On March 19th the Virginia Anti-War Network (VAWN) will sponsor a Vigil and Forum. The theme will be: "Bring the Troops Home Now! Money for Jobs and Education, not for Wars and Occupations"
#file_1# The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost the lives of nearly 4,000 GIs, more than one million Iraqis and more than a half-trillion dollars of our tax money.
Wednesday, March 19, will mark the 5th anniversary of that war – and the beginning of its sixth year.
On that day, Richmond-area members of the Virginia Anti-War Network (VAWN) will sponsor a Vigil and Forum to provide Virginians an opportunity to express their opposition to the war.
The vigil, co-sponsored by the Richmond Peace Education Center, is scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m., March 19, outside Richmond City Hall, 900 E. Broad St., Richmond. The theme will be:
"Bring the Troops Home Now! Money for Jobs & Education, not for Wars & Occupations!" All those opposed to the war are invited to attend.
That evening, VAWN will host a forum at 7 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 324 N. 29th St., in Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood.
The forum is titled
"Stop the War at Home & Abroad! How our struggles here at home are affected by the war." It will feature a panel of community and labor activists, including:
LILLIE BRANCH-KENNEDY — Founder & Director, Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged (R.I.H.D.), a Richmond-based prisoner advocacy organization;
JOANNE DAVIS — City Worker & Union Organizer with the Petersburg City Employees Association - UE Local 160;
DIEYAH RASHEED — Richmond-based Community Organizer with the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality;
SIMIN ROYANIAN — Former Union Official & Co-founder of Women for Peace & Justice in Iran (Fairfax);
And a Representative from the immigrant rights organization Mexicanos Sin Fronteras (Prince William County);
The forum will be chaired by
QUEEN ZAKIA RAFIQA SHABAZZ, Founder & Director of United Parents Against Lead National, Inc. (Richmond).
The Public Forum is free. Children are welcome and the church is wheelchair-accessible.
For more information, please e-mail the VIRGINIA ANTI-WAR NETWORK (VAWN) at
VAWN (at) mattaponi.com or call (804) 644-5834 (phone contact is for this meeting only). Also, log onto:
www.vawn.org.