On January 14, 2010, the Congregation Children of Israel hosted Keeping the Dream Alive: Why Dr. King Still Matters, an interfaith service of celebration organized by the Progressive Religious Coalition of Augusta.

This was not a CSRA Peace Alliance event, but many members attended, and one member, Anibal Ibarra, recorded much of the proceedings and posted the following videos to YouTube.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Art as an Agent for Change produced a video describing the handouts we gave away at the parade, which were a great success. Raisin our Voices for Peace, Justice and Equality!

Before the parade, we had a brief introductory video. Later, the heavy rain prevented use of the video.

Here a few pictures from the parade.

Details to join are at the end of this post.

The CSRA Peace Alliance, in cooperation with Art as an Agent for Change of Milledgeville, GA, has secured a spot as a group in the MLK parade this year. It is a wonderful opportunity to continue the peace advocacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our contingent is walking.

Lineup begins at 11 AM, and the parade starts at 1 PM. There is an organizational meeting after which I should have more details.

The Parade will start at Dyess Park Community Center, located at 902 James Brown Blvd. The parade will proceed south on James Brown Blvd., then west onto Wrightsboro Road, north onto Augusta Ave., east onto Laney Walker Blvd., north onto 11th Street, and east onto D’Antignac Street.

More information about the parade is available at http://www.augustaga.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=2250.

—————

Weather forecast:

Cloudy with occasional rain during the afternoon. High 57F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

CSRA Peace Alliance is entry #100. We assemble on the east side of 8th St between Hopkins St and D’Antignac St. Guidelines from the parade organizers:

• PLEASE DRESS WARM! WE WILL RUN THE PARADE RAIN OR SHINE.
• PLEASE HAVE YOUR PARTICIPANTS THERE ON TIME – THERE WILL BE NO PARKING AT DYESS AND AT 11:00 A.M. ALL ROADS FROM CARRIE STREET TO 8TH AND LANEY WALKER TO WALTON WAY. WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL VEHICLES.
• PLEASE KEEP THE PARADE MOVING – WE ASK THAT ALL DANCE GROUPS, ETC NOT STOP ALONG THE ROUTE, BUT ONLY IN FRONT OF THE VIEWING STAND WHICH WILL BE LOCATED AT LANEY STADIUM.

• PLEASE FOLLOW THE SUGGESTED ARRIVAL TIMES LISTED BELOW FOR PARADE ENTRIES

1-20 11:45 AM
21-60 11:00 AM
61-81 11:15 AM
81-UP 11:30 AM —-CSRA Peace Alliance

The CSRA Peace Alliance is hosting a free screening of the documentary film Rethink Afghanistan.

Location: Wallace Branch Library at 1237 Laney Walker Blvd, Augusta, GA 30901
Date: 7:00 PM on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

The CSRA Peace Alliance co-sponsored Lee Ballenger’s talk on the Central American Free Trade Agreement on November 10, 2009.

Video excerpts courtesy of Anibal Ibarra:

Part 1 (5:02), Part 2 (4:05), Part 3 (4:05), Part 4 (5:16)

Close the School of the Assassins in Columbus, GA!

Mike Hearington of Atlanta, GA shares these pictures.

A number of members of the CSRA Peace Alliance have traveled to Israel and Palestine over the last two years. Each has prepared a brief slide show presentation, and then they will form a panel for a group discussion.

Location: Meeting room on the second floor of the Augusta-Richmond County Library at 902 Greene St 
Date: 7:00 PM on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

A Davidson High School student group, inspired by the book Three cups of tea : one man’s mission to fight terrorism and build nations– one school at a time by Greg Mortenson, has founded a Pennies for Peace club to help build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is scheduled to present its peacebuilding work at the meeting room on the second floor of the Augusta-Richmond County Library at 902 Greene St at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. In addition, CSRA Peace Alliance members who attended the School of the Americas Watch vigil November 20-22, 2009 will report back on the event.

Lee Ballenger has recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Guatemala as a delegate of the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission. The delegation met with leading economists, church leaders, deportees from the U.S. and human rights activists. The focus of the group was to research the effects of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) on the economy of Guatemala and on its citizens. Findings were presented to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala with interesting results. Mr. Ballenger ran for Congress SC district #3 as a Democratic candidate against incumbent Gresham Barrett in 2006.

Monday, November 9, 2009

7:15PM, Aiken Unitarian Universalist Church, 115 Gregg Ave, Aiken, SC 29801. Driving directions are available.
Aiken Peace meets at 6:30PM.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

12:15PM Presentation at University of South Carolina-Aiken. Location TBA.

7:00PM Presentation at Augusta State University. Hosted by the International Affairs Committee. Science Building W-1002. Science building is on the south side of the campus. From Walton Way, turn into Arsenal Dr. Take the second left until it ends in a parking lot in front of the Science Building.