100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #4)

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 6 Aug 2018

Anthony J. Marsella and Kathleen Malley-Morrison – TRANSCEND Media Service

(See Here Lists #1 – #2 – #3)

3 Aug 2018 – This Fourth List of Living Peace and Justice Leaders, continues our efforts to honor the life and work of Reverend Martin Luther-King, Jr.  Reverend King’s legacy of peace, justice, and non-violence, changed the world, inspiring freedom and hope to lives oppressed by evils of racism and political rank and status.

Reverend King’s commitment compels us to continue his efforts beyond the words, song, promises, and protests of his day. Reverend King’s assassination was not the work of a single individual consumed with hate, but as subsequent trials indicated, the result of criminal acts by corrupt government officials, fearful of the of the consequences for change Reverend King inspired. Reverend King, we believe, knew even as he anticipated his tragic death, his truths would endure.

We are eternally grateful for Reverend King’s efforts to free people and nations from the brutal oppressions imposed by governments, nations, societies, organizations, and individuals. Our spirits are buoyed by the thousands of living peace and justice leaders and models whose activism and advocacy insure Reverend King’s sacrifices will not be forgotten but will endure. 

LIST 4

As in prior published Lists, individuals cited on List 4 represent a variety of demographic markers, including gender, ethnicity, race, age, nation, religion, and life-style persuasion and preference.  By accessing the URL accompanying the person’s name, you can read of their peace and justice activism and advocacy.

Our choice of the number, 100, is arbitrary, for there are thousands of individuals who deserve citation. Most are not listed; we will continue to create Lists for future efforts. Do not be dismayed! Patience! Lists of living peace and justice activists and advocates help foster peace and justice.

In the face of abuses and oppression, in the face of bias and insult, in the face of persecution from government and private sources, as evidenced by the betrayal and misuse of the secret FISA Court’s politicization and weaponization, we recall and honor iconic peace and justice leaders of the past, including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Jane Addams, Samuel Gompers, Caesar Chavez, Larry Itliong, Rachel Corrie, Philip Berrigan & Daniel Berrigan, Glenn Paige, Hedy Epstein, Malcolm X, and hundreds of others.

The presence of peace and justice advocates and activists across time and place are testimony to the enduring human spirit to resist oppression, to claim liberty, and to endure, even at the cost of life. Individuals recognized on List 1, List 2, List 3, and now, List 4, are part of the tradition of resistance to oppression and the commitment to peace and justice though non-violence.  Peace and justice leaders occupy a special “sacred” status in our minds and hearts for their efforts to advance the human condition.

And then there are the beautiful and inspiring words from the Sermon on the Mount resonate across time and place: “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5.9 KJV).

In commenting on the many demands placed upon of those pursuing peace and justice, Marsella (2017) wrote:

In answering the call, your life will not be the same. You will be required   to face harsh realities; you will be singled out for abuse from reactionary forces whose inhumanity keeps them locked in hate. Your life itself will be at risk. What will not be at risk, however, is your personal integrity, your dignity, your identity, and your position of gratitude, respect, and admiration in the heart and minds of those you help. Pursuit of justice is not for the faint of heart.  You can expect condemnation, ridicule, insult, entrapment, and defamation; costs are high, but rewards are more than gold or silver; rewards come in knowing in our brief time on Earth, you have done something to advance the cause of “justice.”

SPIRIT OF OUR TIMES

1. Inclusion – There is a new spirit of encounter, inclusion, and protest in our times (e.g., Anti-Fascism, Anti-Islamophobia, Black Lives Matter; Me Too, LGBTQ Movement, Pro-Choice, Refugees Matter, Sanctuary Cities). Tangible evidence is displayed in countless national and international gatherings numbering in the millions of participants.
2. Communications and Connection – There is a new spirit of communication and connection among the growing number of “Free Media” critical of government, military, and private corporate controls!
3. Protest – There is a new spirit of protest against concentrations of war, militarism, power and position in the hands of a few (i.e., Secret State, Deep State, Secret State). The expenditure of a nation’s diminishing wealth on the purchase military and nuclear weaponry, endless wars, and genocides, has mobilized citizens across the nations and world.
4. Consciousness of Life and Land – There is a new spirit of concern for life and land, especially regarding anthropogenic climate changes! The concern is national and global. Activists are protesting destructive developments and supporting climate change policies to limit Co2 release. Animal, Plant, and Natural Resources Rights have joined Human Rights as areas of concern and protection.  This reflects a consciousness of the flaws in human mastery assertions articulated in Biblical admonitions contending God made mankind (sic) master of all things and in his (her) image.
5. Investigate, Expose, Uncover – There is a new spirit of determination to investigate, expose, and uncover abuses of privilege and position by select government official who have politicized and weaponized laws for personal use (e.g., FISA Court).

Hope

These changes signal and sustain “Hope!” “Hope” is the life blood of progressive change. “Hope” can be suppressed and oppressed, but it cannot be defeated. “Hope” endures because it is the very essence of life. Regardless of life form and specie. “Hope” is the evolutionary impulse to pursue survival, adaptation, and adjustment, free of oppression.

Be not afraid!  You are not alone! There are thousands of advocates and activists across the world bringing conscience to the struggle for peace and justice. It is the endless story of individuals from all walks of life, willing to endure the trials and tribulations of speaking for peace and justice in settings in which abuses and oppression of human rights and legal rights are violated by those holding power and position.

Goals of Peace and Justice: New Moral Order

Almost two decades ago, David Reiff (1999), in his classic paper, “The precarious triumph of human rights” (New York Times Magazine, August 8, pp. 36-4) articulated his view of “new moral order” characteristics; his thoughts were prescient:

• Civil society;
• Humanitarianism;
• Human rights versus state sovereignty;
• Emergence of human rights activists, development workers, aid experts committed to needs of an interdependent world;
• Small is beautiful;
• Democracy building;
• Growth of NGOs;
• Considering individual as well as state rights;
• Plans for a permanent international criminal court.
• Decentralization; Non-violence; Grass Roots (Added)

Before sharing our Fourth List, we wish to include two charts offering graphic displays of essential material for understanding and appreciating living peace and justice leaders.

CHART 1: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE LEADERS AND MODELS

CHART 2: ROLES AND STATUS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE LEADERS AND MODELS

We submit the following List of Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models.  We are grateful for their efforts and sacrifices.

LIST 4

1. Al-Obaidi: Abdul Kareem Al-Obaidi, mental health advocate for victims of war and terrorism
2. Ashy: Majed Ashy,  advocate for peace and human rights as pre-requisites for mental and physical health 
3. Arkin: William Arkin, investigative reporter, Washington Post,  Top Secret America   
4. Atkinson: Moya Atkinson, social worker, addresses prisoner isolation
5. Atran: Scott Atran, anthropologist, studies terrorism 
6. Bamford: James Bamford, author, journalist, focuses on NSA
7. Beam:  Amy L. Beam, humanitarian assistance for Yazidis
8. Beydoun: Khaled Beydoun, expert on institutionalization of Islamophobia
9. Billoo: Zahra Billoo, civil rights activist, exec. director San Francisco Bay Area chapter Council on American Islamic Relations
10. Bourgeois:  Father Roy Bourgeois ,  founder of the human rights group School of the Americas Watch 
11. Boyce-Simms: Pamela Boyce-Simms, Convenes the Mid-Atlantic Transition Hub (MATH), a six-state network of environmental activists
12. Braun: Marie Braun, anti-nuclear weapons activist
13. Bronzaft: Arline Bronzaft,  environmental psychologist, activist & leader
14. Brown:  Craig Brown, progressive community organizer  
15. Benjamin: Medea Benjamin, co-founder Code Pink
16. Chailert: Lek Chailert (Thailand), Elephant Nature Park Care
17. Chung: Rita  Chung, GMU professor Global Refugee Trauma Work
18. Cohn: Marjorie Cohn, legal scholar, political analyst, social critic
19. Conley: Julia Conley, staff writer Common Dreams
20. Corbett: Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams writer 
21. Cunningham: Finian Cunningham,  newspaper journalist focusing on international affairs  
22. Daley-Harris: Sam Daley-Harris,  hunger eradication advocate and democracy activist
    
23. Dariyani: Angad Dariyani  Aims at solving large-scale problems for developing countries like India
24. Davis: Martha Davis, film director, On the dark side
25. Dellums: Ronald Dellums, civil rights and anti-war activist
26. Desai: Miraj Desai, researcher focusing on cultural, community, and social justice perspectives on mental health
27. Dharm: Bhawuk Dharm, research on cultural sensitivity, ethics, whistle-blowing
28. Dorrel: Frank Dorrel, anti-war film maker 
29. Dueck:  Alvin Dueck,  peace psychology teacher   
30. Ecklein: Joan Ecklein, peace and social justice activist
31. Erakat: Noura Erakat, human rights attorney, writer, activist, specialist in Israeli-Palestinian conflict  
32. Fisk:  Robert Fisk, war zone Guardian correspondent
33. Flanders: Laura Flanders, author, journalist, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).
34. Frompovich: Catherine Frompovich,  health rights advocate, journalist
35. Gaynor: Maureen Gaynor,  disability activist, supporter of civil disobedience
36. Gattinger: Malvin Gattinger, Transcend Media Service staff (webmaster)
37. Gold: Ariel Gold, Jewish mother, BDS activist, pro-Palestinian, Code Pink leader.
38. Gonzalez: Naomi Emma Gonzalez,leader in youth-led gun control  student movement. 
39. Haque:  Umair Haque, inspirational writer
40. Hightower: Jim Hightower, progressive political activist, supporter of sustainable agriculture 
41. Huerta: Delores Huerta,  labor leader and civil rights activist. Worked with Caesar Chavez in founding United Farm Workers Union
42. Jackson: Richard Jackson, Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
43. Johnson: Jake Johnson ,Common Dreams writer
44. Jones: Preston Jones,  professor, peace activist on American Empire
45. Kent: George Kent, Teaches human rights, on the Board of Directors of the International Peace Research Association Foundation.
46. Klare: Michael T. Klare, Five College Professor of Peace & World Security Studies
47. Kolhatkar: Sonali Kolhatkar, columnist for Truthdig, co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission,
48. Kunstler: Barton  Kunstler,  Author, Nation of change. 
49. Laurison: Hannah Burton Laurison, human rights activist.
50. Lillard: Kwame Leo Lillard, Nashville civil rights leader 
51. Loladze : Irakli Loladze, professor, Environment of Food Supply     
52. McKay: Donna McKay, active with Physicians for Human Rights.
53. McKibben: Bill McKibben,leading environmentalist in USA  
54. Melamed: Barbara G. Melamed,  psychologist, promotes women’s peacebuilding, mediation
55. Milton-Lightening: Heather Milton-Lightening,  international Indigenous Peoples advocate, activist for ending Gaza blockade. 
56. Mingo: Erika Mingo, Past President, PSYSR; Racial Justice Action Group
57. Munayyer:  Yousef Munayyer,  US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
58. Mutaka: Christophe Nyambatsi Mutaka key figure at the Groupe Martin Luther King; promotes active nonviolence,  human rights, and peace,  focuses on reducing sexual and other violence against women.
59. Nair:  Keshavan Nair,  Gandhi scholar 
60. Neville: Helen A. Neville, Professor, African-American Studies/Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Illinois,  Champaign-Urbana
61. Nyarwaya:  Eddy Kalisa Nyarwaya Jr. Executive Secretary of the Rwanda Institute for Conflict Transformation and Peace Building; President of the Alternatives to Violence Program
62. Orlov: Dmitry Orlov,  predicts cultural, financial, commercial, and political collapse in US and elsewhere.
63. Pauli: Richard Pauli, climate activist  
64. Pepper: William F. Pepper,  attorney, investigator of assassinations, represented MLK’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit
65. Pitt: William Rivers Pitt, Teacher, writer, political activist
66. Prasad: Surya Nath Prasad, writer, Transcend Media Service, supporter of universal peace education
67. Prysner: Michael Prysner:  S. army veteran, political activist
68. Priest:  Dana Priest,investigative reporter, Washington Post, Top Secret America book 
69. Pulley: Aislinn Pulley,  Chicago Black Lives Matter, African American leader   
70. Quam: Lois Quam, activist for health care and the environment. 
71. Reimer: Kevin Reimer,  peace psychology professor
72. Richards: Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood  
73. Richtman: Max Richtman, President/CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare 
74. Schindler: Stefan Schindler,  Peace scholar, poetry for peace activist 
75. Seed: John Seed, Saving the Rain Forests 
76. Stevenson: Bryan Stevenson, Slavery Museum
77. Stone: Oliver Stone, film maker
78. Sulik: Gayle Sulik, Breast Cancer Founder
79. Sundarajan: Louise Sundarajan,   Indigenous Psychologies ;  Humanistic Psychologies
80. Tatour: Dareen Tatour, Palestinian citizen of Israel charged with inciting violence with her poetry. 
81. Thapa: Lily Thapa, Single Women for Human Rights in Nepal
82. Theoharis: Liz Theoharis Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
83. Todhunter: Colin Todhunter, writer, critic of international agribusinesses. 
84. Toon: Brian Toon  climate research 
85. Torres-Rivera: Edil Torres Rivera,  LatinoX  Counselors for Social Justice activist 
86. Townsend: David Townsend, J.D., Attorney, Mediator, Activist
87. Turbeville: Brandon Turbeville Writer for Activist Post, host of Truth on the Tracks, a weekly news roundup serving as a hub for activists, information, and solutions.
88. Tverberg:  Gail Tverberg,  Energy and Peak Oil Analyst 
89. Vitchek: Andre Vitchek, revolutionary, internationalist, and globetrotter fighting Western imperialism 
90. Vilkomerson: Rebecca Vilkomerson,  Executive Director, Jewish Voice for Peace 
91. Wagner: Richard Wagner, Peace psychology pioneer.
92. Wallace: Timmon Milne Wallis, Director of Peaceworkers UK.
93. Ward: Eric K. Ward, long-time civil rights strategist
94. Wedler: Carey Wedler, Editor, Anti-Media
95. West: Doe West, Native American scholar, pastor, social justice activist, disability rights advocate.
96. White:  James A. White Jr., Prisoner who started numerous educational programs for prisoners
97. Wolff: Richard D. Wolff,  Author, Marxist economist 
98. Yumbo: Elisvan Greffa Yumbo, Peruvian activist fighting for protection of Amazon waters from oil industry.  
99. Young: Andrew Young civil rights activist, U.S. Representative, Pastor, diplomat, mayor, educator.
100. Zimoz: Sergey Zimov, climate change activist working to preserve life in the Artic

___________________________________________________

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Emeritus Professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii’s Manoa Campus in Honolulu, Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu.  He is known internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 21 books and more than 300 articles, tech reports, and popular commentaries. His TMS articles may be accessed HERE and he can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.

Kathleen Malley-Morrison, Ed.D., Director of the Group on International Perspectives on Governmental Aggression and Peace (GIPGAP), is a member of the TRANSCEND Network, Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. She is the author or coauthor of several books, including Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective, and Family Violence in the United States, as well as editor of the four volume series: State violence and the right to peace: An international survey of the views of ordinary people. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters on violence within relationships and nations. Her current efforts to advance peace and social justice are centered primarily in her blog, Engaging Peace. http://engagingpeace.com. She can be reached at: kathiemm@engagingpeace.com

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 6 Aug 2018.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: 100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #4), is included. Thank you.

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2 Responses to “100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #4)”

1. George Kent says:

   6 Aug 2018 at 22:37

   Kathleen, Tony, thank you both for your recognition of so many of us. We–even those not on the list–persist in this work, not because we are rewarded with great success, but because we know it is the right thing to do.

   With much aloha to all, George Kent

2. Pressenza - Nonviolence Charter: progress report 13 (October 2018) says:

   3 Nov 2018 at 15:59

   […] ‘100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #4)’, 6 Aug […]