Sunday, January 24th, 2021
We trust you are reading this after tonight’s Bills game (hopefully celebrating a good outcome!). We hope you are feeling a bit revitalized this week with Trump now (finally) out of office and nuclear weapons becoming officially illegal under international law. However, we know there is still plenty of work ahead of us – including some very important initiatives this week.
Tomorrow is “World Says No to War on Yemen” Global Day of Action. People around the world are called upon to protest – just says after the U.S. presidential inauguration and one day before Saudi Arabia’s ‘Davos in the Desert’ Future Investment Initiative.
- Join the Stop the War Coalition, CODEPINK, Action Corps, Yemeni Alliance Committee, and other partner organizations/groups on Zoom and/or Facebook at 2pm EST for the livestreamed international rally. Hear from Dr. Cornel West, Danny Glover, Jeremy Corbyn, Aisha Jumaan, and other guest speakers to discuss the crisis in Yemen and actions that can be taken to stop the war. Use this action toolkit to participate and promote this important cause! #YemenCantWait
- If you missed last week’s Talking Peace live-taping, you can catch it airing on WBNY 91.3 FM tomorrow at 1pm. ED Vicki was joined by Aisha Jumaan, President of the Yemen Relief & Reconstruction Foundation, and Kawthar Abdulla, Leader Organizer, Yemeni Alliance Committee’s NYC Chapter. Tune in for a discussion on the current situation in Yemen and the involvement of external actors – including, especially, the US; personal stories and current needs; tomorrow’s International Day of Action, and what you can do to help!
On Tuesday at 6:30pm EST, join Winona LaDuke, Co-founder of Honor the Earth as she speaks about the fight to stop Line 3 and a just transition from the current fossil fuel economy. Line 3 is a proposed pipeline expansion to bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It was proposed in 2014 by Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Enbridge seeks to build a new pipeline corridor through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe peoples, through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior. For more details and how to register, see below.
Lastly, we’d like to remind you that the WNY Peace Center’s first 2021 Quarterly Membership Meeting is just one week away! We will look back at 2020 – with an overview of some our successes, plus plans for this year. We have some important announcements, so please plan to join us on Zoom (full details below).
Please see details and much more – including special and regularly scheduled events this week (LASC planning meeting tomorrow!) – plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Sunday, January 10th, 2021
This weekend is a special time to help us get insights and inspiration to help us through these very troubled and troubling times. “The time is always right to do the right thing.” – Rev Dr King. We will fortify ourselves in these days so we can fructify – bear wonderful fruits for the work – paraphrasing dear Brother Cornel West.
Remembering Rev. Dr. King, his life and works, his strength and character, his wisdom and teachings – will help us get where we need to go. We at the WNY Peace Center were founded as part of Dr. King’s Clergy and Laity Concerned, so we try to remember and emulate all year long.
At the Women’s March WNY, we’ll be working for #UnarmedTruth and #UnconditionalLove in a virtual gathering tomorrow/Saturday 2pm details below. #WomenLead, especially in Intersectionality. Join us to #DefendTheSacred – #PeopleAndThePlanet. Agenda and more are on the calendar event page on wnypeace.org. Register at bit.ly/wnypeace_WM2021 (upon which you’ll receive a link to the zoom room).
We are sad to announce, besides the passing of beloved Jim Mang (peacemaker, activist, and former WNY Peace Center director), community icon and leader, longtime pastor of Michigan St. Baptist Church, Bishop Henderson also passed on Monday, Jan 11. Our deep condolences, gratitude, and love to his family and all the community. There will be a public viewing held Sunday January 17, from 7-9 p.m. at Alan R. Core Funeral Home , 1933 Kensington Ave., with a private ceremony Monday January 18.
We are grateful for the educating, inspiring, and devoted community service of dearly beloved Father Bishop Henderson – and remember seeing him at so many MLK services – including last year. He’ll be with us when we see the Concerned Citizen’s following the Dream remotely on Saturday and Monday – details below. We were honored to submit a Women’s March Tribute to Rev Dr King for inclusion to the wonderful program.
We still, in these challenging times, refer you to our post-event offerings with Dr. Cornel West for continued inspiration. The full transcript of our 53rd annual event is a special treat! See more from beloved Brother West on our twitter feed @wnypeace.
Please see details and much more – including special and regularly scheduled events this week – plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
January 11, 2021
As we notified people in the latest Weekly News, Jim Mang, Executive Director at the WNY Peace Center from 1980-2000 and lifelong activist, passed away on Friday, and his calling hours are today 3-7pm (Ginnane Funeral Home, 3215 Delaware Ave, Kenmore).
What we didn’t know at the time was that the private service will be livestreamed tomorrow at 11am, with a mass from St. Joseph’s University Church, Jim’s home parish.
If you want to watch the service tomorrow, please go to https://www.ginnanefuneralhome.com/obituary/James-Mang
Also included below is the wonderful write-up by another previous Executive Director – and current Chair of the Environmental Justice Taskforce – at the WNYPC, (Dr.) Charley Bowman, that speaks beautifully to Jim’s devotion to the cause(s), courage to speak Truth, and Love in caring for People and the Planet. You stand as a true example for all seeking Peace and Justice, with moral integrity and universal solidarity. We’ll miss you, Jim!
Jim Mang, Presente!
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, Blessings, and Love always ……. <3 <3 <3 <3
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Former Executive Director of the WNY Peace Center, Jim Mang, passed on Friday, January 9, 2021 Jim was director for 20 years. A former priest, Jim and several other priests were arrested in the US Capitol Rotunda in 1969 during a anti-Vietnam war demonstration. For his peaceful actions directed against the halls of power, Jim was temporarily suspended from the priesthood by the Buffalo bishop. Mang was confined to the rectory and ordered not to engage in any social justice-related work — even in his spare time. He obeyed the bishop’s command for 8 years, but then resigned from the priesthood to follow his calling to work for peace. In 1980 he assumed directorship of the Western NY Peace Center and remained until 2000. See Dec 17, 2000 Buffalo News “Gentle Warrior”: https://buffalonews.com/news/gentle-warrior/article_db8d38ce-a12e-5ae1-8b73-14173502cc31.html I now understand why no Buffalo area priests spoke out against the Afghan War in 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003. Total silence (at least publicly) from the Catholic clergy remembering the horrific treatment of Jim Mang. Fortunately, the Buffalo Nuns are another story in this regard. When Buffalo native Tim Russert came to Buffalo in 2003 or 2004 and spoke about the Iraq War to an crowd of about 1,000 people in downtown Buffalo, I recall Jim Mang standing up during the Q&A lambasting Russert for his journalism effectively supporting the war. Thank you Jim! Recall that Russert’s journalism was heavily colored by the opinion polls supporting the war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert
You did good, Jim. R.I.P.
