CLEVELAND NONVIOLENCE NETWORK
2023 ANNUAL STATE OF NONVIOLENCE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2023 AT 2:00 P.M.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER JOHN LAFORGE
John La Forge has worked in the peace and anti-nuclear movement since 1979. He has been employed by the peace organization Nukewatch since 1992 as a researcher, editor of Nukewatch Quarterly, and co-director. In his first job for Nukewatch, he traveled about 30,000 miles over a 3-month period to visit all 1,000 land-based
intercontinental ballistic missile sites then in the United States. The research was for the Nukewatch book Nuclear Heartland which featured the first public atlas detailing the exact locations of the giant ICBMs. On January 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom, John will speak on the topic of nuclear disarmament as the keynote for the Cleveland Nonviolence Network’s 2023 State of Nonviolence Event via Zoom.
The Cleveland Nonviolence Network [CNVN] is a collection of groups and individuals in the greater Cleveland area that formed to articulate nonviolence as an alternative to a military response to “9/11.” Its focus has been promoting education and discourse on the inefficacy of war, the huge Pentagon budget and the efficacy of nonviolence. It co-sponsored the Cleveland Peace Show for 10 years, an event that presented free, nonmilitarized, family entertainment at the Free Stamp on Labor Day–a sharp contrast to the highly militarized Air Show at the adjacent Burke Airport. CNVN sent over 400 signed postcards to the Great Lakes Science Center requesting an exhibit demonstrating the emerging science of nonviolence. CNVN also organized the 2016
People’s Justice and Peace Convention which produced a People’s Platform that was presented to both the Republican and Democratic Parties to consider. CNVN sponsors an annual event, The State of Nonviolence, which highlights a current effort to promote nonviolent social change. The 2019 State of Nonviolence sponsored a Holiday Bazaar and featured Malaz Elgemiabby who spoke on the creativity and persistence of the
nonviolent movement in Sudan, while the 2020 State of Nonviolence featured Frida Berrigan as the keynote and Andrew Bacevich was the 2021 keynote. CNVN drafted a sample local Resolution for Cleveland City Council to consider to foster dialogue on how the enormous Pentagon budget adversely impacts local communities in
need of funds for basic human needs.
For more information about CNVN’s ongoing activities, please check out and “like” our Facebook pages – https://www.facebook.com/clevelandnonviolencenetwork and https://www.facebook.com/pjpc2016
Register here to attend the 2023 State of Nonviolence event with John LaForge:
https://www.eventbrite.com/x/2023-annual-state-of-nonviolence-tickets-484354706967