A new coalition was born in Dorchester on July 7, and it aims to cut Washington’s military spending by 250 billion dollars a year and use all that money to fund community jobs and services.
Twenty organizations gathered at the Vietnamese-American Community Center in Fields Corner and:
- Talked about our community needs – what we would do with Boston’s $500 million share of that cut in military spending.
- Identified the places where we can safely cut our country’s yearly military spending by $250 billion (one-quarter of the yearly total).
- Started developing a three-part action plan:
-Pressuring Congress and the President;
-Surveying our communities to create a budget that actually funds human needs; and
-Educating our organizations to build broad-based support for a multi-year campaign.
The coalition’s steering committee will be formed on Wednesday, July 22, 5-6:30 pm. Participants in the July 7 meeting are asking their organizations if they want to join, and signature-gathering on a petition to Washington is likely to start in August. Other ideas include: bringing up the “cut military spending / fund us” idea at mayoral and city council candidates’ nights this summer; circulating letters and an online petition; and gathering personal testimonies from people affected by budget cuts.
Groups that have joined the coalition so far are:
Boston Workers’ Alliance, City Life/Vida Urbana, Codman Square Health Center, Community Change, Dorchester People for Peace, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Office of City Councilor Chuck Turner, Teens Against Gang Violence, Project Care and Concern, and South Boston Residents for Peace.
A half-dozen more are already considering joining. For more information about the coalition and campaign, contact Dorchester People for Peace at 617-282-3783 or beckyp44@verizon.net.
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