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Gandhi Alliance for Peace
Board of Directors: Deb Sawyer, president; Allan Smart, vice-president; Boyer Jarvis, treasurer; Sarah Smith, secretary; Rolf Kay;
Catherine Kreuter; and Sharon Odekirk
Board of Directors: Deb Sawyer, president; Allan Smart, vice-president; Boyer Jarvis, treasurer; Sarah Smith, secretary; Rolf Kay;
Catherine Kreuter; and Sharon Odekirk
Alliance Has Roots in 1988 Campaign
The following is a look back at the beginnings of the Alliance as remembered by one of
its founders.
Anniversaries can be a time to reflect on past years, to wonder what lessons we have yet
to learn, and to recommit to our deepest values. The fall of 2004 is another celebration of
Gandhi's birth and another election.
The seeds for what would become the Gandhi Alliance for Peace were planted during the
1988 election when Bush beat Dukakis. Dukakis' platform called for an end to nuclear
weapons testing, with his defeat, a small group of Utahns made the commitment to
organize a writing campaign, mailing postcards twice a month until nuclear testing ended.
That group was called Writing to Stop Nuclear Testing (WSNT). When testing finally
ended, WSNT became Writing to Reduce Weapons, which was committed to work for a
Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Test Ban Treaty, to reduce the size of the U.S. military
budget and to reduce the number of weapons the U.S. sells or grants to other countries.
Gandhi was not part of the picture.
But then in the late summer of 1998, Peace Brigades International (PBI) called Writing to
Reduce Weapons, requesting that it organize an event close to October 2nd featuring a
PBI speaker. PBI is one of many groups seeking to follow the example of Mahatma
Gandhi in using nonviolence in response to conflict and oppression.
That event, a "Salt March" of about two miles along the Great Salt Lake, was the first
Gandhi Birthday Celebration sponsored by what was to become the Gandhi Alliance for
Peace. Numerous Utah peace groups cooperated in planning that day. After the
celebration, some of the participants decided to make the Gandhi Birthday Celebration an
annual event. The Gandhi Alliance for Peace was incorporated in January 2000, with the
mission:
To increase public awareness and understanding of Mahatma Gandhi, his
unique role in world history, and his commitment to truth, nonviolence,
service and justice;
To encourage non-violent resolutions of conflicts among individuals,
communities, and nations.
Deb Sawyer
President, Gandhi Alliance for Peace
The following is a look back at the beginnings of the Alliance as remembered by one of
its founders.
Anniversaries can be a time to reflect on past years, to wonder what lessons we have yet
to learn, and to recommit to our deepest values. The fall of 2004 is another celebration of
Gandhi's birth and another election.
The seeds for what would become the Gandhi Alliance for Peace were planted during the
1988 election when Bush beat Dukakis. Dukakis' platform called for an end to nuclear
weapons testing, with his defeat, a small group of Utahns made the commitment to
organize a writing campaign, mailing postcards twice a month until nuclear testing ended.
That group was called Writing to Stop Nuclear Testing (WSNT). When testing finally
ended, WSNT became Writing to Reduce Weapons, which was committed to work for a
Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Test Ban Treaty, to reduce the size of the U.S. military
budget and to reduce the number of weapons the U.S. sells or grants to other countries.
Gandhi was not part of the picture.
But then in the late summer of 1998, Peace Brigades International (PBI) called Writing to
Reduce Weapons, requesting that it organize an event close to October 2nd featuring a
PBI speaker. PBI is one of many groups seeking to follow the example of Mahatma
Gandhi in using nonviolence in response to conflict and oppression.
That event, a "Salt March" of about two miles along the Great Salt Lake, was the first
Gandhi Birthday Celebration sponsored by what was to become the Gandhi Alliance for
Peace. Numerous Utah peace groups cooperated in planning that day. After the
celebration, some of the participants decided to make the Gandhi Birthday Celebration an
annual event. The Gandhi Alliance for Peace was incorporated in January 2000, with the
mission:
To increase public awareness and understanding of Mahatma Gandhi, his
unique role in world history, and his commitment to truth, nonviolence,
service and justice;
To encourage non-violent resolutions of conflicts among individuals,
communities, and nations.
Deb Sawyer
President, Gandhi Alliance for Peace
