CAPA Membership Meeting
Monday, December 7th, 7:00— 8:30 PM
More details to come
International Day of Action for Yemen
Monday, January 25th, 5:00 PM CST
Join us for an international day of action for Yemen. #YemenCantWait
More details to come
Emergency Response if the US Attacks Iran
On the day of an attack, 5:30 PM
Trump Tower, Wacker & Wabash Ave
With the growing threat of a U.S. military attack on Iran and its forces in the region ─ which could lead to full-scale war killing many thousands ─ several organizations in the Chicago area have come together to have a unified response against war in the event of such an attack.
On the day of the attack we will gather for an action beginning at 5:30 pm in front of Trump Tower, corner of Wacker and Wabash Avenues in Chicago. If the attack is announced after 3 pm, the action will occur at 5:30 pm the next day. Further actions will likely be announced at this initial action.
For more information, please email chicagoantiwar@gmail.com
Cosponsors:
Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice
ANSWER – Chicago
Chicago Area Peace Action
Chicago Anti-War Coalition
Chicago Committee Against War & Racism
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Gay Liberation Network
Peace United Against Oppression
Voices for Creative Non-Violence
41st Annual Benefit
Thursday, November 12th
6:00 PM— 7:30 PM CST
For the past forty years, we’ve gathered with fellow peace, justice, and climate activists to dine and learn together at CAPA’s annual fall dinner. Due to the circumstances of this unusual year, we, like many other groups, are going virtual. What once seemed like a hindering obstacle, has instead revealed a unique opportunity to rethink our yearly program.
While we may not be gathering together in person this year, the need for peace and justice minded individuals to learn, connect, and activate is greater than ever.
We are thrilled to host the progressive champion, US Representative Ro Khanna to speak on Building Bridges, Not Barriers: Redefining Security. At a time when our nation will still be reeling from the recent election, as the world battles pandemic, climate catastrophe, and widespread war, we must all bring a critical and creative eye to rethink what security really entails.
For too long, our nation has bought into a broken “post 9/11 siege mentality” of amorphous external threats requiring bullets, bombs and intimidation to keep us “strong and safe”. Now, we are seeing more clearly than ever, that true security for all must include: access to healthcare, intentional peace building, attention to the global effects of climate change and the thoughtful dismantling of systemic racism.
No matter the outcome of November’s election, we, as lovers of peace and justice, have a lot of work to do and can not afford to sit on the sidelines. With nearly uncontested bipartisan support of the Pentagon’s $690 billion budget and plans to spend a trillion dollars on modernizing the US nuclear arsenal and delivery systems over the next thirty years, we must be prepared to call for bold steps to redefine security!
Join us to learn what must be done, discuss solutions, and get activated to be the change we want to see in the world!
Wednesday October 7th
Chicago Federal Plaza
12:00 PM— 1:30 PM
October 7 marks the 19th anniversary of the longest war in U.S. history, the 2001 invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.
And Afghanistan is just one piece of a worldwide kaleidoscope of US military violence around the world including:
Almost an entire generation of Americans has lived with endless war. Babies not even born at the time of the US invasion of Afghanistan are now fighting in that country. Far worse, however, is the fact that over 1 million Middle Easterners are now dead to avenge the 3000 killed in the 9/11 attacks, and war has spread throughout the Middle East.
As revealed in the so-called Afghanistan papers – government documents released through Freedom of Information Act requests – senior U.S. officials have knowingly lied throughout the war, making optimistic pronouncements of success even while hiding evidence that the war was a disaster.
Despite this, in an effort to turn the tide of the Afghan war in the U.S.’s favor, Presidents Obama and Trump have both launched “troop surges.” Death and destruction were the predictable results while the puppet Afghan regime’s hold on the country, far from being strengthened, remained as precarious as ever.
While people in this country do not feel the direct physical effects of these wars, every bomb
dropped represents millions of dollars less for our schools, health care, affordable housing, public transportation, physical infrastructure, and a myriad of other social services desperately needed in a time of pandemic and severe economic recession. With one-half of the federal discretionary budget going to the US military, and much of the rest given over to subsidizing the already-rich, it’s little wonder that there are only crumbs left for the left of us.
US politicians’ support for war and U.S. domination has been and remains thoroughly bipartisan. The 2020 election will not change that. To establish their “patriotic” credentials, Democrats typically vote for military financing and war with the same frequency as Republicans.
On the 19th anniversary of the United States’ Forever War, and relentless US violence around the world, please join us to denounce these wars that both major political parties continue to finance.
We will be having our event on the Plaza so that we can be socially distanced. Out respect for the health of everyone, please wear a mask.
View the Facebook Event here.
Saturday, September 26th
Stay tuned for more details to come!
Wednesday, August 26th, 6:00— 7:00 PM CST
This is an online event. Please register here to receive a Zoom link.
Join us on Wednesday, August 26th for a discussion with Danny Sjursen on a his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War published by Heydey books. He’ll join us virtually from his home in Kansas to talk about his latest work and take your questions.
This incendiary work by Daniel Sjursen is a personal cry from the heart by a once-model US Army officer and West Point graduate who became a military dissenter while still on active duty. Set against the backdrop of the terror wars of the last two decades, Sjursen asks whether there is a proper space for patriotism that renounces entitled exceptionalism and narcissistic jingoism. Once a burgeoning believer and budding conservative, Sjursen performed an intellectual and spiritual about-face. He now calls for a critical exploration of our allegiances, and he suggests a path to a new, more complex notion of patriotism. Equal parts unsentimental and idealistic, this is a story about what it means to be an American in the midst of perpetual war, and what the future of patriotism might look like.
Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army Major and regular contributor to antiwar.com, Truthdig, The Nation, Tom Dispatch, The Huffington Post, and The Hill. His work has also appeared in Harper’s, The LA Times, and Buzz Feed. He served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge (2015). He co-hosts the progressive veterans’ podcast “Fortress on a Hill.” Follow him on Twitter at @SkepticalVet.
Sunday, August 9th 12:15— 3:30 PM,
4600 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
Tuesday, August 4th 6:30— 8:00 PM CST
This is an online event. Register to receive Zoom link here.
Wednesday, July 15th
This is an online day of action. See more details here.
Tuesday, July 14 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM
Federal Plaza
219 S Dearborn
Chicago, IL
July 14th marks the 5th anniversary of the Iran-EU-US nuclear agreement that was to pave the way for lessening economic sanctions against Iran. But Trump nixed that agreement and imposed more sanctions that, during a pandemic, make supplies urgently needed to protect public safety more expensive and often impossible for Iran to obtain.
Tuesday, May 26th, 6:00— 7:00 PM CST
Online Event. Register here to get Zoom link.
Thursday, February 27th 6:00 PM- 7:30 PM
DePaul University- Lincol Park Campu
Room TBA
CAPA DePaul will be joining DePaul Islamic World Studies for this event.
Being young and Muslim in the United States has only gotten more complicated since the terrorist attacks of 2001. From warrantless government surveillance to rising incidents of hate crimes, Muslim Americans have had to deal with their new reality in many different ways, ways that are sometimes heartbreaking and just as often inspiring. In this lecture, author Moustafa Bayoumi will survey what being young and Muslim has meant since 2001 and ask if and how Muslim American life has changed under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations. Bayoumi will also focus on how we, as a nation, must think beyond our perceived conflicts and look instead through the long lens of justice as a means of securing our country and our shared humanity.
Facebook Event can be found here.
Thursday, February 20th 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM
DePaul University – Lincoln Park Campus
Student Center
2250 N. Sheffield Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
The Trump administration, and their predecessors, love to blame immigrant families just looking for a better life for themselves and children, but who really caused the need for people to flee from their homes?
Presenters Victoria Cervantes and Laura Nussbaum, of La Voz de los de Abajo, will share and discuss the impact of U.S. policy and actions in Latin America, and how military and economic violence in the region is the underlying cause of the immigration crisis.
We must not let the U.S.’s violent imposition continue to destroy an entire region, while criminalizing the victims of our actions. We’ll learn what it means to oppose U.S. interference in Latin America and begin taking the very important steps towards change.
This is a free event, but please let us know you are coming by signing up through this ticket link!
Facebook Event can be found here.
January 21st 7:00-8:00 PM
DePaul University
Room TBA
Chicago, IL 60604
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What is it? How does it work? Who do they target? Who is in charge? What are my rights? What does Abolish ICE mean? Join Chicago Area Peace Action DePaul for small group discussions about how ICE has changed under Trump, ICE Methods, Trial & Rights, ICE Detention Centers, and more.
Facebook Event can be found here.
January 13th 7:00 PM
Evanston City Council
2100 Ridge Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
Residents of greater Evanston are urged to come to City Hall Council Chambers for the beginning of the City Council meeting at 7pm to stand in support as Evanston residents speak to Resolution 136 R 19 which calls for the US to ratify the International Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (“ICAN”) that has already been approved by 122 nations at the UN, signed by 79 countries, and ratified by 33. The Evanston resolution, similar to those adopted by 43 other US cities, will be proposed as part of the Consent Agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
If the City Council passes this resolution, it will be the first Midwest city to join the campaign to convince the US government to sign the ICAN treaty.
See the resolution here.
We will not be forced into another war. CAPA will join with Indivisible Evanston and others in the anti-war majority in this country will get visible to oppose Trump’s war and say #NoWarWithIran.
Evanston – 5:00pm – Church and Benson
Chicago – 5:30pm – Wabash and Wacker
CAPA joins with CCAWR, ANSWER, VCNV and many other Chicago area peace groups to say, We will not be forced into another war.
5:30pm Corner of Wabash and Wacker, Chicago
December 8th 1:30 PM- 3:30 PM
Evanston Public Library
Third Floor, Falcon Room
1703 Orrington Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
Join us this Sunday from 1:30-3:30 for a screening of “The Beginning of the End of Nuclear Weapons” and a discussion of the Treaty to Prevent Nuclear Weapons with David Combs (Union of Concerned Scienctists) and David Kraft (NEIS).
This important program comes just one day before the Evanston City Council takes up “Back from the Brink” anti-nuclear resolution that has the support of nineteen greater-Evanston faith communities and peace and justice organizations.
Sponsored by:
Chicago Area Peace Action
Neighbors For Peace
Union of Concerned Scientists– Illinois
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Physicians for Social Responsibility– Illinois
November 14th 7 PM – 9 PM
Loyola University
Cudahy Science Hall, Room 202
Chicago, IL 60660
Join Chicago Area Peace Action’s Loyola Chapter for a conversation about the uncharted effects of climate change and potential solutions. The panel discussion with feature activists, professors, researchers, and students.
October 19 2p-4p
Grace Lutheran Church
1430 South Blvd
Evanston, IL 60202
The military is sacrosanct in this country. We’re taught to honor the military, even though it has played, and continues to play, an outsized role in our extinction. The military protects Big Oil and other extractive industries. It is the single largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels in the world. Military operations leave a toxic legacy on their bases and across the world. Wars ravage fragile ecosystems and kill plants, animals, people and the earth. Join us as we examine the nexus between “Climate Disruption and U.S. Militarism”.
Sponsored by Veterans for Peace – Chicago Chapter. Co-sponsored by Chicago Area Peace Action (CAPA).
6 PM, Wednesday, October 9th Grace Place, 637 S. Dearborn St.
On the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, please join a conversation with two of the most thoughtful anti-war activists in the U.S.
CAPA is a co-sponsor of this event. Click here for more information.
CAPA Climate group and other CAPA friends will be participating in the events called for by Extinction Rebellion Chicago (XR Chicago) Daley Plaza, Chicago – 4pm-7pm. Click here for more details
My Lai Memorial Exhibit provides participants with a powerful anti-war experience. The experience invites participants to make a renewed commitment to peace and social justice and provides opportunities to support initiatives working to reduce violence and militarism both at home and abroad.
Veterans for Peace-Chicago Chapter and CAPA board member, Gerry Gorman worked together to put this exhibit together at UIC where Gerry is a faculty member along with many other activities.
Come find us from 1 to 5PM at Evanston’s Streets Alive fair!
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/departments/parks-recreation-community-services/programs-events/festivals-events/streets-alive
CAPA’s Loyola and DePaul Chapters ask you to join them
Wednesday Aug. 7th at 11am
at Federal Plaza
(NE corner of Dearborn and Adams)
On 9 August 2018, Saudi Arabian expeditionary aircraft bombed a civilian school bus passing
through a crowded market with U.S.-made bombs in Dahyan, Saada Governorate, Yemen.
Thirty-four students and 4 of their teachers were killed along with 12 passers-by.
An additional 78 people were wounded, including 55 students.
This rally is to remember the lives lost as well as we urge Congress to end the Yemen war
during consideration of the defense budget. Come out to support and stand in solidarity!
Event co-sponsored by Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Chicago Committee Against War and Racism, Neighbors for Peace-Evanston and others
An ad hoc group of peace and justice activists
will gather in Hyde Park on
Tuesday, August 6th 2019
5:30 to 6:30pm
(rain or shine, program subject to change)
Meet at the Henry Moore sculpture, University of Chicago, E. 56th St and S. Ellis Ave.
Bring seating (chair or blanket) and umbrella; bring a hat and sunscreen
Come Join Us!
For a one hour commemoration featuring representatives
of peace and justice groups offering brief:
Readings; Songs; Poetry
Mindful breathing and walking meditation
From July 18-20, 2019, Voices for Creative Nonviolence will join with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s US Boats to
Gaza campaign, supporting their North American Freedom Flotilla for Gaza project with three days of Chicago
actions to include a Saturday July 20th mini-flotilla of kayaks and other craft on the Chicago River, joining shore-
based protesters to urge freedom for the people of Gaza starting at 11:00am from the Lake Street Bridge, NE corner!
From July 18-20, 2019, Voices for Creative Nonviolence will join with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s US Boats to
Gaza campaign, supporting their North American Freedom Flotilla for Gaza project with three days of Chicago
actions to include a Saturday July 20th mini-flotilla of kayaks and other craft on the Chicago River, joining shore-
based protesters to urge freedom for the people of Gaza.
On Friday, July 19th, we’ll have gathered at 11:30am outside the Israeli Consulate at 500 W. Madison and proceed
to warmaker Boeing’s corporate HQ at 100 N. Riverside Plaza for a rally at Noon.
From July 18-20, 2019, Voices for Creative Nonviolence will join with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s US Boats to
Gaza campaign, supporting their North American Freedom Flotilla for Gaza project with three days of Chicago
actions to include a Saturday July 20th mini-flotilla of kayaks and other craft on the Chicago River, joining shore-
based protesters to urge freedom for the people of Gaza.
On Thursday July 18th, we’ll host four-time flotilla veteran (Ret.) Col. Ann Wright and Gazan
scholar/activist Jehad Abusalim for a 7pm speaking event at Chicago’s Grace Episcopal Church at 637 S. Dearborn.
Lecture: DeCOALonize and Degrow: Ending the Tyranny of Growth and Revitalizing our Future.
Where: College of the Complexes, Dappers East Restaurant
Address: 2901 West Addison 3600 North between California and Sacramento.
More information:
Each year on the last Friday of the Chicago Public School year, Faith Community of Saint Sabina hosts a summer kickoff rally and march for peace.
Where: In Logan Square at the Dill Pickle Food Coop
When: June 1, from 1PM – 3PM
We are almost out of time to stop global warming. Come to the Dill Pickle on Saturday, June 1, starting at 1 pm, and join with your neighbors to see these presentations addressing the challenge of global warming with performance, a strategy for collective non-violent direct action, an existential description of our problem, and the concept of degrowth.
June 1 is Global Degrowth Day (www.degrowth.info/en/globalday/participate). Degrowth ideas began in France. The movement started about 10 years ago. DegrowUS (www.degrowus.org) started in Chicago last fall with a vision of a popular movement for a transition to a just, participatory, and ecological future for all.
The degrowth movement chooses to face head-on the existential truth that the survival of humanity as we know it and the progress of democracy depend on reducing our consumption of the Earth’s resources and breaking the link between economic growth as we know it and human needs such as employment, education, and health care.
Degrowth challenges us to reimagine our resource-intensive convenience-obsessed civilization: Why disposable instead of reusable, products that can’t be repaired rather than a culture of repair, and high tech extreme measures health care but little real focus on disease prevention?
More information about Global Degrowth Day from www.degrowth.info: https://www.degrowth.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Global-Degrowth-Day-Call-for-Participation-English.pdf
We’ll start this first DegrowUS Chicago event with a short piece of pop-up theater. The main presentations will run 15-20 minutes. There will be short presentations about local activities. Global vision, local action! You are also invited come early or stay later and enjoy some food or drink from the Dill Pickle.
Awaken Giant!
Barry Feldman, Rebel For Life Pop-Up Theater
HEADING FOR EXTINCTION & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
Joe Phillips, Local Coordinator for Extinction Rebellion Chicago
How We Got Here; How We Get Out of Here
H. Peter Steeves and Danielle Meijer, DePaul University Department of Philosophy
DeCOALonize and DeGrow:
Ending the Tyranny of Growth and Creating a Revitalized Sense of Possibility
Rachel Elfant, Climate Justice Organizer at CAPA, Youth Worker at Centro Romero, and student of DeGrowth
Master of Ceremonies
Mike Strode, The Kola Nut Collaborative
Chicago Area Peace Action DePaul will be hosting a panel about climate change featuring Dr. Sean Kirkland, Dr Liam Heneghan, Rachel Elfant, and Rose Gomez.
In this panel we will move past the conversation of climate change denial. It is real and happening. In the face of catastrophe why can’t we seem to take action? How does climate change disproportionately affect communities of color? What does climate change look like right now? We will tackle those important questions in this event.
Come join us for food and conversation!
When: Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM
Where: Arthur J. Schmitt Academic Center (SAC) located at 2320 N. Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL
Join Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah, Faith in Place, Go Green Wilmette, and Chicago Area Peace Action to dive deeper into the process of installing solar on your House of Worship. In the first workshop held on January 16th, we explored the benefits of going solar, learned from examples of other faith communities that have installed solar, and discussed a variety of ways to finance solar projects at your house of worship.
This workshop will build on those lessons!
The event is free and open to anyone who is interested in bringing solar to their faith community.
Date: Thursday, May 23, 2019 from 10:00am to 11:30am
Location: Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah 3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette, IL 60091
Tuesday, May 21 join us as we demonstrate against Chase Bank’s continued funding of tar sands oil pipeline construction and to support efforts to stop Line 3 in MN. Fellow climate activist organizations Rising Tide Chicago and Rainforest Action Network are organizing this rally to coincide with Chase’s annual shareholder meeting.
When: Tuesday, May 21 at 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Where: Chase Tower, 21 S Clark St, Chicago
Why: To make it clear that we can’t continue with ‘business as usual:’ continued investment in fossil fuel infrastructure will plunge our home planet further into a climate crisis with unimaginable impacts on our families, communities and future generations.
Check out this Facebook event page for further details: https://www.facebook.com/
Amira Hass brings a fresh and much needed insight to the past, present, and future of Palestinian Israeli relations. She draws on 30 years of experience as an Israeli journalist and analyst who has sought and achieved unparalleled immersion in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza.
Born in Jerusalem in 1956, Hass joined the Israeli daily Haaretz in 1989 and had been its correspondent for the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1993. She has lived in the West Bank city of Ramallah since 1997. “Ramallah Chronicles”, a compilation of her articles between 1997-2003, was published in 2005. Before taking up residence in the West Bank, Hass lived in Gaza for three years, which experience served as the basis for her widely acclaimed book “Drinking the Sea at Galilee”.
Hass is the only child of a Sarajevo-born Jewish mother who survived nine months in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and a Romanian born Jewish father who survived three wartime years in a ghetto.
Meet us there from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM at the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 2121 Sheridan Rd. Evanston, IL.
Dilemmas of an Israeli Journalist Covering
Palestine: Amira Hass
Monday, April 29, 2019
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., Evanston, IL 60201
Amira Hass brings a fresh and much needed insight to the past, present, and future of Palestinian Israeli relations. She draws on 30 years of experience as an Israeli journalist and analyst who has sought and achieved unparalleled immersion in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza.
Born in Jerusalem in 1956, Hass joined the Israeli daily Haaretz in 1989 and had been its correspondent for the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1993. She has lived in the West Bank city of Ramallah since 1997. “Ramallah Chronicles”, a compilation of her articles between 1997-2003, was published in 2005. Before taking up residence in the West Bank, Hass lived in Gaza for three years, which experience served as the basis for her widely acclaimed book “Drinking the Sea at Galilee”.
Hass is the only child of a Sarajevo-born Jewish mother who survived nine months in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and a Romanian born Jewish father who survived three wartime years in a ghetto.
A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning
an activist training with legendary Quaker civil rights activist/author
George Lakey
Saturday, April 27, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
NEIS, 3411 W. Diversey, Chicago.
(Logan Sq. “Blue” Line stop; #76, 82, and 56 Buses; 5 blocks
south of the Kennedy X-pwy, Kimball Ave. exit. Street parking.)
Suggested donation: $25, $10 for
students/low-income individuals.
A non-violent, direct-action
training, based on the highly
praised, new book by George Lakey, “How We Win: A
Guide to Non-Violent Direct Action Campaigning.” $13.59.
https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/how-we-win/
Advance registration required through NEIS by e-mail
(neis@neis.org), or phone (773)342-7650, space limited to
the first 30 registrants. Make checks payable to “NEIS”
and send to above address; or pay online at
www.neis.org/donate/).
Chicago Area Peace Action is partnering with Love Without Borders to bring art made by Refugees displaced in Greece to be displayed for purchase at DePaul. All money made from a sale goes back to the artist. The art we will be displaying will be primarily from Yemeni, Palestinian, Syrian, and Iraqi refugees. This event is open to the public. Thank you to our cosponsors: the Islamic World Studies Program, the International Studies Department, the Department of History of Art and Architecture, the Department of Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Art History Club.
April 6 – 2019 Chicago Peace Summit
The Chicago Peace Summit will feature national peace movement activists and foreign policy experts from across the country and around the world. Join us to hear from Kathy Kelly, Jehan Hakim, Natasha Erskine, Kevin Martin, Vincent Emanuele, Nan Kim, Robert Naiman, Paul Street, Rachel Elfant, and other noteworthy leaders about pressing issues of peace.
All are welcome! Please come out to learn more about the dire peace issues plaguing communities in our own backyards and across the world.
Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 10 AM – 4 PM CDT |
CAPA’s FPWG is co-sponsoring with Evanston Neighbors for Peace, programs at EPL (2-5p) and the Sulzer Library in Chicago (7-8:30p)
See the Facebook event page for more details.
Global Climate Strike. All over the nation and world,
the Youth will lead a strike. Ours in Chicago is from 11AM – 2PM and
meets in Grant Park.
