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AP Listmembers:
Some of you may know that my wife Leslie and I are the founding directors of Educating for Justice Inc. and that EFJ has its headquarters here in Asbury Park. Today we published our online monthly newsletter and I thought that some here might be interested in the new programs we have launched since they will be conducted in Asbury Park.
If any of you have questions about the information provided below, please email me personally at this email address or at [EMAIL PROTECTED].
Peace, JWK
EFJ MONTHLY
January 2005 We, at EFJ, would like to wish you a very happy New Year! Despite some of the recent global and domestic events that have been difficult for all of us to deal with, we share a continued hope that a more just, more peaceful world is possible.
In addition to our filmmaking, grassroots organizing, speaking tour and mentoring programs, EFJ will launch three new programs in 2005. These programs are Justice 101, Swords Into Plowshares and Breaking Bread. Please read over the descriptions below. Each program invites participation from supporters like you - we hope that you will become involved!
JUSTICE 101
Justice 101, a new EFJ initiative, is an Internet-based resource that will deliver information, analysis and guided reflections on important social and economic justice issues. Similar to a beginner's course, Justice 101 will include a set of introductory social justice resources for teachers, students and the general public of all ages. The first 14 focus areas that Justice 101 will cover include: institutional racism, death penalty, sweatshops, environment, poverty, violence against women, nuclear proliferation, human rights, global trade, nonviolence, human trafficking, hunger, living wages, and genocide. Each focus area will feature:
* An Online Library including a Reading List, Film & Video Guide, Web-based Resources, Newspaper & Magazine Articles, Academic & NGO reports, Archived Radio Programs, Fact Sheets and Suggested Action Projects;
* Teacher Lesson Plans;
* First-hand accounts from people who have been directly impacted by the injustice.
In addition, Justice 101 will feature âHow-Toâ Organizing Pamphlets for colleges, high schools and community groups, such as "How to Start an Immersion Trip", "How to Bring Fair Trade Coffee To Your School" and "How to Make Your Bookstore Sweatshop-Free".
EFJ is looking for interns, student leaders, professors/teachers, and advocates to add their talents to this resource. Specifically, we are looking for people who enjoy doing web research, as well as professors, teachers and advocates who would like to write on a particular topic.
If you are interested in working on Justice 101, send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Be sure to mention which issue area you would like to work on, and what you would like to offer. Suggestions are welcome!
BREAKING BREAD
We are challenged by the spirit of Jesusâ Gospel to feed the hungry in our midst, and so we have begun a program called "Breaking Bread." This new EFJ initiative will focus on direct service to the poor on a local level, starting in EFJâs hometown, Asbury Park, NJ and expanding across the country as individuals and groups organize similar programs for their communities. Each Saturday, we will feed the hungry in our local community and we encourage you to do the same. We have begun this program modestly: in our first two weeks, we brought peanut butter & jelly sandwiches to homeless people in Asbury Park. Our long-term plan is to establish a soup kitchen / food pantry at our local parish to more adequately deal with the pressing needs of our local community.
We would encourage you to start something similar in your community if the need is present. In our countryâs current economic situation, the needs of the poor are greater than ever. As an individual, you cannot solve all the problems, but you can do your small part.
When you do make this effort, we would like you to write a reflection about your experiences, which we will post on our website so that others may be inspired by your analysis and reflection. In having direct experience with the poor, the forgotten, and the marginalized, we can actively "do educationâ rather than passively receive other people's knowledge.
We look forward to hearing about you efforts!
SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES
âSwords into Plowsharesâ is an initiative that will focus on giving public witness against the war in Iraq. We, at EFJ, are challenged by our faith to encourage our leaders and the people of our country to be peacemakers, not war-makers. The name and spiritual grounding for this program is found in the Hebrew Scriptures from the prophet Isaiah. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
We plan to start this program modestly by holding weekly public vigils in our community, and encouraging our supporters to do the same. Our vigils will last one hour each Sunday, and our signs will contain messages such as:
The Iraq War "is illegal, it is unjust.â - Pope John Paul II
''Being against the war is the only way to be for the troops'' - Michael Hoffman, Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
âHow do you ask a solider to be the last person to die for a lie?â - Veterans for Peace
We also will be spotlighting individuals from the following organizations on our website:
Iraq Veterans Against the War: www.ivaw.net Military Families Speak Out: www.mfso.org Veterans for Peace: www.veteransforpeace.org Similar to our request in the âBreaking Breadâ program, when you do make this effort, we would like you to send us your written experiences, which we will post on our website for others to learn from your analysis and reflection.
STOP NIKE SWEATSHOPS
This campaign, which began as âthe Olympic Living Wage Projectâ in the summer of 2000, has been our flagship effort and actually served as the genesis for the founding of Educating for Justice. When we did our initial work in Indonesia in 2000 we believed in the idea that we should focus on âone company in one country.â We still believe this. However, in objectively analyzing the work that we have done to date on this campaign, we think it is fair to say that our tactics have generated some change in the areas of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse but in the key areas â living wages, protecting rights to organize, and getting Nike to bargain in good faith with independent unions â we have had limited success.
Given this, we feel a significant need to retool, refocus and reenergize the campaign. Our goal for 2005 is to win real gains for Nike workers in Indonesia â factory by factory. Gains won at one factory will set precedent for the next. Once there is justice at each of Nikeâs forty-odd plants in Indonesia, we, together with workers and union organizers, will have created a model for change. We can then share this model with workers and organizers in the 54 other countries where Nike has production operations. We can also share it with workers producing for other companies and in other industries.
We must start small. We have to win at our first factory, move on to the next, and ultimately change Nikeâs labor practices from the bottom up.
We hope you will continue to support us in this effort. More specific details on campaign actions will be forthcoming.
In closing...
We hope that you share in our excitement about the programs outlined above. We also hope you will seriously consider getting involved in one or all of these efforts in a much deeper way in the New Year. We look forward to working with you to bring the world one step closer to the goal of true social justice. Peace, Leslie and Jim
IN OTHER EFJ NEWSâ
Please visit www.educatingforjustice for more on these featured stories: GIVING AID TO TSUNAMI VICTIMS
Given Indonesia's clampdown on foreign aid organizations, EFJ suggests two local Indonesian organizations to support in the SE Asia Tsunami relief effort. SWEATSHOP-FREE & FAIR TRADE PRODUCTS
Start the New Year with a commitment to shop your values by using EFJâs comprehensive listing of âSweatshop-freeâ and âFair Tradeâ products. SPRING & FALL 2005 INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Learn how you can join the EFJ team at our headquarters in Asbury Park, NJ or from the convenience of your campus. EFJ TRAVELING CLASSROOM EVENTS
EFJ could be coming to your area. Get the latest listings of EFJâs Traveling Classroom events. Are you interested in hosting an EFJ presentation? Get info on how to book an event for your campus, community or church. Yahoo! Groups Links
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