Brooklyn For Peace records
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Abstract
Brooklyn For Peace (BFP) was founded in 1984 as Brooklyn Parents for Peace by Charlotte Phillips and Carolyn Eisenberg, in response to the invasion of Grenada by the United States. Through public events, publicity campaigns, lobbying of elected officials, and demonstrations, Brooklyn For Peace works to eliminate war and the social injustices that are its causes. BFP's records reveal both the history of the organization as well as the broader grassroots response to a wide variety of significant social and political issues at the local, regional and national levels from the late twentieth century to the present.
Biographical / Historical
Brooklyn For Peace (BFP) was founded in 1984 as Brooklyn Parents for Peace by Charlotte Phillips and Carolyn Eisenberg, in response to the invasion of Grenada by the United States. Since then, through public events, publicity campaigns, lobbying of elected officials, and demonstrations, Brooklyn For Peace has worked to eliminate war and the social injustices that are its causes. The organization works on domestic and international issues in an attempt to create a peaceful future. BFP operates as a membership-based, democratic, non-partisan, 501(c)3 corporation run by a Board of Directors.
Over the course of thirty years, BFP has worked on a wide range of issues pertaining to local, regional and international peace issues. BFP's committees have included: Arts and Culture, Anti-militarism (counter-recruitment), Climate Action, Darfur/Africa, Diversity and Outreach, Fundraising, International Law, Israel-Palestine, Latin America, Nuclear Zero, Peace and Economic Justice, Peace Fair, and UNICEF. There are several affiliated neighborhood-focused peace groups in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Flatbush, Fort Greene, and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Regular efforts of BFP include organizing community meetings and forums, staffing information tables at relevant community and regional events, participating in phone and advertising campaigns, lobbying elected officials, participating in demonstrations, and providing didactic materials pertaining to targeted areas that fall within the mission of the organization.
BFP's earliest projects included organizing local opposition to a proposed Staten Island port for nuclear-capable cruise missiles, as well as protesting U.S. interventions in Central America and the 1991 Gulf War. Following September 11th, BFP advocated for the protection of civil liberties and opposed the detention of immigrants. In response to the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, BFP sought to limit military recruiting in New York City public schools. This included distributing leaflets such as "How to Go to College Without Joining the Military."
BFP has organized against the wars in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, against police brutality in New York City, and for a peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. More recently, BFP has joined in community opposition to fracking, to the Rockaway Pipeline, and to the Liquefied Natural Gas port on Long Island. From 2003 until 2012 BFP hosted a regular Peace and Justice Fair. The Peace Fair included musical and theater performances, educational sessions and discussions, and was primarily intended as an outreach forum. In 2013 the event was replaced by the Pathmakers to Peace Gala. Additionally, since 2006 BFP has hosted a monthly program "War No More" on BRIC's Brooklyn Community Access TV station.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged into five series:
Series 1: Administration, 1985-2018
Series 2: Scrapbooks, 2003-2016
Series 3: Events, 1988-2017
Series 4: War No More Program, 2006-2012
Series 5: Subject Files, 1986-2017
Series 6: Petitions, 1985-2015
Scope and Contents
The Brooklyn For Peace records document the founding and ongoing activities of a Brooklyn-based community organization, Brooklyn For Peace (formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace), covering the years 1984-2018. With over thirty years of work as a New York-based activist organization, BFP's institutional records reveal both the history of the organization as well as the grassroots response to a wide variety of significant social and political issues at the local, regional and national levels from the late twentieth century to the present. In particular, the records document BFP's organizational structure, key campaigns and projects, public events, and petitions circulated. These topics are represented through meeting minutes, mailings, internal correspondence, financial records, audio-visual material, and event ephemera including flyers, artwork and banners. The collection also includes substantial documentation of other local, regional and international organizations and individuals, through extensive subject files collected by BFP's leadership. Social and political issues that are particularly well represented in the collection include the campaign for nuclear disarmament, anti-war organizing from the Gulf War through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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Conditions Governing Access
The majority of this collection is open to research. A small portion of materials containing personally identifying information have been restricted, at the request of the donor, for a period of 30 years from the date of creation. Audiovisual material in this collection is not currently avaialble to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright to this collection is retained by Brooklyn For Peace.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn For Peace records, 2016.026, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Charlotte Phillips in 2016. A second accretion of material was delivered in 2018.
Appraisal
Duplicates of event flyers and routine correspondence were removed from the collection, as were newspaper and magazine clippings, receipts, blank forms, and other material not related to the interests and work of Brooklyn For Peace. Recordings of commerical broadcasts were removed from the collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Paper materials were housed in archival folders and boxes. Materials were physically grouped by subject, and duplicates were removed. All folder titles were supplied by the archivist, in consultation with Brooklyn For Peace. Scrapbook materials were removed from binders and plastic sleeves and placed in archival folders.
Please note that personal information, including email addresses, phone numbers and addresses are redacted throughout the collection. This was done by the donor prior to donation.