The San Luis Obispo Chapter of CodePINK: Women for Peace was initiated after the 2004 Presidential elections (or coup d'etat).
Vivian Longacre and Dian Sousa along with a few other friends, heartbroken and furious, knew that something had to be done to help reawaken our once beautiful, just and free country from the edge of a fascist nightmare after it incomprehensibly re-elected the same lying, corporate criminals who had plunged us into the inhumane quagmaire of Iraq.
The fledgling CodePINK SLO called every woman they knew: Every 'woman of heart and mind.' They joined forces with the Cal Poly Progressive Student Alliance, Passion for Peace, Central Coast Peace & Environmental Council and other groups to welcome one of the national CodePINK founders, Medea Benjamin to Cal Poly in February, 2005. That was the beginning. Ideas for actions flourished for demonstrating that Peace is not Political. On April 16, 2005, two parents, Bill Mitchell and Cindy Sheehan were the keynote speakers of the "Not One More Dime - Not One More Life" Peace Gathering at Mitchell Park. Listening to both Cindy and Bill further emboldened the group to take every opportunity available to speak out against the Bush Regime, the War in Iraq and the flawed policies of the neo-conservative hijacking of our democracy.
Alternatives to Military Futures and Buy Back the Media are two of CodePINK's primary activities. AMF is a program whereby volunteers seek to gain
"equal access" to local area high schools in order to
counter the military recruiters. Our goal is to
educate students about the realities of a military
career, alternatives for training, jobs and student
loans so that they may make an INFORMED decision if,
and when, they consider a military career.
CodePINK buys back the media through a variety of efforts. These include interesting events (the Pink Slip Bush action and the Sick and Tired Trudge are two examples), sponsoring free showings of films such as "I Know I'm Not Alone" and "Inside Iraq" plus media ads and interviews.
Our own Dawn Ortiz Legg, has been a guest on the Dave
Congalton show (KVEC 920AM) many times to promote
awareness about the issues near and dear to the
members of CodePINK SLO.
Today, over 300 passionate women and men have joined CodePINK SLO to give voice to their frustrations, disgust and desire for change in our country and our world. It begins at home and it begins with you! For more information on getting involved with CodePINK, visit the contact page!
