The Nation Names Code Pink MVP’s (Most Valuable Progressives)
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Founded in 2002 by “Medea Benjamin, Jodie Evans, Diane Wilson, Starhawk and about 100 other women,”1 CODEPINK is a progressive organized protest group that was formed in response to the run-up to the Iraq War. Since then, their mission has expanded to cover a wide range of social justice issues under the umbrella of waging peace.
CODEPINK’s contribution to the peace effort was recognized by The Nation’s John Nichols today for being a constant thorn in the side of the Bush administration, and for never letting up, or letting themselves get boxed in as a single-issue group. Their compassion has proved adaptable, and their sense of humor refreshing.
At almost every stop on the contemporary underground railroad of righteous rebellion against wrongheaded governance, I found myself in the company of Media [sic] Benjamin, Jodie Evans, Gael Murphy and all the other remarkable women who make Code Pink the most valuable progressive organization of the Bush-Cheney years.
Taking its name from the Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded alert system for scaring Americans into accepting unnecessary wars and giving up necessary freedoms, Code Pink: Women for Peace declared: “While Bush’s color-coded alerts are based on fear and are used to justify violence, the CODEPINK alert is a feisty call for women and men to “wage peace.’”
Formed in 2002 by activists who had been protesting even before Bush and Cheney took office, Code Pink was initially (and in many senses still is) an anti-war group. But Benjamin, Evans, Murphy and the tens of thousands of others who answered the call to “(reclaim) a color many of us thought we’d never wear, as a women’s statement for peace – and daring to resist an administration on the brink of war” showed a refreshing skill for adapting and evolving their protests. When Chellie Pingree, Donna Edwards, Bob McChesney and I were attempting in 2003 to block a move by the Federal Communications Commission to erase controls against media monopoly, Code Pink was an initial ally, recognizing immediately that irresponsible media made it easier for propagandists to promote irresponsible wars. It was the same with struggles against waterboarding, warrantless wiretapping, official secrecy and the penchant of Congress to tell administration insiders: “Go ahead, lie to us.”
If someone shouted an objection at a congressional hearing – where members of the House or Senate should have been objecting – it was almost always a Code Pink member. If someone was chained to the gate of an official building, dragged out of an official meeting or otherwise upsetting the status quo, it was usually a Code Pinker. “Whether at (a) presidential inauguration, John Bolton’s confirmation hearing, Condoleezza Rice’s address at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club, Donald Rumsfeld’s talk at the Beverly Hills Hilton, or Dick Cheney’s fundraiser in Houston, we consistently infiltrated Bush administration gatherings to say: ‘Stop the Killing, Stop the Torture, No More Lies,” recalls Code Pink’s official history. And when Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table, the speaker suddenly found a Code Pink encampment outside her San Francisco home.
Code Pink did not just object, however. The group delivered humanitarian aid to those who were suffering in Fallujah and New Orleans, sent peacemaking delegations to Tehran and gave millions of people – at home and abroad – an reminder that even if our president had forsaken reason our citizens (at least those wearing pink) had not.
About CODEPINK:
CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects foreign policies based on domination and aggression, and instead calls for policies based on diplomacy, compassion and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.
Photo by Ben Schumin.
