Building the Beloved Community
The goal of the BUILDING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY INITIATIVE is to work toward racial, economic, gender justice and peace with economic and political democracy. The focus seeks to address the inequities based on capitalist corporate power, war, and systemic institutionalized oppression.
Corporations vs. Democracy
The Challenge Corporate Power, Assert the People's Rights Campaign is dedicated to understanding how corporations use their illegitimate constitutional “rights” and powers to define our law, politics, jurisprudence, work, technologies, food, communities... you name it! The Campaign does this through learning and helping others to learn how we got into this mess through the discovery and study of hidden histories with an eye toward rethinking WILPF activism by placing it in the context of people’s right to self and mutual governance and uncovering the meaning of real (radical) democracy along with developing its skills and practice.
Disarm
Dismantling the War Economy Campaign has four components: MilCORP ConneXion to expose the military-industrial complex and work for a peace economy; ABOLITION aiming to abolish nuclear weapons, all weapons of mass destruction, and war itself; Eye on Congress to track your own Senators and Representatives and inform them on disarmament and military budget issues using our weekly alerts; and the PEACE POLICY and Listening Project to "listen to the people for a change, and help them express their ideas on best ways to achieve the peaceful world we all desire".
Cuba
Since becoming a campaign, our organizing efforts and leadership structure have continued to grow and evolve. WILPF plays an integral role as a member of the Women and Cuba Collaboration, a national project comprised of three organizations: the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, the EveryWoman's Movement for Cuba/LELO and Hermanas. The Collaborations' vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-cultural network of women formed to end the blockade of Cuba and, through this work, contribute to building a women's movement for racial and economic justice in the U.S.
We also collaborate on a variety of educational and awareness-raising activities around organizing to end the U.S. Blockade through legislation, the Free the Five Campaign, and the US-Cuba Sister Cities Association.
Haiti
The Haiti Issues committee focuses on familiarizing WILPF members with the history of WILPF's response to the US involvement in Haiti, starting with an official WILPF delegation to Haiti in 1929 led by Emily Greene Balch, during the US Marine Occupation of Haiti from 1916 to 1934 (see her report, "Occupied Haiti") and proposing actions that members can take in support of democracy and stability in Haiti.
Advancing Human Rights/CEDAW
The WILPF Advancing Human Rights/CEDAW Committee is committed to promoting the values and principles of human rights as preeminent goals and standards of US laws, policies, and regulations, both foreign and domestic. To that end, we work in our states and local communities to advance the understanding and application of international human rights instruments, with special emphasis on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
