Thomas Merton Center (Pittsburgh)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh peace and social justice center, is an organization concerned with issues such as social justice
, poverty, workers' rights, racial discrimination, ecology and peace. It serves as an organizing center for most of the city's left-leaning and liberal social movement organization
s and community. The site states: "We are people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world." FBI describes the group as a "left-wing organization, advocating for pacifism."
The Center is named after Thomas Merton
, a Trappist
monk
of the Abbey of Gethsemani
.
The Thomas Merton Award
, a peace prize, has been awarded since 1972 by the Center, the year in which the Center was established. The traditional base of the Center was radical Catholic
pacifists, but has since expanded to secular humanists and others. The Thomas Merton Center began as part of the movement to end the Vietnam War
, working against federal cutbacks and raising money for medical aid to Indochina
. During the 1980s, the Center worked extensively on nuclear disarmament
, targeting local weapons makers Rockwell and Westinghouse, as well as organizing campaigns of solidarity and support to the people of Central and Latin American countries that were targeted by the Reagan administration
. In the 1990s, organizing against the Gulf War
and in response to the murder of Johnny Gammage
by police, among other projects, were undertaken. With the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Center became central in organizing Pittsburgh's large anti-war
protests and most recently served to facilitate and organize many of the educational and protest activities in September 2009 against and in response to the G20 Summit, including the Peoples' March, which was one of the largest protests in Pittsburgh in decades. Several local institutions grew out of the Center, including the Pittsburgh chapter of Amnesty International
and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
.
Its current structure includes a Board of Directors
, committees, affiliates, friends, projects, and members. Membership dues and donations provide much of the funding and the Board of Directors are elected to make decisions pertaining to the running of the Center. Several of the most active projects include Book 'Em, a books for prisoners program; the Anti-War Committee, which organizes yearly protests against the wars and organizes buses to national protests; Fed Up! the Pittsburgh chapter of the Human Rights Coalition; and The East End Community Thrift Shop, which provides clothing and household items for low-income individuals in the area.
The Thomas Merton Center has four key focus areas:
1) To end the wars;
2) Advocate for prisoner rights;
3) To protect the environment;
4) and to fight for economic justice for all.
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, poverty, workers' rights, racial discrimination, ecology and peace. It serves as an organizing center for most of the city's left-leaning and liberal social movement organization
Social movement organization
A social movement organization is an organized component of a social movement .SMO usually is only part of a particular social movement; in other words, a specific social movement is usually composed of many social movement organizations - formal organizations that share movement's goals...
s and community. The site states: "We are people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world." FBI describes the group as a "left-wing organization, advocating for pacifism."
The Center is named after Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
, a Trappist
TRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
of the Abbey of Gethsemani
Abbey of Gethsemani
The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Trappist monastery near Bardstown, Kentucky in Nelson County—situated on more than 2,000 acres of farmland, and considered to be the "mother house" of all Trappist and Trappistine monasteries in the United States of America...
.
The Thomas Merton Award
Thomas Merton Award
The Thomas Merton Award has been awarded since 1972 by the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Social Justice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is named after Thomas Merton and is given annually to "national and international individuals struggling for justice."-Award recipients:The Thomas Merton...
, a peace prize, has been awarded since 1972 by the Center, the year in which the Center was established. The traditional base of the Center was radical Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
pacifists, but has since expanded to secular humanists and others. The Thomas Merton Center began as part of the movement to end the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, working against federal cutbacks and raising money for medical aid to Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. During the 1980s, the Center worked extensively on nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
, targeting local weapons makers Rockwell and Westinghouse, as well as organizing campaigns of solidarity and support to the people of Central and Latin American countries that were targeted by the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
. In the 1990s, organizing against the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and in response to the murder of Johnny Gammage
Johnny Gammage
Jonny Gammage was a black motorist who was killed on October 12, 1995, after being stopped for "driving erratically" by police from the nearly all-white Pittsburgh suburbs of Brentwood,...
by police, among other projects, were undertaken. With the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Center became central in organizing Pittsburgh's large anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
protests and most recently served to facilitate and organize many of the educational and protest activities in September 2009 against and in response to the G20 Summit, including the Peoples' March, which was one of the largest protests in Pittsburgh in decades. Several local institutions grew out of the Center, including the Pittsburgh chapter of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
.
Its current structure includes a Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, committees, affiliates, friends, projects, and members. Membership dues and donations provide much of the funding and the Board of Directors are elected to make decisions pertaining to the running of the Center. Several of the most active projects include Book 'Em, a books for prisoners program; the Anti-War Committee, which organizes yearly protests against the wars and organizes buses to national protests; Fed Up! the Pittsburgh chapter of the Human Rights Coalition; and The East End Community Thrift Shop, which provides clothing and household items for low-income individuals in the area.
The Thomas Merton Center has four key focus areas:
1) To end the wars;
2) Advocate for prisoner rights;
3) To protect the environment;
4) and to fight for economic justice for all.
External links
- Homepage
- Fact Sheet - The Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice (3/14/2006) at ACLU
- Finding aid to the Thomas Merton Center Records at the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh