The
VFP National convention took
place near our nation's capital at the University of Maryland's College
Park Campus between August 5 -9, 2009. More than 350 people
attended the 5 day convention. Members of Veterans for Peace were
joined by Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out
and others for the packed schedule of meetings, plenary sessions,
cultural events, film screenings, press conferences and 42 workshops.
href="http://VietnamAmericanHolocaust.com">
style="font-style: italic;">Vietnam: American Holocaust was
shown on the first night and was very well received.
style="font-weight: bold;">How do we build the anti-war movement under
the new conditions?
This seemed
to be the overriding question that the activist at the convention
wanted to address. Everyone acknowledged that with the ousting of
the Bush Gang and the election of the Obama Presidency and now
especially with the economic crisis, we have entered a new period with
new conditions and new challenges for our movement.. How do we change
what we are doing so that we can build a much broader and more
effective movement? This was the main topic of discussion at the
convention.
I am presenting these three videos, composed of material captured at
the convention, because the speakers and participates fearlessly
addressed these questions and had something to say that deserves a
larger audience.
style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blip.tv/file/2465700">Bill
Fletcher Keynote at Veterans
for Peace Nat'l Convention
Bill
Fletcher gave a very timely speech at the Veterans for Peace
National Convention on August 8, 2009, U. of Maryland, College Park. He
is introduced by Mike Ferner, President of VFP.
style="font-family: helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">This
is a new versus which uses b-roll provided by Jeffrey Keating
style="font-weight: bold;">. [26 minutes]
style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blip.tv/file/2487570">"Break
Through" Workshop at Veterans for Peace Nat'l Convention
Selections
from the
"How Do We Break Through?" workshop at
the Veterans for Peace National Convention August 5 - 9, 2009 in Collge
Park, Maryland. This workshop took place on Friday and was led by Mike
Ferner, Patrick McCann & Michael McPhearson.
style="font-weight: bold;">[60 minutes]
style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blip.tv/file/2495583">VFP Goes
to Church at Veterans for Peace Nat'l Convention
Veterans
for
Peace National
Convention had a Community Event at Plymouth Congregational United
Church of Christ on Friday, August 7, 2009 Cameron Barron and Jane
English, emcee (VFP chapter 016 - Washington, DC) Speakers included
Chantelle Bateman,
President, DC chapter, Iraq Veterans Against the War; Rev. Graylon
Hagler, pastor, Plymouth United; Parisa Nourzi, Empowerment DC; Michael
McPhearson, Executive Director, VFP; Rev. Lennox Yearwood, President,
Hip Hop Caucus; Elaine Johnson (Military Families Speak Out); Lucy
Murphy
and friends (cultural performance); Ameer Shurrab (Palestinian, Gaza
Strip) [60 minutes]
style="font-weight: bold;"
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20619608@N00/sets/72157621893159031/">VFP
National Convention Photos on Flickr