By Lora Wondolowski

I find myself now working for an organization with the word “peace” in our name and working to understand what that phrase means to me. When I began interviewing for the position, the word peace felt a little precious and antiquated to me. I am not a baby boomer, so the anti-war and anti-nuclear movements are not part of my DNA– but the work to further social justice does speak to me. I am excited about the opportunity to fund organizations that work for a better future.
Fast forward a few months and recent events around the world have made the mission seem more relevant than ever. In February, Russia invaded Ukraine and continues to bombard them. Our airwaves assault us with harrowing stories of misery, escape, and compassion. Globally, there was concern that the war would spread to other countries or even involve the use of nuclear weapons. Thankfully, none of those scenarios have come to pass but after five months, the shelling continues. It is easy to take peace for granted in our relatively stable part of the world.
This and other events continue to remind me that peace is not the absence of war or a fight for another generation. On May 14th, a gunman purposely drove to Buffalo and murdered 10 people. This was another heinous hate crime in a string of too many. Ten days later a shooter murdered 19 elementary school children and 2 teachers. My heart aches for what we are becoming; numb to the violence and cries of communities. Our peace continues to be shattered and I feel helpless to change anything. Yet, gun violence has plagued our urban communities for decades. Too many families of color have lost loved ones while white families have shielded themselves or ignored this reality. It is in these mass shootings that our realities collide, and many are forced to see what has been in front of us all along.
Whether or not you support gun-rights, something is off-kilter in our society. We have put our individual rights before the needs of our communities and most vulnerable. “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Carole Anderson asserts in her new book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America, that the language of the second amendment was intentional to ensure that slave owners could crush any rebellion by slaves and deny black people the right to bear arms. The racist roots of this amendment continue to play out today.
Although previous generations’ understanding of peace does not speak to me in the same way, I have a renewed understanding of what the fight for peace can be about. It can include social justice and anti-racism work. It can explore intersections with gender, class, and sexual orientation. I recognize that I have had the privilege of relative peace for many years punctuated by events that have pierced the veil. I look forward to working at the Peace Development Fund to fund current and new generations of organizers who are redefining the peace movement and working for peace for those who have been left out. May our shattered peace be the fuel for real change. ■