Check for web archive captures
Humanize not Militarize!
By maudeaster on 2017-07-14 09:52:25
[caption id="attachment_ 10089" align="alignright" width="221"]
Phillip Zuchman[/caption]
War is Failure poster by
Sometimes I imagine it’s a bit of a mystery what makes Women Against War projects happen. But in the case of our 6-
months’ work on hosting AFSC’s powerful poster exhibit, Humanize, not Militarize, we can learn below how this project
emerged and kept expanding, all the wonderful new community partners we made, and the terrific teamwork of the large
number of WAW members involved. If you might like to be part of our next effort, do e-mail info@WomenA gainstWar.org,
and we will let you know what’s next!
The report below was written by Anita Stanley who coordinated this project — with cheerful patience and marvelous
organizational skills. Thank you from us all, Anita! You made it possible for us to bring to new audiences the powerful
message of the exhibit: the interconnection between the US militarized [caption id="attachment_10090" align="alignright"
width="252"] Anita with Raul Vazquez's poster: Borders Don't Stop Dreams. Photo
by Mabel Leon[/caption] foreign policy, our racist and increasingly militarized criminal justice system and our increasingly
militarized borders — all sadly needing much thought and advocacy these days. Humanize, not Militarize Exhibition
Project: Report by Anita Stanley The idea to bring the Humanize, not Militarize project to the Capital District was first
conceived by Maud Easter in January of 2016. She spotted it on the website of the American Friends Service Committee ,
and wrote to Mary Zerkel, the AFSC staff member in charge. At that time it was titled All of Us or None, but had just been
changed to Humanize, not Militarize. Mary was delighted to work with Women Against War again, and the seed was
planted. Maud brought the idea to the Beyond Afghanistan/No Drones Committee in February, and the group decided to
move forward with it. Initially the plan was to display it in the summer of 2016, but planning for the election primaries
became a priority, so it was pushed out to the fall. Mabel Leon began a thorough study of the posters, and made suggestions
of how we could divide them up for different sites. Finding Display Sites: The rest of the committee began exploring
different venues for the display, and whether/what kinds of events we might want to accompany the exhibit. Since planning
for the annual meeting was underway by then, the committee changed the target date to late winter or early spring of 2017.
Connie LaPorta was asked to create a brochure to accompany the posters at each venue, which would contain a current
schedule of the different display sites, information about AFSC, information about WAW, and a poem from the AFSC
website about militarization. Mabel then drafted a letter to be sent to potential venues, and Mickie Lynn edited it for
release. We divided up the list of possible sites to contact, and began the contacts. Even though Maureen Aumand wasn't
able to attend our committee meetings, she continued to contribute ideas for venues, and make contacts herself. Progress!
Albany Unitarian-Universalist was the first site to [caption id="attachment_ 10093" align="alignright" width="262"]
Humanize at Cap Rep with set-up crew[/caption] agree to host the exhibit, and
plans began for an accompanying event, such as a speaker or movie. Maureen was making solid progress with Capital
Repertory Theatre to schedule a showing during the run of An Jliad in March of 2017. Anita Stanley agreed to be the
scheduler for the display, and post online the dates, information about each site, and the WAW members responsible for
hanging and tabling. Anita attended a meeting of the Social Responsibility Council at Albany UU, where they requested that
we show Jon Stewart's film After Spring, a movie about Syrian refugees, when the Humanize posters were up. They
decided to have a church potluck on the evening when the film was shown, and asked that we plan a small panel to discuss
the movie after the showing. Maureen agreed to facilitate the discussion. They also agreed to allow us to put out the WAW
tabling materials on that night, and to host Dahlia Herring for a short presentation about the Capital District's plans to
address the influx of refugees to the region. They also decided to make a donation toward the cost of the film and the
exhibit, depending on how much money was taken in from donations on the night of the film. WAW and FUUSA would
share publicity tasks for the local listservs and newsletters. More sites: Maureen continued to explore new possibilities, and
received a positive response from the UAlbany Performing Arts Center, to host the display during the run [caption
id="attachment_10096" align="alignright" width="220"] Posters at UAlbany[/caption]
of REBEL/Sister in April. We were given permission to table at three of their themed talkbacks after the performances.
Alexandra Lusak from the Oakwood Community Center in Troy accepted our request to hang Humanize there. They
decided to plan an opening reception for it, at one of their Monday night Soul Cafe dinners for the community. Anita began
to plan for put-up and take-down “crews” for each venue, as well as people to table on the nights designated. Mickie, Maud,
and Hazel Landa teamed up to do all the publicity for the showings, as well as for the events associated with each [caption
id="attachment_10091" align="alignright" width="206"] “ cl No Justice No Peace poster by
Michael B. Schwartz[/caption] venue. They included the WAW Facebook page, the website, the new Capital Region
Progressive Calendar, newspapers and TV, the Friends Meeting newsletter, and e-mail postings of the various peace and
justice-related listservs. Anita sent progress updates to Mary Zerkel at the American Friends Service Committee, and asked
for frequent extensions to accommodate the growing list of sites. Maureen contacted Rex Smith at Albany Pro Musica , to
explore the possibility of hanging the exhibit at EMPAC on the night of their performance of The Armed Man_in May of
2017. The board of APM was encouraging local organizations to plan peace-related activities in the weeks leading up to the
performance of this anti-war composition. The posters of Humanize fit perfectly with that effort, and WAW was glad to join
in by tabling on the night of the concert. WAW was allowed to display three of the posters as well, and accepted the many
donations that audience members offered. In addition, the exhibit was featured on a weekly television show called AHA!
broadcast on our local PBS station, WMHT. In order to illustrate the themes of The Armed Man, the posters were woven in
among the different segments of the program. With the cost of shipping the exhibit, the fee to rent After Spring, and the
charges for printing, ink, and Velcro strips for hanging, we realized that we needed an additional supply of money to cover
our costs. Maud sent out a request for donors, and people responded with generosity. We also began to plan for
refreshments for our reception on the night of the An Jliad performance, and a number of WAW members offered to help.
Maureen was busy making contact with the directors of Soldier's Heart, an organization addressing the mental health needs
of returning veterans. She was planning an after-performance talkback, which included Dan Wilcox, our local anti-war poet,
Dr. Ed Tick and Kate Dahlstedt, the founders of Soldier's Heart, a participant in their program, and the actor and the cellist
in An Iliad. She also arranged for a photographer from The Times-Union to come out and take pictures of the display, in
preparation for a short article in the newspaper. We asked AFSC to include art materials with the poster shipment, which
people could use to make their own posters, inspired by the exhibit. We also requested plastic sleeves in which to put
information about each artist and their specific posters. At some sites this information was put in a notebook for persons to
look through, and in others, the information was hung under the posters. More Sites! The Upton Women's Center at Russell
Sage College was the next venue to accept our invitation, and Shealeen Meany, the director of the Center, planned a
reception for their opening night. WAW arranged for Dr. Mussarat Chaudhry, a local Muslim interfaith leader, to give two
short presentations on women and Islam on the night of the reception. Many of the Sage students made posters, and took
WAW flyers and our brochures about the exhibit. Maureen also contacted Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace_ about hosting
our Humanize display during their annual meeting. They agreed to exhibit the posters, and put on a staged reading of the
anti-drone play Predator on that night as well. There were many instances of overlap between the runs of the posters at the
different venues, and WAW allowed each venue to choose the works that they wanted. This splitting of the exhibit worked
well, and whatever posters were not being used were stored ina WAW member's home. Project extended again! WAW
members split up the list for thank-you notes to the different sites, and began to make plans for packing up the posters to
send back. Soon afterward we were contacted by Aili Lopez of C.R.E.A.T.E., a new organization with art studios in
Saratoga and Schenectady. With a mission of addressing mental health needs through the visual arts, they felt
id="attachment_10094" align="alignright" width="218"] Posters at C.R.E.A.T.E. Photo by
Kim Kennedy[/caption] entitled Activism and the Art of Poster-Making. WAW members from Saratoga were asked to help
with the exhibit, and attended the workshops as well. Wrapping up: The Beyond Afghanistan/No Drones Committee of
WAW pitched in for a pack-up party for mailing the exhibit back to AFSC. After this, the committee plans a mid-summer
“thank-you” party for all the volunteers involved with the six-month project. Members agreed that Humanize had reached a
wide variety of audiences, especially in the arts, that had not been aware of WAW and the issues we address before this. Our
collaborations with local groups were successful, and served to strengthen our bonds with other organizations in the peace
and justice community. We are appreciative of the donations given by individuals and organizations involved with the
display. Members feel that our goals as an organization were well-represented by the issues raised by the Humanize posters,
and that the people who came to see the display are likely to be much better informed now than they had been before.
