with the CODEPINK
contingent, and Ive since decided that
it was karma calling in Kansas. The government
decided to put Bradley behind bars in the
middle of Americas rural heartland,
and I decided to make some noise about it
and let it be known that even though we might
live in a state often described as flat
as a pancake, our voices demanding justice
for Americas son, Bradley Manning, are
anything but flat.
So come on Kansans! Jump on the
bandwagon of truth and justice, and lets
make it clear both to him
and to the war machine that he is not lost
and alone out here in the plains, and that
we will not give up
until he is free.
Check out:
We Are All
Binayak Senand We Are All Bradley
Manning: Parallel Lines of Dissent,
By Priti Gulati Cox, CODEPINK Kansas Coordinator,
August 2011
— Priti Gulati
Cox, Salina, Kansas
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