Summary

Throughout its long history, the Washington Peace Center has been active on many social justice fronts. In the 1970Õs, the Peace Center was a key organizing force in the anti-nuclear movement. With the outbreak of violence and unjust U.S. foreign policy in the 1980Õs in Central America and the Middle East, the Peace Center became an instrumental player in anti-intervention work. The Peace Center evolved to focus on local and domestic social justice issues as well, such as local anti- racist work, abortion rights and Native American rights. Throughout the 1990Õs, the Peace Center worked on fair trade and international economic justice issues and were directly involved in mobilizing protests against the first Iraq War.

The local/global connection continues to shape the Peace CenterÕs work. Early work with the Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Education Network, the D.C. Statehood Party and the D.C. Citizen Action Network (D.C. CAN), revealed a path toward addressing the concerns of residents and organizers in D.C. Work with the Anti-Sanctions and Fair Trade movements also traces a path toward addressing the concerns of a global economy. In all, the CenterÕs primary goal remains to strategically link local organizing for economic and social justice to national and international struggles toward establishing structures and relationships that are nonviolent, non-hierarchical, humane and just.