CKCPJ PEACE Leaders

Unity Breakfast and Freedom March with CKCPJ

Join Us Monday 01/16/2017

You are invited to join Council for Peace & Justice members and supporters at the CKCPJ tables at Alpha Phi Alpha's 23rd Annual Unity Breakfast honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Click here for more about the breakfast. Breakfast tickets are $25 each. If you are able to pay, please do. However, if you want to come, the CKCPJ will pay for your ticket. The breakfast is early - 6:30 a.m. Monday 1/16 at The Lexington Center Heritage Hall West. To reserve a place at our tables, please click here to send us an email message or phone us at (859) 327-6277.

Whether or not you attend the breakfast, please march in the annual Freedom March. Groups that are marching will assemble beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the west corridor of Heritage Hall. The march departs Heritage Hall at 10:00 a.m. it circles downtown Lexington, and returns to Heritage Hall by 11:00.

Watch the weather. If it is really cold, wear gloves, ear protection, and an extra pair of socks.

March with us - march in solidarity with those who marched with Dr. King and who still march today. We will sing and chant. The spirit of the event will keep you warm. March with your own group or join us behind the Council's banner. The Freedom March is part of the annual program sponsored by the city of Lexington and University of Kentucky MLK Cultural Center.

The main program begins at 11:00 a.m. in Heritage Hall. Click here for details about this program.

We hope to see you at the breakfast and to march with you at 10 a.m.

Celebrate MLK Day downtown on January 16th

Here's an announcement from Kentucky Human Rights Commissioner D. Anthony Everett:

The Education Foundation of the Alpha Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. will hold the 23^rd Annual Unity Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 16, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (EST). The breakfast will take place at the Lexington Civic Center located at 430 W Vine St., in Lexington, Ky., 40507.

 

The event is held each year to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday and to honor the late civil rights leader’s call for peace and unity.

See the attached for a list of speakers and attendance details. Also, visit the fraternity website at  http://www.lexingtonalpha.org.

The Alpha Beta Lambda Chapter is the Lexington affiliate of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The national organization and the local chapter sponsor a variety of programs and activities aimed at developing leadership, promoting academic excellence, and providing service to the community.

Kentucky Human Rights Commissioner Everett represents the state at large on the commission board. He is a member of the fraternity and is the chair of the 2017 Unity Breakfast.

Black and Blue: Critical Issues on Race and Policing - Symposium at UK, 20 Oct 2016

On October 2oth, the University of Kentucky Center for Equality and Social Justice (with support from Qualitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research and the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology) hosted a symposium on race and policing.

The symposium included a presentation by Keith Payne, a social psychologist of the University of North Carolina, who is an expert on implicit bias, racism and shooter bias. His presentation slides are available here (with permission). Download BlackAndBlueSymposium-RaceAndPolicing (.pdf file). Payne describes the difference between racism and implicit bias - and the results of his research on how this implicit bias in all of us can be shown scientifically to lead to race-based disproportionality. The findings are horrifyingly consistent, showing the insidious results of systemic racism.

Other presentations that day were from

• Justin Nix, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisville, who conducts research on police fairness and what shapes beliefs in police legitimacy;
• Anita Jones Thomas, a community/clinical psychologist at the University of Indianapolis, who researches African-American mothers’ discussions with their children following traumatic, public and racially motivated events;
• Mark Peffley, professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, and;
• Lawrence Weathers, a former assistant chief of the Lexington Police Department, who is currently the director of law enforcement for Fayette County Public Schools. 

Any questions, contact Dr. Christia Spears Brown, Director for the Center for Equality and Social Justice, Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky.

CKCPJ's Peace Action Council

The Peace Action Council is planning a campaign to promote non-violent activities and mediation for young peole in Lexington this summer. According to the CKCPJ Committee Reports in the latest Peaceways issue, the Peace Action Council plans to collaborate with many groups to promote and implement the campaign. They are planning also to involve young people from all different parts of the city and not just focus on the violence in the north side of Lexington.

The collaboration will be visible to all as the "Safe Summer Lexington" banner will be shown in the 4th of July Parade in downtown Lexington with each group marching under their own banners to show support for the campaign.

Another part of the campaign is called "Save a Friend." This initiative gives young people a way to look out for each other and find an alternative to the "snitch code."

Dr. T. Kerby Neill will be at an organizational meeting on June 13th at 6:30 pm at Bethel Spanish Church, 436 Fairman Road, to encourage local groups, churches and interested parties to plan to march in the 4th of July Parade in support of "Safe Summer Lexington." The Peace Action Council will meet on Wednesday, June 15th at 7 pm at the Quaker Meeting House to finalize plans for the 4th of July Parade. Everyone is invited to attend.

 

CKCPJ Housing Justice Project

At the June 1 meeting of CKCPJ's Board, the Housing Justice Project committee announced they plan to take on issues raised by their meetings with key people working on low-incoming housing needs. According to the CKCPJ Committee Reports in the latest Peaceways issue, the Housing Justice Project plans to take a three-pronged approach to their future efforts.

Led by Rick Clewett (see his recent op ed in the Herald-Leader on this topic), the group will work to organize the community to mediate controversies and educate those in low-income neighborhoods undergoing rapid change. They hope to support tenants as they go through the pre-eviction process and ultimately reduce those cases that go to court.

David Christiansen plans to work with the group to work on ways to have Lexington create an ordinance requiring landlords to get a license.

The group plans to concentrate in these upcoming months to learn about and share information on the growing shortfall in affordable housing in Lexington. They hope to find out more about the high eviction rate in Lexington - a likely consequence of a lack of affordable housing. The public education plan may include op-eds and letters to the editor in the Lexington Herald-Leader, informational sessions at churches, and public meetings.

Karen Conley, new co-chair for CKCPJ

Please congratulate the wonderful Karen Conley who has agreed to serve as the new co-chair of the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice. With Janet Tucker's departure, CKCPJ needed a new female co-chair. David Christiansen had agreed to continue in the two-year commitment as a co-chair last year.

Here's more about Karen from the article by Peg Gabriel in the latest issue of Peaceways:

"Karen is a long-time activist who founded Kentuckians for Responsible Gun Legislation and is a strong supporter of Moms Demand Action. She is vice-president of the Kentucky Chapter of National Organization for Women and a member of the economic justice committee of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

"Karen has attended CKCPJ events and participated in the 2016 Peace Networking event with Kentucky NOW. Committees focusing on wage disparity intersect well with her work with and for women. She said, “I’d like to help in any way I can.”

"Karen grew up in Lexington, and after living in other places, including overseas, returned to Kentucky. She now lives on a fi ve-acre farm where cats mingle with raccoons."

Join us for June Board Meeting

Readers of Peaceways are invited to join CKCPJ for its quarterly board meeting on Wednesday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Quaker Meeting House, 649 Price Avenue, Lexington.

The evening will start with a potluck supper. The agenda for the evening will include reports from standing CKCPJ committees: the Peace Action Committee, the Housing Justice Committee, and the Lexington Working Families Campaign. Additional discussion will entertain suggestions about future directions for the Council.

A member of Moms Demand Action will present “Be SMART: A Conversation about Kids, Guns and Safety.” SMART means 

• Secure guns in homes and vehicles
• Model responsible behavior
• Ask about unsecured guns in other homes
• Recognize the risk of teen suicide
• Tell your peers to be SMART

The Be SMART presentation is available to all groups and organizations.

Anyone interested in the work of CKCPJ is invited to attend. If you would like to add an agenda item, contact co-chair David Christiansen, [email protected].

CKCPJ Annual Dinner and Networking Fair, Sunday March 6th

George Ella Lyon, poet laureate of Kentucky and long time advocate for justice and peace, will be the keynote speaker at the 2016 Peace & Justice Dinner. The dinner will be held at 6:00 p.m. Sunday March 6th at Imani Family Life Center, 1555 Georgetown Road, Lexington.

The dinner will be a vegetarian buffet catered by The Curry House Indian Restaurant. Vegan selections will be available. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from $15 to $50, according to your ability to pay. Those who can afford it are urged to help us make the dinner affordable for more people. Tickets for students and low-income persons are $10 per person.

Reservations can be made online by clicking here > http://goo.gl/forms/vk2W147NrE . Alternatively, tickets can can be reserved by calling (859) 488-1448. Leave your name, phone number and the number of reservation you want. We will call you back.

The Dinner will be preceded at 5:00 p.m. by the CKCPJ's annual Networking Fair. At the Fair, meet the people and organizations who are working for progressive change in Kentucky. Register online at http://goo.gl/forms/3g5jJo9xR2

Another highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Council for Peace & Justice's annual awards: The Chuck Sohner Workers' Advocate Award, Peacemaker of the Year Award, Young Peacemaker of the Year Award, and Lifetime Peacemaker Award.

Help us celebrate the CKCPJ's 33rd anniversary. Join us at the 2016 dinner!

Join CKCPJ in the MLK Day March on Monday morning, January 18th

March with us in Lexington's 2016 MLK Day Freedom March. Help everyone remember that although the civil rights movement of the 1960s was mostly about freedom and equality, it was also about commitment to nonviolence and a radical call for jobs, fair pay, and an end to the Vietnam War.  ML King Day honors a man, but also provides groups like the CKCPJ an opportunity to remind everyone of all the causes for which he lived and for which he ultimately gave his life.

March with your own group or join us behind the CKCPJ banner.  Marchers gather  beginning at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Lexington at Heritage Hall in Lexington Center (corner of Main and Broadway, just south of Triangle Park).  Groups line up along the long corridor inside Heritage Hall that runs parallel to Main Street. 

Look for CKCPJ's banner on the far west end of the hall - from that position we will be last out of the building and at the rear of the march.  We need help carrying the CKCPJ banner - it's big and requires lots of people taking turns to make it through the whole march.  The Freedom March begins at ~ 10:00 a.m.  Most marchers complete the march in less than an hour.

Monday is expected to be sunny but very cold.  Dress to protect your hands and ears.  Comfortable walking shoes and an extra pair of socks are good ideas.

Bring your best singing voice - those who lived through the 1960s will be teaching another generation the songs that accompanied and propelled the 1960s civil rights movement.  No one will turn us around. 

Other Community Events To Attend After the March:

• Commemorative Program to begin at 11:00am in Heritage Hall: Lexington's guest this year for the keynote address is the well-known actor and activist Danny Glover. He will be joined at the podium by Miss Kentucky, Clark Davis.
• A free showing of "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" follows at downtown's Kentucky Theatre at 2:30 p.m.

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Lexington's ML King Day events are sponsored by the University of Kentucky, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and other community partners.  All events are free and open to the public.

Civil Rights Law Symposium to Celebrate KY Civil Rights Act, January 27th, at the University of Kentucky

The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and the University of Kentucky College of Law are hosting a law symposium in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed the Kentucky Civil Rights Act into law on January 27, 1966. The act was the first of its kind passed in a southern state.

The symposium will consist of a series of panels and speakers prominent in the civil rights arena, including legislators, judges, activists and attorneys. The keynote speaker will be Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Cost - Free.

January 27, 2016

Law School Courtroom, University of Kentucky College of Law
620 South Limestone Road,  Lexington, Kentucky 40508

Registration - 8 a.m.

Symposium - 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Lunch on your own)  

RSVP to Kentucky Commission on Human Rights
UPDATED RSVP INFORMATION: While there is no fee to attend, you MUST pre-register by going to  http://law.uky.edu/civilrightssymp, or calling the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Education and Outreach Department at 1-502-566-9961. Seating is limited and on a first come-first served basis.