Four years ago today (January 27, 2007), United for Peace & Justice organized a mass protest in Washington DC to end the Iraq War. In the three weeks leading up to the event we were rushing to get our first publication—Building a Successful Antiwar Movement—to the printer in time to distribute at the rally. Jonathan Matthew Smucker wrote this antiwar organizing primer in collaboration with Madeline Gardner, and we fundraised to be able to distribute about 20,000 copies free of charge to local antiwar groups across the country.
The pamphlet is written for a particular audience at a particular political moment — at the height of the unpopularity of the Iraq occupation, and a week after the new Democratic-controlled Congress had been sworn in. However, the pamphlet provides some “tools and methods for people organizing to end the war” that are still relevant today. And the frameworks can be applied to other social justice issues as well.
The pamphlet is posted here in four parts:
- Three Roles of an Antiwar Core (Intro)
- Speak the Truth, Tell a Story (Role 1: Interpretive)
- Articulating a Strategy (Role 2: Instructive)
- Activating Popular Participation (Role 3: Facilitative)
You can also click here to download the original formatted pamphlet as a PDF.
To inquire about ordering hard copies of the pamphlet, email info[at]beyondthechoir[dot]org — please write “Pamphlet” in the subject line.
Jonathan Matthew Smucker 
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