Event Archive
Justice for Jason Vassell
A black UMass student who defended himself against a racial attack is now being prosecuted for assault charges in the wounding of his attackers, and could face 30 years.
Further info at http://justiceforjason.org
Emergency Action Against Israel's Massacre of Protesters
The Middle East Peace Coalition is putting out this call to action after the murderous attack on the Free Gaza Flotilla on Monday, May 31st.
Wednesday, June 2, 7-9 am and 4:30-6:30 pm
Thursday, June 3, 7-9 am and 4:30-6:30 pm
Coolidge Bridge - Meet on the Northampton side
There will be signs, or you can make and bring your own. We will stand on the bridge facing Amherst.
White House Comment Line - 202-456-1111
Senator Kerry, Foreign Relations: 202-224-3121
U.S. Mission to the U.N.: 212-415-4062 (Susan Rice, U.S. Rep.)
U.S. Dept. of State Comment Line: 202-647-6575
The Global Struggle for Resources
Friday, February 19, 12:30 p.m.
Stinchfield Lecture Hall, Greenfield Community College
Talk by Hampshire College professor Michael Klare, part of the Roots of War: Community Voices speaker series.
Palestine '09: Where is the Hope?
Wednesday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. Lyman Hall, First Churches, 129 Main Street
Talk by local activist Sherrill Hogen, who travels to the West Bank annually. Her talk will illustrate the "facts on the ground": the Wall, checkpoints, roadblocks and home evictions, as well as the non-violent, grassroots resistance - wherein lies the hope for Palestine's future.
Gaza Freedom March
The blockade of Gaza has brought death, destruction, pain and suffering to the people there. The international community must not ignore their cries for help.
- Jimmy Carter
Thursday, December 31 - Gaza Strip
Historic one-mile march with tens of thousands of Palestinians to the Erez border crossing with Israel, meeting up with solidarity marches from the Israeli side.
Raffle to Send Local Activists
Raffle to help send local activists to the Gaza Freedom March. 1st prize - free spring week Cape rental; 2nd prize - gourmet Arabic catered dinner for four. Tickets available ($5 or 5/$20) at our vigils and events. Drawing 12/18.
Solidarity Candlelight Vigil
Monday, December 28, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Steps of Northampton City Hall, 210 Main Street
Join us in solidarity with members of our community participating in the Gaza Freedom March:
Emergency Afghanistan Protest When Surge Is Announced
Rally the day after the announcement, 7:30 a.m., Coolidge Bridge
Wednesday, December 2
March of the Dead, the Saturday after, 10:30 p.m.*
Note new time
Saturday, December 5
Obama has ordered an additional 34,000 young men and women into the Afghanistan quagmire. He announced his decision Tuesday, December 1.
* The March of the Dead is a silent, costumed march through downtown. If you wish to participate, meet at the Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic Street, at 10:30 p.m. The actual march will be 11:00 a.m. - noon.
This is an updated time. The march had orginally been scheduled for 2:00 p.m., meeting at 1:30.
Obama's Afghan-Pak Syndrome
Tuesday, November 17, 4:00 p.m.
Robert Crown Center, Hampshire College
Journalist Tariq Ali argues that an immediate exit from Afghanistan is vital, both to our national security and to the security and stability of the Af-Pak region.
Local Office Hours with Senator Kerry's Aides
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Northampton: 1:00-2:00 p.m., City Municipal Building (behind City Hall)
Holyoke: 10:30-11:30 a.m., City Hall
Kerry's office will be holding office hours 'in the field' this Thursday, November 19th in Holyoke and Northampton. Three or four aides will be present to listen to the citizens.
Two Lives from Guantanamo: Yes in My Backyard
Thursday, November 19, 7:00 p.m.
Edwards Church, 297 Main St., Northampton
Actors will read statements and bios of two current prisoners at Guantanamo Bay prison, Ahmed Belbacha and Ravil Minazov. Amherst's Select Board has voted to support bringing these two prisoners to the community. With prisoner-rights attorney Zachary Katznelson.
Kathy Kelly: How to Get Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
Sunday, October 4, 1:30 p.m.
Browsing Room, Neilson Library, Smith College
Prominent activist Kathy Kelly will speak on How To Get Out of Iraq and Afghanistan. She will also report on her recent trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she visited the refugee camps for Pakistanis displaced by fighting between the government and the Taliban.
Kathy Kelly is the founder of Voices in the Wilderness, which is now the Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Kathy has made many trips to Iraq. She has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sponsored by the Smith College Anthropology Department, the Smith College Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and the Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq.
This week is the 8th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan.
Peace Walk Potluck Dinner and Lantern Ceremony
Potluck Dinner Sunday, August 9, 6:00 St. John's Church, 48 Elm Street, Northampton
Lantern Ceremony Sunday, August 9, 8:30 p.m. Paradise Pond, Smith College
The Leverett Peace Pagoda's annual walk against nuclear weapons runs Saturday, August 1 through Sunday, August 9. The peace walk ends with a potluck dinner and the traditional floating-lantern ceremony to commemorate the atomic bombings of Japan.
More info: http://nff.afscwm.org/calendar/
Report from Rafah
Thursday, August 13, 7:00 p.m.
Edwards Church, 297 Main Street, Northampton
Local activists Paki Wieland and Ellen Graves will speak on their recent trip the Egypt/Gaza border for a major international vigil against siege of Gaza.
Meltdown: Voices from Chernobyl
Tuesday, August 25, 7:00 p.m.
Edwards Church, 297 Main Street, Northampton
Local readers read a play about the Chernobyl disaster.
Update on Gaza-bound Local Activists
Local activists, including Northampton Committee member Paki Weiland, are on their way to the Gaza border to vigil to open the borders and end the fighting. They stopped in Cairo to join Code Pink in a demonstration timed with Obama's visit, and to deliver a letter to Obama from Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef.
Rally Against Coal
Sunday, March 1, 1:00 p.m.
Mt. Tom Power Plant, 200 Northampton St., Holyoke
Help start the conversation about the danger of putting millions of years' accumulated carbon back into the atmosphere in 150 years. In conjunction with simultaneous anti-coal demonstrations in D.C. and other cities.
Carpool from Serio's parking lot, 12:45 p.m.
More info: http://securegreenfuture.org
Israel/Palestine Events
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Two Narratives, Two Peoples, A Shared Land
Thursday, March 5, 5:00 PM
Main Lecture Hall, Franklin-Patterson Hall, Hampshire College, Amherst
Rabbi Brian Walt, Rabbis for Human Rights. More info
The "OneVoice Movement"
Thursday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.
UMass Student Union, Cape Cod Lounge
Palestinian and Israeli peace activists hope to achieve peace through a two-state solution. More info
Planting Justice with Rabbis for Human Rights
Sunday, February 15, 4:00 p.m.
Grace Episcopal Church, 10 Boltwood Ave., Amherst
Local activists will talk about their recent trip to Israel and the West Bank with Rabbis for Human Rights.
Anarchists Against the Wall North American Speaking Tour
Wednesday, February 18, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Wright Hall, Smith College, Northampton
Friday, February 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m
Franklin Patterson Hall, Hampshire College
Israeli activist Shachaf Polakow of Anarchists Against the Wall describes a vigorous Israeli-Palestinian direct-action movement against the Separation Wall and other injustices against Palestine.
Detained: the New Bedford Immigration Raid
A film by Jenny Alexander
Screening & Panel Discussion
Thursday, February 5
4:00-6:00pm, Stoddard Hall Auditorium, Smith College
Free and open to the public
[More info]
Demonstration Against the Israeli Assault on Gaza
Friday, January 9, 7:30-9:00 am and 4:00-5:00 pm
Coolidge Bridge
Contact: Joe Levine, 413-549-3630
The Middle East Peace Coalition of Western Massachusetts calls for protest against the ongoing illegal and inhumane Israeli assault on the people of Gaza - an assault that is supported both diplomatically and economically by our government and tax dollars.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Events
Monday, January 19
Heritage Tour, 10:30 a.m., 1.5-mile walking tour starting at Sojourner Truth statue, Pine & Park Sts., Florence.
Lunch and Interactive Community Celebration, noon - 5:00 p.m., Northampton High School. Explore the issues in depth with members of your community.
Benefit panel presentations with keynote speaker Cynthia McKinney, $25 donation, 7:00 p.m., First Churches.
http://westernmassafsc.org/calendar/mlk119.html
Northampton Committee Tenth Anniversary Breakfast
Saturday, December 6, 9:30 a.m.
Media Education Foundation
60 Masonic Street, Northampton (behind Woodstar Cafe)
We will be commemorating our tenth anniversary since the start of the vigil and the committee in 1998. Join us for breakfast before the regular vigil. Breakfast goodies and coffee courtesy of Woodstar Cafe.
60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Saturday, December 13, noon
First Churches, 129 Main Street, Northampton
Commemoration and reading of the declaration adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. Sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Committee Against Secrecy and Torture (PVCAST).
Protest California's Proposition 8
Rally for Marriage Equality
Saturday, November 15, 1:30 p.m.
City Hall, 212 Main Street Northampton
Local protests are being organized nationwide against California's Proposition 8, which amends its state constitution in an attempt to stop gay marriage. The protests will happen simultaneously, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EST, in various cities and towns. A full listing is available from http://jointheimpact.com, and other listings are available by following the links at the news site http://pageoneq.com.
Justice for Jason Vassell
Hearing on Motion to Dismiss
Wednesday, June 24, 2:00 p.m.
Northampton County Courthouse
Rally and March
Wednesday, November 19, 3:30 p.m.
Pulaski Park, downtown Northampton
National Day of Shame, Monday, Mar. 2
Pre-trial hearing, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2:00 p.m., County Courthouse, Northampton
Rally and call-in day, Tuesday, Feb. 3. Rally, 11:30 a.m. at MacKimmie Dorm, UMass Amherst. Call the DA's office and encourage them to drop the case.
Pre-trial hearing, Wednesday, Feb. 18, Hampshire County Courthouse, downtown Northampton
Silent auction, Saturday Feb. 21, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst. Donate items to auction by visiting http://justiceforjason.org.
A black UMass student who defended himself against a racial attack is now being prosecuted for assault charges in the wounding of his attackers, and could face 30 years.
Wednesday's rally will be followed by a march to the D.A.'s office on
Pleasant Street. More info at http://justiceforjason.org.
Election Hangover Protests
Who knows what we'll be protesting! An election fiasco? We hope to be pushing President-elect Obama on ending torture, spying, and the Iraq war, and protesting his support for deepening the war in Afghanistan. Make your signs the morning of, and choose your protest(s):
Wednesday, November 5
• Noon, King and Main Streets
• 4:00 p.m. on the Coolidge Bridge
Sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Coalition Against Secrecy and Torture (PVCAST).
Meet War Hero Camilo Mejia
Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia was the first soldier in the Iraq War to publicly refuse to fight. He served a year in a military prison, and is the author of Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia. His speaking tour stops twice in the Valley: