Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice

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Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice Rally Poster

Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice

History

The Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice PCPJ was the direct successor of several anti-US Vietnam policy "united fronts" known as the "Mobes", of "Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam" that were formed by the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), its sympathizers, and associated leftist radicals as early as late 1966. While ostensibly opposed to the U.S. involvement in South Vietnam (Cambodia and Laos) to stop North Vietnamese aggression against these states, these groups were actually supporters of a communist victory in Indochina despite posing as "peace" groups. They have been characterized as "Hawks on the other side", as opposed to "doves".

While the Mobes attracted hundreds of thousands of people to their protests between 1967 and 1973, it can be said that the majority of the people who attended were not in favor of a communist victory in Indochina. They often felt that this involvement was not in the best interest of the United States, but by omission (i.e. opposing Hanoi's aggression), they opened the way for the American communists to set up a support Hanoi movement whose covert goal was a North Vietnamese victory in Indochina. When Hanoi conquered Laos and South Vietnam, as well as aiding the genocidal Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot to seize control of Cambodia, many "Mobe" leaders showed up at "victory" celebrations, as well as greeting the North Vietnamese representative to the U.N. in New York City. [1]

The U.S. government held a long series of investigations/hearings into the "Mobes" as well as the later Trotskyite split-off organization known as NPAC, i.e. "National Peace Action Coalition", which became an open rival to the CPUSA-dominated PCPJ after having worked as an "united front" in the various Mobes since 1968. This congressional hearings and reports, as well as items inserted into the 'Congressional Record', covered the lifetime of the various Mobes and PCPJ, as well As NPAC. Within these are the history of the various organizations, the full identities of their leaders, information on the factional fighting between the Stalinist CPUSA and the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party, international communist ties, especially to the Soviet fronts the World Peace Council and its various regional "Assemblies".

Additional communist identifications of some of the people involved were not made public until decades later, especially in the cases of Rev. William Hogan, CALC; Chicago Peace Council; Abe Bloom, Washington, D.C. SANE, Washington Mobilization Committee, Montgomery County Gray Panthers, Washington Peace Center, and the W.E.B. DuBois School of Marxist Studies [2]

Letterheads

It should be noted that there were numerous letterheads for PCPJ and not everyone appeared on each succeeding list as people came and left. An attempt will be made to list each letterhead as they appeared in congressional hearings and mailings

February 20, 1971 Signatures on Letter

Coordinate Committee in formation

APRIL 10, 1971 signatures on letter:

  • William Douthard
  • Trudi Young - wife of Ron Young; member of Women Strike for Peace
  • Bradford Lyttle -
  • Sidney Peck - identified in congressional hearings and the Congressional Record as a "former member of the Wisconsin State Committee of the CPUSA" ,ref> "New Mobe Staff Study", 1970, House Internal Security Committee </ref>
  • Dave Dellinger - small "c" communist; "Liberation" magazine

Coordinating Committee in formation: Identifications provided by KeyWiki staff

MAY 28, 1971 Signers of letter

Coordinating Committee in formation

SEPTEMBER 1, 1971 Signatures on letterhead:

Coordinating Committee:

History

From a special collection donated by Barbara Webster at the Swarthmore College Peace Collection:[3]

The Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice included various peace, anti-poverty, and labor groups. These groups worked together to confront the related issues of war in Southeast Asia and racism, sexism, poverty, and repression in the United States. The Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice was founded in 1970 as National Coalition Against War, Racism, and Repression and organized several specific campaigns including People's Peace Treaty, Citizen's Action Pledge, and Nixon Eviction campaign; reports, speeches, and resolutions pertaining to the Assembly for Peace and Independence of the People of Indochina held at Versailles, France, February 1972.
This collection includes reference files containing newsletters and other publications from affiliated national and local organizations; and subject files on amnesty, impeachment, and various aspects of the Vietnam war. Leaders of Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice represented include David Dellinger, William Douthard, Robert E. Levering, Bradford Lyttle, Sidney M. Peck, Pat Samuel, Barbara Webster, Cora Weiss, and Ronald J. Young.

Organizing Committee for a Fifth Estate

Organizing Committee for a Fifth Estate Hearing

According to the late Rep. Larry McDonald during a March 26, 1976 hearing on the Organizing Committee for a Fifth Estate.[4]

OC-5, in its embryonic form was spawned at a November 1972 gathering of the Communist Party U.S.A. dominated— Peoples Coalition for Peace and Justice - PCPJ and was known as the Committee for Action Research on the Intelligence Community, or CARIC CARIC then operated from room 523, the DuPont Circle Building , Washington , D.C. 20036 and from P.O. Box 647, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044 . During the past 3 years , the OC-5 has operated with impunity and has been able to serve as a clearinghouse for the many groups involved in attacking aspects of the information - gathering programs of Federal and local law enforcement agencies..."
Committee for Action Research on the Intelligence Community "was founded and operated by four people, all members of the violence-prone Communist organization the Vietnam Veterans Against the War—VVAW. It was, in fact, an official project of VVAW; those involved were as follows: Perry Douglas Fellwock, also known as Winslow Peck, age 30; Timothy Charles Butz, age 28; K. Barton Osborn and Gary Thomas. Each of the four claim service in some branch of the intelligence community and each has u record of involvement with the radical, Communist-dominated segments of the peace movement.

References

  1. ↑ "Congressional Record, Sept. 27, 1977, Page H10222, Rep. John Ashbrook, "Anti-American Hanoi Helpers" re Washington Post, Sept. 26, 1977, by Lee Lescaze, "Another Hurrah For Hanoi"; C.R. 9/27/77, Page S15746, Sen. Daniel Moynihan, re New York Times, Sept. 26, 1977, Thousands Welcome Vietnam Delegates --Antiwar Activists Among Those at Ceremony in New York for United Nations Team", by Pranay Gupte; 'Daily World', Sept. 27, 1977, p. 3, "Thousands at fete in n.Y. welcome Vietnamese to UN", by John Casmin
  2. ↑ "Peoples Weekly World", and "Washington Post, July1999,...
  3. ↑ People's Coalition for Peace and Justice Records, 1970-1974 (accessed on Sept 1, 2023)
  4. ↑ Hearing on the Organizing Committee for a Fifth Estate March 26, 1976 (accessed on August 31, 2023)
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