Friends,
Janice and I were at the Govans Post Office in Baltimore on August 21. We and the others were there to save the Post Office from the fascists, and of course Kevin and Margaret were there. Dick Ochs interviewed Kevin on his Facebook Livestream. Margaret interviewed me for Popular Resistance. It was a body blow today for Janice and me to hear the news of Kevin's passing. We must step up our activism in honor of Kevin's major contributions in the movement.
I knew of Kevin’s anti-war activism in D.C. But it was in 2004, that I got to know him better through his involvement in the presidential campaign of Ralph Nader. Then in 2006, he ran for the US Senate for Maryland against Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Michael Steele. He was by far the best candidate, advocating for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and corporate interests from Iraq, economic justice and an end to corporate welfare. He was also a vocal critic of the Israel lobby and challenged Cardin to break his silence on Israeli wrongdoing.
And Kevin was instrumental in publicizing the spying on the Baltimore Emergency Response Network. This finally convinced the ACLU to get involved, and eventually the news broke that the Maryland State Police, the FBI, the NSA, and the Baltimore City Police intelligence squad were spying on a pacifist group.
Kagiso, Max
U.S. Peace Council U.S. Peace Council [mailto:USPC@USPeaceCouncil.org]
Sunday, September 6, 2020 2:23 PM
Kevin Zeese — PRESENTE!
The People’s Movement Has Lost One of Its
Most Beloved and Treasured Activists
September 6 is a very sad day for the people’s movement in the United States. In the early hours of this day, we lost one our most beloved and treasured comrades. Kevin was not only a comrade, but a dear friend and brother to all of us. We were honored to have him as our comrade in struggle.
No one can forget Kevin’s heroic act, along with Margaret,
Adrienne and David, of refusing to leave the Embassy of the Bolivarian Government
of Venezuela, at a very high price to themselves, in order to prevent the
transfer of its control to the representatives of U.S. puppet, Juan Guaidó. In
doing so, they became not only our heroes, but those of all anti-imperialist
peoples and movements around the world, especially the revolutionary people of
Venezuela.
But Kevin’s outstanding role in the movement was not limited to his last heroic act. For years, he co-directed the Popular Resistance with Margaret Flowers — his partner in life — which has been one of the main sources of truly anti-imperialist information and analysis for the peace movement. As members of the National Board of the U.S. Peace Council, Executive Committee of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases, and Global Campaign Against US/NATO Military Bases, Kevin and Margaret played a key role organizing two extremely successful conferences against U.S. And NATO Military Bases, the first in Baltimore, Maryland in January 2018, and the second in Dublin, Ireland, in November 2018.
Throughout these years, we have been benefiting from Kevin’s profound knowledge, wisdom and anti-imperialist commitment and vision. His absence will be felt during every step we will take from now on. But his comradely presence will be with us forever.
Kevin Zeese — PRESENTE!
Executive Committee of
The U.S. Peace Council
September 6, 2020
***
U.S. Peace Council • P.O. Box 3105, New Haven, CT 06515 • (203) 387-0370 • USPC@USPeaceCouncil.org
• https://uspeacecouncil.org • https://www.facebook.com/USPeaceCouncil/ • @USPeaceCouncil
Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class has always declared the wars; the
subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to
gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and
everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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