LCC to host first annual Peace Conference
Renowned educators, activists to speak
Cheryl Rade
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: News
A variety of renowned educators, political activists and spiritual leaders will convene at LCC for the 2008 Peace and Democracy Conference, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, March 1, in the Center for Meeting and Learning, Building 19.
Social Science Instructor Dr. Stan Taylor, one of the conference organizers and co-chair of LCC's Peace Center Steering Committee, said the conference is the first one of its kind at the college and will "draw together some really fantastic people from multiple walks of life to both present and to engage in discussions about issues of peace."
Taylor, an educator at LCC for the past 11 years, said, "We recognize that peace is based upon justice and basically you can't talk about peace without talking about social, racial, environmental and spiritual issues. They come together and the conference is organized on that basis."
The conference will feature two keynote speakers, Medea Benjamin, a leading activist in the peace movement and founding director of Global Exchange, and Bob Wing, a writer and activist devoted to struggles of racial injustice and a member of the Community Coalition, a Black-Latino grassroots organization in South Central Los Angeles. Taylor noted that Benjamin is also the co-founder of CODEPINK, a women's group dedicated to creating organized action against the war in Iraq. Wing, a Chinese-American, is one of the co-founders of United for Peace and Justice, one of the largest modern day peace organizations in the world.
One of the unique things about the Peace Conference, Taylor said, is the wide spectrum of presenters who are willing to share their wealth of knowledge at this momentous event. "We'll have lawyers talking about civil rights. We'll have a Native American grandmother. We're going to have the Lane Interfaith Alliance - a session on spirituality and how essential religious traditions are important to peace," Taylor said.
Taylor, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and a Juris doctorate, explained that a primary goal of the conference is to foster the local peace movement, which, in turn, will lead to further discussion about how to accomplish peace in a world often besieged by violence and war. "For people like myself, I think war and militarism are robbing us of our rights, robbing us of our social welfare," he said.
Social Science Instructor Dr. Stan Taylor, one of the conference organizers and co-chair of LCC's Peace Center Steering Committee, said the conference is the first one of its kind at the college and will "draw together some really fantastic people from multiple walks of life to both present and to engage in discussions about issues of peace."
Taylor, an educator at LCC for the past 11 years, said, "We recognize that peace is based upon justice and basically you can't talk about peace without talking about social, racial, environmental and spiritual issues. They come together and the conference is organized on that basis."
The conference will feature two keynote speakers, Medea Benjamin, a leading activist in the peace movement and founding director of Global Exchange, and Bob Wing, a writer and activist devoted to struggles of racial injustice and a member of the Community Coalition, a Black-Latino grassroots organization in South Central Los Angeles. Taylor noted that Benjamin is also the co-founder of CODEPINK, a women's group dedicated to creating organized action against the war in Iraq. Wing, a Chinese-American, is one of the co-founders of United for Peace and Justice, one of the largest modern day peace organizations in the world.
One of the unique things about the Peace Conference, Taylor said, is the wide spectrum of presenters who are willing to share their wealth of knowledge at this momentous event. "We'll have lawyers talking about civil rights. We'll have a Native American grandmother. We're going to have the Lane Interfaith Alliance - a session on spirituality and how essential religious traditions are important to peace," Taylor said.
Taylor, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and a Juris doctorate, explained that a primary goal of the conference is to foster the local peace movement, which, in turn, will lead to further discussion about how to accomplish peace in a world often besieged by violence and war. "For people like myself, I think war and militarism are robbing us of our rights, robbing us of our social welfare," he said.
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