Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, November 7, 2011 7:31 pm

Perfect weather showed up for Sunday’s parade. Continue reading 'Veterans Day Parade'»

Comments (1)

By Kerri Provost, October 16, 2011 7:33 pm

Continue reading 'Bring Our War $$$ Home Rally and March'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, August 30, 2011 8:57 am

The following is not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Rather, these are my snobbish selections of what sounds most interesting in the upcoming month. Also, to mark the ten years since September 11, 2001, there will be numerous events, re-broadcasts, etc. For this calendar, I am only including those that appear to promise not to pander to reactionaries, nor foster chauvinism.

August 31- September 4th

Quidam: Cirque du Soleil at the Civic Center.

September 1st

Art After Hours: Escape to India. The Wadsworth Atheneum’s monthly party will feature Indian cuisine, dancing, henna body painting, and a fashion show by Sadhna’s, a downtown clothing boutique. The event begins at 5pm and concludes after the screening of Monsoon Wedding.

The Art of Carlos Hernandez-Chavez: “I am My Mother.” The opening reception will be from 5-8pm at the Pump House Gallery, located at 60 Elm Street at the edge of Bushnell Park. This collection of work by “Hartford visual artist, muralist, photographer, musician, arts educator and activist Carlos Hernandez-Chavez” will be on display through September 29th. Continue reading 'Happening(s) in September'»

Comments (2)

By Kerri Provost, July 2, 2011 7:01 pm

Jody Williams -- Nobel Laureate 1997

“I trust you won’t care if I take off my shoes,” began Jody Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 alongside the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Nobody objected.

Williams spoke at the World Youth Peace Summit about peace and what it takes to be an activist.

“Being a peace activist does not mean you love everybody,” she said. “You don’t have to be a peaceful person to change the world. There are plenty of things that fire me up and make me get off my ass and want to change the world.”

For those who cringe every time “One Love” comes on the radio, her message was refreshing.

Williams said, “You don’t have to be popular. I’m not popular [...] I don’t care if you like me. [...] That’s not my role in life.” Continue reading 'The Barefoot Nobel Laureate'»

Comments (1)

By Kerri Provost, July 1, 2011 1:30 pm

“You can’t get people to change the fundamental things in their life if they don’t trust you,” Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, told several hundred youth Friday morning in the opening address of the World Youth Peace Summit.

The summit follows the World Scholar-Athlete Games, providing young athletes and artists the opportunity to learn more about peace policies in workshops and lectures.

In Chase Arena on the University of Hartford campus, Drayton addressed youth from around the globe.

“We’ve lived in a world [...] in which a small, elite runs everything. Everyone else does repetitive functions,” he said, before stating that this model is changing.

What is developing, Drayton said, is a “team of teams,” or a horizontal power structure. While in the past a person could get by merely by following the rules, now, “if you do not have empathy [...] you are screwed.” Continue reading 'Growing Peace in Hartford'»

Comments (1)

By Kerri Provost, March 29, 2011 9:36 pm

The next time I hear somebody run his mouth about how people in Hartford don’t care about anything, I’m going to drag him to a City Council meeting. He would then see that even at meetings without a public hearing session, residents are willing to stand — if there are no chairs left, which often is the case– for over an hour to listen to public servants make decisions that will affect them.

Monday night, many residents showed up at City Hall to support designating roughly $50,000 for the Salvation Army’s Marshall House emergency shelter to remain open through the end of June. Because there was no public hearing, they held signs. This agenda item was not debated because its sponsor apparently missed a deadline. Items that were discussed: trees, the impact of war, and whether or not voters were too dumb to know what they were voting for in 2008 when they gave an 80% pay raise to City Council. Continue reading 'Removing Trees, Ending Wars, and Repealing Raises'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, January 25, 2011 12:13 pm

In September 2010, the homes of 23 peace activists were raided by the FBI. More recently, nine anti-war activists had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury today. Although these raids occurred in Chicago and Minneapolis, local activists will be standing in solidarity from 5-7 this evening at the Federal Building in Hartford.

The purpose of the rally is to “demand an immediate end to the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists, the return of all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc., and an end to the Grand Jury proceedings and FBI raids against all anti-war activists.”

The rally — sponsored by CT United for Peace Organizing Committee; CT Council on American-Islamic Relations; West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice; Manchester Peace Coalition; Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, CT; People of Faith CT; Socialist Party of CT; Middle East Crisis Committee; CT Socialist Action, and the Greater New Haven Peace Council — is one of fifty protests being held around the United States.

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, September 14, 2009 5:13 pm

Downtown is to hope as Frog Hollow is to Klezmer as Asylum Hill is to beer. Continue reading 'Peace and Music and Suds'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, January 2, 2009 9:19 pm

This afternoon, a veritable throng gathered outside of the Federal Building on Main Street as part of a protest sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Palestinian-American Congress, and the Middle East Crisis Committee. It was endorsed by People of Faith CT, American Friends Service Committee, A.N.S.W.E.R. CT and Socialist Action.

The protest follows recent violence in the Gaza Strip. The groups are demanding that Obama voice his views on the recent attacks. Continue reading 'New Year, Old Beef'»