World Peace & Nonviolence

World Peace & Nonviolence Committee

The World Peace & Nonviolence Committee (WPNC) works to end war, militarism and violence and advocate for diplomacy, peace, dignity, quality of life for all, be it locally or around the globe. We use varied forms of nonviolent activism to further public awareness and understanding of critical issues facing us today, shining a light on the true causes of war as well as the enormous costs of war and militarism to all living beings and the planet. We petition our government and institutions -- by calling, writing, and in-person visiting -- to make positive change.

Some of the DPJC Committee meetings, including World Peace & Nonviolence, are being held from 6:00 - 8:00 PM on the first Thursday of the month.

Our meetings for December will be held only online.

The World Peace & Nonviolence Committee will will meet this Thursday, December 5th and will be discussing Gaza, ICJ arrest orders, Ceasefire in Lebanon, and the Ukraine war.

Meeting Details

Human Rights & Justice Committee 6:00 - 7:00 PM
World Peace & Nonviolence Committee 7:00 - 8:00 PM

We also encourage you to join the discussions and follow events on the committee's group page on Facebook.

Co-Chairs of the Committee are Don Dillard, Leslie Harris, and Bill Maxwell. They can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Previous WPN Committee Minutes are accessible to registered and logged in committee members and to others upon request.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for access.

ONGOING PROJECTS & CAMPAIGNS

“Team Refuge” Refugee Support & Resettlement: together with community members, we furnish homes for newly arrived refugees.

Details: Team Refuge

Climate Crisis & Militarism Awareness Project: we work to raise awareness of the true costs of militarism to the environment and the planet. The US military is the biggest institutional polluter and user of fossil fuels on the planet and by far the largest portion of the discretionary budget.

Middle East Peace Campaign: Through research and dialogue, we educate ourselves and each other, and aim to raise awareness about Middle East issues. We provide the the North Texas community with opportunities to increase their understanding of the region, including the Israel-Palestine situation. We advocate for diplomacy, nonviolence and human rights for all, and we petition our government and institutions to make policies that will effect positive change.

Ban Killer Drones: as part of an international grassroots campaign to ban aerial weaponized drones (see bankillerdrones.org), we initiate and/or answer national/international calls for actions to educate the public and bring attention to the realities of drone warfare. Drones kill innocents!

Peace In Ukraine: we are part of a US-based coalition of peace and social justice organizations urgently mobilizing to demand our government pursue diplomacy and begin negotiations now to save lives and save the planet by ending the war in Ukraine. (info: peaceinukraine.org).

Resist War Industry Profiteering: we initiate, support, and answer local, national, and international calls to action to expose and resist war industry profiteering. The DPJC is a member organization of the War Industry Resisters Network, a coalition of groups opposing their local war companies, joined together to focus on corporate control over US foreign policy (wirn.worldbeyondwar.org).

PAST EVENTS:

May 8 – 9, 2023 – “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement. DPJC members furnished an apartment for a refugee family of five from Afghanistan.

Apr 6 – 8, 2023 – “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement. DPJC members and community partners furnished, set up & stocked a new home for a refugee family from Afghanistan.

unloading truck

Mar 30, 2023 – Congressional Visit to the Office of US Representative Colin Allred. We visited the office of Congressman Colin Allred with CODEPINK Co-founder Medea Benjamin to discuss the subject of her latest book, War In Ukraine, Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict. Allred is a member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.

visit to colin allred office

medea in pan african connection

Mar 27 – 31 - Medea Benjamin Book Tour: War In Ukraine; Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict. DPJC/WPNC facilitated and co-hosted a week-long tour hosted by CODEPINK Texas with speaking events featuring Medea in Austin (at Friends Meeting of Austin), Waco (at Waco Friends of the Climate), Arlington (at UTA), Denton (at UNT), and Dallas (at Pan African Connection).

medea at uta

Mar 8, 2023 - Dallas Screening of ITHIKA; Support Press Freedom and Julian Assange! Members of the DPJC attended the Dallas premiere of the film about the behind-the-scenes campaign to free WikiLeaks founder who, to many, has become an emblem of an international struggle over freedom of the press and unpunished war crimes. Afterwards, they met with Julian’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, and discussed possibilities for future events to educate the public.

ithika screening

furnished apartment

Feb 17 -19, 2023 – “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement. DPJC members and allies furnished, set up, and stocked a new home for a recently-arrived refugee family from Afghanistan.

Feb 22, 2023 - Ash Wednesday Vigil for PEACE IN UKRAINE! Along with Pax Christi Dallas, we answered a call for nationwide action for peace in Ukraine. We met outside the Cathedral Guadalupe in Dallas to display signs, pass out flyers, and talk with people, reminding them that the Vatican has called for negotiations and diplomacy to end the war.

cathedral protest

Jan 16, 2023 - Honor MLK’s Anti-War Legacy: Diplomacy Not War! Peace In Ukraine! We joined with the Dallas Anti-War Committee (DAWC) and other DFW activists/groups to answer the national call to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy as a champion for peace and nonviolence. With banners, signs, and leaflets, we spread the message, echoing the sentiments of Dr. King and calling for diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine – not weapons to prolong it. We passed out over a hundred Peace & Planet News papers that included the full text of MLK’s 1968 speech.

Jan 8, 2023 - “Links Between Militarism and Climate Crisis” briefing & Q&A with Dr. James Rine. We held an online presentation by Jim Rine of the Veterans For Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project that was simultaneously piped into the congregation at Peace Mennonite Church. Jim shared facts, photos and charts in a slide show, pushing home the fact that the US Military is the largest institutional polluter, consumer of fossil fuels, and emitter of CO2 on the planet. (Contact us if you or your group would be interested in a presentation.)

militarism fuels climate crisis

Dec 11, 2022 - Protect Freedom of the Press: FREE JULIAN ASSANGE! In collaboration with Assange Defense Dallas, we cohosted a press conference and rally at the Grassy Knoll in support as the Committee to Protect Journalists and over 20 national and international organization called for the US to drop charges against Assange, who is presently incarcerated for exposing US war crimes.

Oct 28 – 30, 2022 - “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement. DPJC members and allies furnished, set up, and stocked a new home for a refugee family from Honduras.

Oct 21, 2022 - Dallas Says: NO to NUKES! END ENDLESS WAR! Along with the Dallas Anti-War Committee, the DPJC Nuclear Free World Committee and allies, we answered calls by Defuse Nuclear War and the United Anti-War Coalition to join cities across the country to say, “NO to Nukes” and remind the public of the sharply increased danger of nuclear war and the need to DE-ESCALATE tensions between nuclear powers and END ENDLESS WAR…for people and the planet!

Oct 20, 2022 - Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Jeff Halper: “No Home, No Homeland – Israel’s Policy of House Demolitions!” Along DAWC and allies, we hosted a presentation and Q&A with Jeff Halper, and Israeli-American author, lecturer, and political activist who has lived in Israel since 1973. Head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and founding member of the One Democratic State Campaign, Halper was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the AFSC for his work “to liberate both the Palestinian and the Israeli people from the yoke of structural violence” and “to build equality between their people by recognizing and celebrating their common humanity.”

Aug 4 – 7, 2022 – “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement. DPJC members and community partners fully furnished, set up, and stocked an apartment for a Congolese family of five.

Jun 17 – 19 – “Team Refuge” Refugee Resettlement.” DPJC members provided and set up furnishings for a large rental house and stocked the fridge and pantry for a family from Afghanistan.

furnished couch with elephant painting

Jun 3, 2022 - Protest Raytheon’s War Profiteering & Illegal Nukes! No to AUKUS! We joined the DPJC Nuclear Free World Committee and local allies at the Raytheon plant in Dallas to call for accountability of war industry profiteers and an end to the weapons of war they manufacture, and to say NO to the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

May 31, 2022 - Hold Raytheon Accountable for War Profiteering & Remind Them: Nuclear Weapons are Illegal! We joined with the DPJC Nuclear Free World Committee and local allies to object to Raytheon’s war-profiteering and point out that, given the current crisis of war in Ukraine, it’s more important than ever to stand up and speak out about the need for a nuclear free world and an end to endless wars!