History 2003-2013

UFPJ began as a national campaign to bring together a broad range of organizations throughout the United States to help coordinate work against a U.S. war on Iraq. At an initial meeting in Washington, DC on October 25, 2002, more than 70 peace and justice organizations agreed to form United for Peace and Justice and coordinate efforts to oppose the war on Iraq.

Also read our Annual Reports—2014 to the present.

2003

As part of a February 15, 2003, global day of protest, “The World Says No to War,” UFPJ helped coordinate and publicize more than 790 demonstrations worldwide, and organized a rally at the United Nations headquarters in New York City that drew more than 500,000 participants.
Two days after the bombing of Iraq began, on March 22, 2003, UFPJ mobilized more than 300,000 people for a protest march down Broadway in New York City.
A May 2003 teach-in organized by UFPJ about war and empire drew a standing-room-only crowd of 2,000 to Washington, DC, to hear Arundhati Roy, Howard Zinn, Edward Said and other prominent speakers.
In June 2003, representatives of more than 325 local and national peace and justice groups from across the U.S. gathered again in Chicago for UFPJ’s first Strategy and Planning Conference. The conference was aimed to help coordinate actions to stop the Bush administration’s program of permanent war, as well as solidify UFPJ’s organizational structure.
On September 13, 2003, in an unprecedented coming together of the anti-war and anti-corporate globalization movements, UFPJ helped coordinate more than 60 solidarity demonstrations in the United States during the World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
On October 25, 2003, UFPJ co-sponsored a major march and rally in Washington, D.C. against the occupation of Iraq.
On November 9, 2003, UFPJ coordinated a national day of action against Israel’s separation wall, with events in 11 cities around the United States.
Continuing our work to link the fight against war and empire with the fight for global economic justice, UFPJ played a major role in the November 18-20, 2003,mobilization against the Free Trade Area of the Americas in Miami, Florida.
In December 2003, UFPJ adopted a comprehensive strategic action plan for 2004.

2004

UFPJ initiated the call to action for a global day of protest on March 20, 2004, the one-year anniversary of the Iraq War. More than 2 million people worldwide took to the streets that day, in over 575 protests in more than 60 countries.
On May 17, 2004, UFPJ’s national Steering Committee adopted the UFPJ Position on Ending the War on Iraq.
On August 29, 2004, UFPJ organized a massive “Say No to the Bush Agenda” protest march outside the Republican National Convention in New York City, drawing more than 500,000 people.

2005

UFPJ’s second National Assembly was held in St. Louis, MO, on February 19-21, 2005, where an amended Organizational Structure and Strategic Framework were adopted, and a new Steering Committee was elected.
For the two-year anniversary of the Iraq War, from March 18-20, 2005, UFPJ put out a call for local peace actions around the country. There were protests in at least 765 communities, large and small, from coast to coast.
UFPJ organized a major three-day antiwar mobilization in Washington, DC, from September 24 to 26, 2005. Highlights included a 300,000-person march past the White House; a massive two-day peace and justice festival featuring 17 themed tents; an interfaith service organized by Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq; the largest pro-peace lobbying day in decades on Capitol Hill, with more than 800 participants meeting with over 300 members of Congress and/or their staffs; and a major civil resistance action at the White House in which more than 370 people were arrested.

2006

On the third anniversary of the Iraq War, UFPJ member groups and allies organized more than 600 events, ranging from vigils to marches to teach-ins, from March 15-22, 2006, across all 50 states and in several countries around the world.
On April 29, 2006, an unprecedented range of organizations from varied constituencies and working on a wide range of priorities came together to organize a mobilization of at least 350,000 people. UFPJ, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, National Organization for Women, Friends of the Earth, US Labor Against the War, Climate Crisis Coalition, People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, and Veterans For Peace united to call for the end of war in Iraq, to say no to any attack on Iran, and to support the rights and dignity of all people, including immigrants and women, recognizing that until this war ends, we cannot succeed at reclaiming our democracy or dealing with the other pressing issues of today.
In June-August 2006, UFPJ condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, and all violence against civilians, and called upon its member groups and supporters to demand an immediate ceasefire. UFPJ also organized the delivery of an open letter to US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, signed by more than 300 organizations and individuals.
From September 21-28, 2006, people in over 150 cities and towns across the country organized and participated in a wide range of actions as part of the Declaration of Peace campaign. This campaign initiated greater use of nonviolent civil resistance and civil disobedience around the nation.
As the 2006 midterm elections approached, UFPJ became involved in the Voters for Peace campaign, encouraging individuals to pledge that they “will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or president who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.” More than 100,000 people signed the pledge prior to the election.

2007

In early January 2007, UFPJ joined with the American Friends Service Committee, which sits on UFPJ’s National Steering Committee, to commemorate the death of the 3,000th American soldier in Iraq. Under the slogan, “Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar,” more than 200 events took place across the country protesting the escalation of the Iraq War.
From January 27-29, 2007, UFPJ organized a massive mobilization in DC to remind Congress that midterm election voters had delivered an unmistakable mandate for peace. The actions began with a 500,000 person March on Washington on January 27, followed by a congressional lobby day in which 1,000 people met with their members of Congress and/or their staff.
To mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War in March 2007, UFPJ member groups and allies organized over 1,000 events across the US, including many actions of nonviolent civil disobedience, as part of the Occupation Project, and more than 100 vigils in Maine.
In order to bridge the divide between the peace and climate justice movements, and bring attention to the critical links between the war and the environment, UFPJ and its member groups participated in the Step It Up 2007 campaign, which called upon Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 through 1400 actions around the country.
UFPJ joined with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a member organization of UFPJ, in co-sponsoring a historic two-day mobilization in Washington, DC, on June 10-11, 2007 to protest the 40th anniversary of Israel’s illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
From June 22-24, 2007 over 300 people from 35 states, representing close to 200 member groups of United for Peace and Justice, gathered outside Chicago for the 3rd National Assembly of UFPJ. Those who came to the Assembly understood the urgency of our common work, as well as the need to tackle the challenges and opportunities of the moment. By the end of the weekend there was agreement on a plan of work for the coming period, as well as a newly elected national steering committee for UFPJ.
• Immediately following the National Assembly, UFPJ also participated in the first ever US Social Forum in Atlanta, June 27-July 1, 2007. Members of UFPJ’s steering committee and staff led eight workshops, while the coalition also had a representative speak on a major plenary, sponsored one of the main cultural events and played a positive role in the three-day Peace Caucus.
UFPJ’s Nuclear Disarmament Working Group, in conjunction with the Bite the Bullet: War Profiteering Education Network, issued a call for actions to mark the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and 9, 2007 and to bring attention to the escalating threat to the world posed by U.S. nuclear hypocrisy, and to confront the corporations that are perpetuating and profiting from a worldwide nuclear crisis and the wars in the Middle East.
On October 27, 2007, more than 100,000 people from all walks of life and in every part of the country participated in 11 regional demonstrations, and scores of solidarity actions, against the war in Iraq, initiated by United for Peace and Justice.

2008

In March 2008, more than 1,000 actions in all 50 states marked 5 years of war and 5 years of protest. In Washington DC, more than 1,000 people — students, grannies, veterans, and more — engaged in over a dozen bold, creative, inspiring actions in downtown DC that disrupted business as usual.
March 2008, brave veterans of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan gave three days of powerful anti-war testimony during the Winter Soldier hearings organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War.
March 23, 2008 less than a week after the Winter Soldier hearings, dozens of vigils across the nation mourned the death of the 4,000th US soldier in Iraq.
December 12-14, 2008 in the wake of the election of President Barak Obama, UFPJ convenes its 4^th National Assembly in Chicago. The challenge is to seize on the rhetoric and to demand of the new President-elect that the logic of action proceeds from it: 1) to put our people back to work and ensure not only the right to work but also the dignity of work, strengthening the hand of labor unions; 2) to open doors of opportunities for youth and invest in our children’s education, making this investment fair and equitable across school districts and the barriers of wealth; 3) to promote the cause of peace and end the war in Iraq and mitigate the suffering of Afghanistan; and 4) to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm the fundamental truth of unity in diversity by ensuring that the will of the public becomes the law of the land.
December 30, 2008 UFPJ called for action to protest the Israeli attacks on Gaza which come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip that has been going on for years and has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life.

2009

In light of President Obama’s endorsement of the war in Afghanistan as the “good war,” UFPJ steps up is work on Afghanistan. Member group, September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows distributes Afghanistan: Ending a Failed Military Strategy A Primer for Peace Activists widely within the movement.
March On Wall Street, April 4, 2009 a National Mobilization to honor the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Marking the tragic anniversary of Dr. King’s death in Memphis, TN, April 4 is also the anniversary of his ‘Beyond Vietnam’ speech at Riverside Church, NYC one year earlier. In the historic speech, Dr. King decried the ‘triple evils’ that plagued the nation – ‘racism, extreme materialism, and militarism.’ We humbly suspect that Dr. King would join us marching to Wall Street and pressing for our campaign, ‘Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible.’
May 21, 2009 UFPJ launches a campaign to shift American public opinion against the war in Afghanistan. Member groups were urged to join in a National Media Day of Action to reach out to every local, regional, and national media source, UFPJ shared resources, tools and tips on a training conference call.
With Iraqis celebrating the first symbolic benchmark of a U.S. troop withdrawal, on July 2, 2009, UFPJ calls for a rapid and total end to the U.S. war and occupation. Michael McPhearson, the UFPJ National Co-Chair, says, “As a Gulf War veteran, I understand how the military works. U.S. military officials have described how combat troops will be ‘re-missioned’ as ‘trainers’, so that they can continue operations in Iraq’s cities and towns in a different guise.” The road for the U.S. military out of Iraq remains much too long, and UFPJ has urged its Member Groups and supporters to call the White House and the Congress to let them know that continued occupation cannot solve the problems facing Iraq — and in fact, the presence of U.S. troops exacerbates the problems.

2010

On February 1, 2010 the UFPJ Steering Committee voted 14 to 5 in favor of transitioning its organizational structure from a formal “coalition” to a “network” of member groups dedicated to information sharing within the peace and justice community.
April 13-15, 2010 UFPJ promotes Tax Day Actions For Peace with demands to “Defund the Afghanistan Escalation!” Spring is here, but the endless, pointless wars grind on. U.S. troops are preparing for an offensive in Afghanistan ‘s Helmand province. As people lose their homes, their jobs, and struggle to make ends meet; as teachers are laid off and libraries are closed across America; money gushes into the war and military budgets. Tax Day is a great opportunity for peace groups to reach out
to our neighbors and remind them that our economy and public services are being starved to feed the Pentagon and military contractors – make the cost of war clear: 28 cents out of every tax dollar goes to war, plus another 23 cents for past wars.
Global Action Days in support of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, September 16-19, 2010. UFPJ joins activist organizations and individuals who take to the streets to call on the United States government to drop the charges against Army Private First Class Bradley Manning who has been held in isolation since May, charged with releasing classified documents including a video that shows American troops shooting and killing 11 people, including two Reuters employees, in 2007. Manning’s imprisonment has resulted in an international outcry calling for transparency in America’s war policies. Famed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg has said that if Mr. Manning is related to the leak, then he is “a new hero of mine.” Events and rallies take place in New York City NY, Oakland CA, San Diego CA, Minneapolis MN, San Francisco CA, Houston TX, London UK, Fort Lewis WA (Seattle area), Columbus OH, and Quantico VA—near the Marine brig where Bradley is currently being held—and elsewhere.
Keep Space for Peace Week, Oct. 2 – 9, 2010 an International Week of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space.
UFPJ member groups from across the U.S. attend the Move the Money National Summit in Washington DC, October 3, 2010.
Veterans, military families and activists mark 10 years of U.S. war in Afghanistan, October 7, 2010 and call on U.S. Government to Heed MLK’s Warnings against Greed and Militarism. “In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called our government the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. Ten years of war and the rapidly growing gap between rich and poor has resulted in the current economic crisis,” said Michael McPhearson, Army veteran and National Coordinator of United For Peace and Justice. “These are the deadly results of ignoring Dr. Kings’ warning.” Unprecedented job loss and debt burden have resulted in local and national government budget cuts producing massive layoffs of teachers, police, firefighters and medical personnel. Millions have lost their homes with millions more in foreclosure creating a spiraling job loss effect. The U.S. has spent nearly $460 billion on the war in Afghanistan and $800 billion on the continuing occupation of Iraq. Lisa Fithian, Co-Convener of United for Peace and Justice said, “The last ten years have seen the United States embroiled in endless wars across the globe. The wars are in part responsible for the U.S. ballooning national debt and the sick economy leading to the highest unemployment since the great depression and the most people below the poverty line in the nation’s history. Bolstered by the Arab Spring, Wisconsin workers, and the ongoing occupation of Wall Street, we will join in calling on our government for economic justice and peace.” UFPJ joins the global call for other actions from Oct 7-10, 2010.

2011

Meet up, Teach-in and Fight Back! “The People WILL Take Back the Economy and End U.S. Wars.” From Wisconsin to Wall Street people mobilized for economic justice. On May 12, 2011 thousands of people, from all walks of life, made their demands loud and clear in New York City at Wall Street the heart of the financial world. Peace groups assembled at the Vietnam Memorial, 55 Water Street and marched to Wall Street. The Teach-ins followed at SEIU Local 32BJ 101 6th Avenue @ 6:30 pm. Congress and the President, the same people who keep us at war, bailed out the banks and Wall Street, now want to cut services and programs our communities need. They want to give tax cuts to the rich and balance federal and local budgets on the backs of the poor. We say no!
May 17, 2011, United for Peace and Justice reacts to the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden: “With the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Obama claims that justice has been done. But there is no justice in the millions of people displaced and hundreds of thousands of civilian lives lost due to U.S. wars. The continued bombings and military operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and now Libya ensure more innocent people will be killed. The tragedy will not come to an end until the wars are put to an end.” UFPJ member groups called for profound reflection and a commitment to nonviolence and justice, not vengeance.
November 3, 2011, UFPJ encourages member organizations to build bridges to Occupy Wall Street. How do we build a world of peace and justice? Ending the current wars and our economy based on militarism is not enough. Regulating Wall Street and the banks is also not enough. We will only create a human-needs based economy when we do both. We must understand the links between Wall Street profit and war. It is the corporations making and selling weapons that lead us into war; it is these same military contractors who profit from war; their industries and their high salaries are paid for with our tax dollars. And the lobbyists for these weapons manufactures exert tremendous influence and are hugely responsible for corrupting our democracy. It is the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – not the human services that government provides – that has bankrupted our nation.
December 29, 2011, “Eight years and nine months after “Shock and Awe” U.S. troops have finally left Iraq. For that we must largely thank the Iraqi people, who refused to accept permanent occupation. The costs of the war have been horrendous – most of all for the Iraqi people. The quality of life and security in Iraq is much worse than before the U.S. led invasion and occupation. An unknown number of Iraqis have died as a result of hostilities and the impact of the war. All live in a country that has been destroyed – where one in four do not have access to clean drinking water, electricity is unreliable, violence is rampant, schools and hospitals no longer function and citizens’ human rights and civil rights are frequently violated. In many Iraqi cities and towns the environmental pollution caused by the war has produced an epidemic of birth defects and cancers,” so began UFPJ’s Statement on Iraq. It concluded, in part, “U.S. troops have left Iraq, but is there peace? There can be no peace without justice. We must insist that the U.S. government end its interference in the affairs of Iraq. We must support the struggles of the Iraqis for jobs, security, and human rights. The Iraqi people deserve reparations from the U.S. for the damages and destruction that the immoral invasion and occupation spawned. In 2012, UFPJ will be exposing the impact of the war and advocate for the reparations and restitution that the U.S. government owes the Iraqi people.” Our work is not yet done, and new opportunities to create peace and justice emerge every day. Power To The Peaceful and persistent!

2012

February 24-26, 2012, nearly 100 activists from a wide range of local and national peace organizations attend UFPJ’s Occupy Peace Summit in Philadelphia, PA to explore how the anti-war movement can regroup, evaluate, and move forward in light of how U.S. foreign policy and progressive social movements in the U.S. have changed. Using an open discussion format, Lisa Fithian and Michael McPhearson, UFPJ National Co-Chairs, led participants in a conversation about how we build a new future rooted in domestic and international justice, clarifying the connectivity of our issues and our movements and identifying the roadblocks and opportunities for working together, and moving past single-issue organizing.
March 2012, UFPJ launches the Iran Pledge of Resistance, a widespread horizontal movement to prevent U.S. war on Iran. Its goals are to 1) Build a diverse, grassroots movement to oppose war with Iran before one begins, 2) Re-mobilize the anti-war movement and build a larger anti-war base, 3) Use online and offline tools to engage the maximum number of participants and allow a variety of levels of engagement, 4) Create a horizontal national structure that supports local organizing through creating resources, training, and materials, connecting people locally, and providing networking and sharing across the network.
The 99% vs. War & Injustice: Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice, Chicago, May 18 – 19, 2012. On the eve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting in Chicago to plan continued counter-terrorism war in Afghanistan beyond 2014, increases in military spending, future wars modeled after the disastrous Libyan regime change war, and expansion of the so-called missile defense system, the NATO-Free Future Network for Global Justice and Peace, convened by the American Friends Service Committee and Peace Action, and endorsed by UFPJ will also meet. The two-day Counter-Summit features 24 workshops exploring ways to end and prevent wars, to move the money from the Pentagon to meet real human needs, and to create a more equitable, just peaceful society.
May 20, 2012, Unity March for Justice and Reconciliation in Chicago, an opportunity to meet with Afghans for Peace and support Afghanistan war veterans as they rally and march to the NATO Summit to return their military medals to the NATO Generals in a March for Justice and Reconciliation.

2013

Yearlong: UFPJ amplified initiatives by member and movement groups to support Bradley Manning and to Close Guantanamo.
Jobs Not War – a coalition of over 100 groups is carried out a week of action in July 2013. UFPJ played a central coordinating role as part of its larger movement effort to cut the military budget and fund good jobs in a peace economy. This campaign is an extension of our work to end the US war in Afghanistan as well as emerging conflicts such as Syria.
During August 2013, UFPJ promoted Nuclear Free Future Month and ongoing actions to end nuclear proliferation – Building out from the traditional August 6^th and 9^thHiroshima – Nagasaki commemorations. Through commemorations and nonviolent protests at nuclear facilities, public events, film showings, and exhibits throughout the month, UFPJ member groups raised public awareness about the continuing threat posed by nuclear weapons and the environmental and proliferation risks posed by the global addiction to nuclear power.
As part of the 50^th Anniversary Commemoration of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, August 28th, 2013, UFPJ mobilized a peace presence in Washington, DC and in communities across the country. We organized press events, developed and distributed posters and educational materials linking Dr. King’s “triple evils” of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism, and the work for justice.
November 22 to 24, 2013 – UFPJ members groups joined the annual School of America Watch vigil at the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., site of the SOA — or the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” as it has been renamed.
November-December, 2013: UFPJ organized member opposition to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that ultimately included $80.7 billion to continue the war in Afghanistan, on top of a $552.1 billion base budget for the Pentagon. Coming at a time, when we are experiencing cuts in food stamps, public housing, Head Start and a host of federal programs that our people urgently need. The Act also imposed burdensome restrictions that have impeded Presidential power to transfer detainees from Guantanamo and close the prison facilities.
December 10, 2013: UFPJ organized member opposition to a bill calling for increased sanctions on Iran and zero enrichment of uranium, which threatened to totally derail on-going negotiations and put us on a path to war—a clear attempt to undermine a diplomatic solution. There is one thing worse than a “do-nothing” Congress, and that’s a Congress that actively promotes militarism and war.
UFPJ member groups joined with 666 civil society organizations from 13 Arab countries to call upon the U.S. Congress and the French Parliament not to approve aggression against Syria that violates international law. The peace and human rights organizations expressed deep concern about the threats of military aggression on Syria by the senior executive departments in the United States and France, which are permanent members of the Security Council. These threats violate the Charter of the United Nations in advocacy and preparation of an act of aggression contrary to international law.