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Nov 9 - Dec 31, 2023

Monterey Peace and Justice Center

Mission

To inspire and mobilize the people of Monterey County to cultivate peace, social justice, nonviolence, democracy, and environmental sustainability in our community and the world through education and advocacy

The Big Idea

If we want peace, we must work for justice. The Monterey Peace and Justice Center (MPJC), established in 2004, is dedicated to promoting peace with justice locally, nationally, and globally. It serves as a gathering space for grassroots organizations and individuals concerned about systemic violence and injustice. For two decades, MPJC has been a resource hub, fostering collaboration and nonviolent engagement on a range of interconnected issues. The Center offers free English Second Language classes and partners with California State University at Monterey Bay to offer service learning projects centered on civic engagement. MPJC supports advocacy on criminal justice reform, combating racism, climate justice, and anti-nuclear weapons campaigns, among others. Ongoing programs include speaker and film events on issues that provide the community with an opportunity to discuss and think critically about the problems we face as a society. Your support is vital to sustaining this community resource.

At every phase of my life, I have witnessed the struggle for peace, from the height of the arms race and the end of the Cold War, to Operation Desert Storm and the Iraq War in 2003. It was at the beginning of the Iraq War that I first became aware of the Monterey Peace and Justice Center as a unifying presence for local peace activists and community advocates here in our immediate community. They have continued to advocate for peace and justice in the County of Monterey for almost twenty years! It is important to keep this valuable community resource open and flourishing, now, and for the next seven generations. -- Luis Xago Juarez, Adjunct instructor in the Ethnic Studies Department at Hartnell Community College, local documentarian for Baktun12, and neighborhood organizer for Building Healthy Communities Monterey County.

- Luis xago Juárez