’21 Peace Activist, Partner awards presented
The Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice presented its 2021 Peace Activist award to Clarice and Kwami Abdul-Bey on Sunday in recognition of their work in promoting peace and justice in Arkansas.
Indivisible Little Rock and Central Arkansas received the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice 2021 Peace Partner of the Year award for their work during the 2020 election year.
The Coalition, a nonprofit, voluntary association of individuals and organizations who focus on peace and nonviolence, social justice and ecology issues, held its annual membership meeting Sunday.
David Swanson, the co-founder and executive director of World Beyond War, an international organization aimed at bringing nonviolent conflict resolution methods to the world at large, delivered the keynote address. Swanson, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is widely published and blogs on WarIsACime.org.
The Abdul-Beys, who are co-conveners of the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement, are working to memorialize Arkansas victims of racial terror lynchings. In 2020, Rosanne Cash provided national recognition by awarding the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement the proceeds from her song “Crawl into the Promised Land.” The couple also began Arkansas’ inaugural observance of the National Day of Racial Healing and established the Shelter-inPlace Virtual Film Series, winner of Ford Motor Company’s national “Ford Freedom Heroes of COVID-19.”
“These efforts continue to have broad reach and significant impact in the fight for justice in our community,” the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice said in a news release.
Indivisible’s voter mobilization and education work had a direct effect on the 2020 elections in Arkansas, the Coalition for Peace and Justice said.
“Their tireless efforts included making phone calls, knocking on doors, distributing absentee ballot applications, sending handwritten notes, texting voters and producing and distributing nonpartisan voter guides,” the coalition said in the news release. “These efforts resulted in an increase in elected officials who will carry the values of peace and justice into office.”