By TomRico on August 27, 2010

Bill Petry 1940 -2009
The Peace Education Center and the Greater Lansing community lost a great friend last year with the unexpected death of Bill Petry, a key member of the Peace Education Center and a longtime champion of peace and justice. Now a year later, we remember Bill and carry on his dedication these causes. Friday’s weekly peace vigil in front of the Michigan State Capitol building at noon was dedicated to Bill.
Click on the link below to see a few more photos of Bill’s hard work for peace and justice with the Peace Education Center and the organization’s Middle East Awareness Committee.
Flickr Photo Album
Below is a rare interview with Bill. PEC Co-chair Tom Rico’s interviewed Bill in 2007 about his time in the West Bank.
Posted in Middle East Awareness, News, PEC Podcasts | Tagged Bill Petry
By admin on August 11, 2010
Come visit us at the PEC Rummage Sale
Friday and Saturday August 13 and 14, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days
Peace Education Center, 855 Grove St,
East Lansing, MI 48823
Come join the Peace Education Center for a back-to-school rummage sale. Items for sale include furniture, clothing, household items, sports equipment, and more. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Great for college students and for everyone! If you’d like to volunteer at or donate items to the Rummage sale, it’s not too late–call us at 517-515-5634 or email us at peaceedcenter@gmail.com.
Great Lakes Folk Festival
August 13-15. Downtown East Lansing.
The PEC will host informational outreach tables on Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15 at the Great Lakes Folk Festival. Informational tables will be near the El Azteco Restaurant in East Lansing. Stop by and say hello!
Posted in Events | Tagged East Lansing, Events, GLFF, Outreach
By TomRico on August 9, 2010
Nagasaki native Yoko Koisumi will be the guest speaker at the Capitol Area District Library (CADL) Downtown Branch following the Peace Education Center’s community showing of the documentary, “White Light, Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” The movie will start at 6:45 p.m. tonight, August 9, 2010, in the library auditorium and is free to the public. The CADL Lansing Downtown Branch, 401 S. Capitol Avenue, is at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Kalamazoo Street.

Yoko Koisumi (left) at PEC JazzFest Tent
Koisumi moved to mid-Michigan approximately a year ago from her Nagasaki home, which was just two blocks from the bomb site. Her husband is enrolled in a masters program at Michigan State University (MSU).
In marking the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings, Koisumi is planning to discuss the affects of nuclear war and the prospects for world peace through grassroots understanding between people in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. Over the weekend, she gave a brief interview with Tom Rico, PEC’s co-chair, and stopped by the organization’s information tent at the Lansing JazzFestival on Saturday.
Everyone is invited to attend the movie screening and community discussion with Koisumi.
Posted in Events, PEC Video | Tagged Nagasaki, nuclear war
By admin on July 22, 2010
The PEC is still going strong after an early summer full of peace and justice work. If you’re on our mailing list, you know that we’ve already supported and organized several marches and rallies for immigrant rights, environmental justice, and freedom in Gaza. We’ve also been at the Allied Media Conference and the US Social Forum. Look for photos and write ups of those events soon.
Looking for a way to support the PEC, or just curious about what we’re doing?
Come see us at one of the following upcoming events–and email peaceedcenter@gmail.com if you’re interested in helping at our outreach tables.
- Screening of White Light, Black Rain
August 9, 2010. 6:45-8:30 p.m. Capitol Area District Library.
On Nagasaki Peace Day and the anniversary of the date when the US dropped an atomic bomb on that city, the PEC will screen the movie White Light, Black Rain in the movie room of the Capital Area District Library. As global tensions rise, the unthinkable now seems possible. The threat of nuclear weapons of mass destruction has become frighteningly real. WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN: THE DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, looks at the reality of nuclear warfare with first-hand accounts from those who survived and whose lives were forever changed by the atomic bomb. PEC friend and peace activist Yoko Koizumi of Nagasaki, Japan, will also speak at the screening.
- Great Lakes Folk Festival

August 13-15. Downtown East Lansing.
Read more about the festival here: Great Lakes Folk Festival website
- PEC Rummage Sale
Friday and Saturday August 13 and 14, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days
Peace Education Center, 855 Grove St,
East Lansing, MI 48823
Come join the Peace Education Center for a back-to-school rummage sale. Items for sale include furniture, clothing, household items, sports equipment, and more. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Great for college students and for everyone
- And this is like celebrating Christmas in July, but keep your calendars marked with the date for this year’s Alternative Holiday Sale: November 20, 2010. We’ll look forward to seeing you then!
Posted in Events, PEC News Blog
By admin on June 8, 2010
Join members of the PEC and the local peace and justice community in attending the US Social Forum. Another world is possible: Another US is Necessary.
The U.S. Social Forum will be held in Detroit June 22-26, 2010
http://www.ussf2010.org/
What is it? Come and join thousands of conference goers to find out for yourself, but here’s a start:
The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a
conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the
economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our
struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational,
diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and
changes history.
If you attend the US Social Forum, be sure to visit panels put on by Lansing’s own Peace Education Center as well as two other local organizations:
The Peace Education Center’s Workshop: Palestinian Solidarity: Past, Present, and Future
Thursday, June 24 from 3-5 PM, Cobo Hall 02-42
The PEC is also seeking volunteers to help with the workshop: email pec.cochair@gmail.com
Rescuing Efren Parades Jr. and the 2,500 Prisoners Sentenced to Life Without Parole in the US from the Jaws Of Death
Friday, June 25 at 10 am – 12pm, UAW Chrysler Building #2
contact maria@nwlansing.org
Northstar Center’s: The Role of Radical Community Spaces In Movement and Community Building
Friday, June 25 from 1-3, Westin Book Cadillac Hotel W-B4
Want to go–but worried about how to get there or where to stay? Check out this page to share rides to and from the Allied Media Conference and the US Social Forum, and to check out housing options.
http://talk.alliedmedia.org/message-boards/
Posted in Events, Gaza, Middle East Awareness, PEC News Blog, Press Releases | Tagged Events, Gaza, MEAC, News, Press Releases, USSF