Who We Are: The Chico Peace Alliance
(Scroll down for our statement on Israel/Palestine)
The Chico Peace Alliance (CPA) is a growing organization of local people who see a need for a positive, non-violent political activist alliance among the numerous entities concerned with peace and social justice issues―locally, nationally, and globally. From an initial small core group, CPA has grown and tapped into a vibrant sentiment among many for the need to inform and organize to reinvigorate the community of peace and justice advocates here.
How We Work
The Chico Peace Alliance has evolved in a short period into a network that combines light organization, flexibility, and activist support. It is not an "organization" in the traditional sense, but rather a growing movement of people committed to informed action and to working in mutual support through small-scale informal groups.
GROUNDING
The Chico Peace Alliance is committed to nonviolence in its social activism and in its internal workings. It is committed to justice, equality, and integrity in the communities we participate in—local, national, global, and environmental. It engages in decision making and policy development through consensus grounded at the following three levels of community work:
1. Working Groups: Small working groups are the fundamental active agents of this movement. They each consist of a small number of people committed to working on one area of peace and justice work, to selecting specific issues, educating one another, and creating action projects. They typically meet at least once a month and bring reports to the general meeting. The current working groups are three: War and Militarism, Peace Education , Economic Justice, and Coalition Building and Communication. The leaders are:
2. General Meeting: Once each month an open meeting is held for the reporting and support of working groups, the building of community, the proposal of new areas for working group creation, and the exploration of general issues.
All are welcome at this meeting, which is announced in the pages of the Newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter.
The General Meeting takes place on the 4th Saturday of each month.
3. Steering Committee. This coordinating group offers guidance and support to the working groups and makes decisions about outreach, communication, public engagement, and other issues as informed by the general meeting and the working groups. It may develop policy papers and public statements in response to public events, and works with working groups and coalition groups to manage active responses to these. It receives reports from the working groups, and connects with other organizations working for peace and justice. The Steering Committee meets the 2nd Monday of each month. (The alliance is a member of Peace Action, for example.) Click here for the Steering Committee minutes.
GROUNDING
The Chico Peace Alliance is committed to nonviolence in its social activism and in its internal workings. It is committed to justice, equality, and integrity in the communities we participate in—local, national, global, and environmental. It engages in decision making and policy development through consensus grounded at the following three levels of community work:
1. Working Groups: Small working groups are the fundamental active agents of this movement. They each consist of a small number of people committed to working on one area of peace and justice work, to selecting specific issues, educating one another, and creating action projects. They typically meet at least once a month and bring reports to the general meeting. The current working groups are three: War and Militarism, Peace Education , Economic Justice, and Coalition Building and Communication. The leaders are:
- War and Militarism, Janet Leslie.
- Peace Education, Cindy Carlson.
- Advocacy Team, Laural Yorks
2. General Meeting: Once each month an open meeting is held for the reporting and support of working groups, the building of community, the proposal of new areas for working group creation, and the exploration of general issues.
All are welcome at this meeting, which is announced in the pages of the Newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter.
The General Meeting takes place on the 4th Saturday of each month.
3. Steering Committee. This coordinating group offers guidance and support to the working groups and makes decisions about outreach, communication, public engagement, and other issues as informed by the general meeting and the working groups. It may develop policy papers and public statements in response to public events, and works with working groups and coalition groups to manage active responses to these. It receives reports from the working groups, and connects with other organizations working for peace and justice. The Steering Committee meets the 2nd Monday of each month. (The alliance is a member of Peace Action, for example.) Click here for the Steering Committee minutes.
- The Steering Committee consists of Jim Anderson, Chris Nelson, Sheldon Praiser, Bill Helmer, Lucy Gould, Doug Fogel, Janet Leslie, Stephen Tchudi, Cindy Carlson, and Laurel Yorks.
A Brief History of the Chico Peace Movement
The Chico Peace Alliance continues the work of the peace movement in Chico, which began in 1962. During the tense Cold War years of the early 1960s, the U.S. military began construction of Titan missile silos and bunkers to house nuclear warheads on Keefer Road in northeast Chico. Alarmed by this development, Chico resident Wilhelmina Taggart made weekly visits to the base to pray. Florence McLane and Helen Kinnee joined in Willa’s efforts, and eventually, the missiles were removed. Together, these three women established the Chico Peace Endeavor and began holding weekly peace vigils in downtown Chico. Over sixty-five years later, the Vigil still takes place at the corner of 3rd and Main, every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
In the early 1980s, the three founders and others agreed that Chico needed a center where people could meet to organize for change. They envisioned a place where people could come together to access information about peace and justice issues and educate each other on non-violent philosophy and action. The Chico Peace & Justice Center opened its doors in 1982 on Walnut Street and incorporated on September 13th, 1983.
Over the years the Center actively organized to address issues that include nuclear weapons, U.S. militarism, war tax resistance, poverty, hunger, violence, military youth recruitment, racism, sexism, LGBTQ rights, minority and immigrant rights, gun control, the death penalty, Central American and Mexican violence related to U.S. policies, and U.S. military intervention in other countries. Due to a variety of problems, the Chico Peace and Justice Center permanently closed in 2020.
The Peace Alliance was formed in 2022 and is a growing number of people who support non-violent advocacy for peace and social justice--locally, nationally, and globally. We welcome all people who would like to join in efforts to promote peace in our time and in the future.
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Chico Peace Alliance Statement on Israel/Palestine
CPA coordinating committee shares with the global community a great sadness at the suffering and death of many in the war that is raging in Gaza. We call for these steps to reduce suffering and achieve peace and justice in the region:
1st An immediate negotiation for an end to the fighting, with a cease-fire in place as soon as possible, is the first step. An extended war, no matter the political rationale, will result in suffering and death, destruction and increased hostility, in both communities. Seven wars on Gaza in this century have not led to peace. Peacemaking is the only way to end this war and to prevent future ones.
2nd During any continuing conflict, the protection of civilians on all sides is the responsibility of us all. Neither the assault on civilians by Hamas, nor the excessive bombing of Gaza, can be justified under international law since non-combatants are to be protected by all parties. Revenge and disproportionate destruction have no place among civilized communities and are destructive to all, including future generations needing to live in harmony.
3rd An international gathering should be called to address the root causes of the conflict and to develop remedies consistent with international law in order to achieve human rights and security for all in the region. The ending of the military occupation of Palestine will be essential to such remedies, which must be asserted with the full weight of the international community.
4th We will need support for both Israel and Gaza for the rebuilding of structures and communities in the aftermath of the war, to aid in the recovery of normal life and the prevention of future wars.
