ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
Roanoke's Plowshare Peace and Justice Center was born in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
During the U.S. military buildup of the 1980s, knots of a half-dozen or a dozen Plowshare supporters could be seen many days outside the City Market Building or the Poff Federal Building. As the lunchtime crowds milled by, the Plowshare folk quietly held up handmade signs. "Stop Covert War against Nicaragua," the signs said. "Hear the Cries of the People. No Military Aid to El Salvador."
In the months before the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Plowshare rallied opposition to the use of military force against Iraq.
But now, with the Cold War over, many "peace-education centers" around Virginia have closed, and Plowshare's supporters have begun doing some soul-searching and hard thinking about the center's direction and its future.
Plowshare still retains a core group of 15 or 20 active supporters, with a mailing list of about 450.
But its budget has dropped by 70 percent over the past three years, and it no longer has paid staff members. As an all-volunteer group, Plowshare has kept a lower profile in last year or so.
Plowshare's supporters say it's time to reinvigorate the center, seek new volunteers - especially younger people - and move in new directions.
"Plowshare has a role to play," said Tom Nasta, who heads the center's steering committee. "The role hasn't gone away - it's just the focus."
The center's first step has been to move from its old offices on Kirk Avenue downtown to a new location on Grandin Road Southwest. The office is in a more-traveled location near Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op and above New Awakenings Cafe. Plowshare supporters say the new location will be a more congenial and convenient place for people to drop by and use the center's resources, which include magazine, book and video libraries.
Nasta said it has become harder to persuade people to work on peace issues, because the issues seem, at least on the surface, less clear-cut.
In Bosnia and other hot spots, peace activists have had to face a question that can be difficult even for committed pacifists: "Do you send in the military to stop the genocide?''
But Nasta said Plowshare can add to the public debate by asking about alternatives to sending in troops. And it can make the case that the United States can prevent violence by working for justice, jobs and education around the world, he said.
Another issue Plowshare probably will focus on is the continued level of military spending. The government is cutting social programs while still spending tax money on weapon systems it doesn't need, Nasta says.
Susie Fetter, a longtime Plowshare volunteer, said "peace-education" centers are an important resource at a time when many have become content to take in information passively rather than act and try to improve things.
"You can sit in front of your computer and think you're being informed," she said. "But that's not community involvement."
Plowshare Peace and Justice Center will hold an open house at its new location, in the Grandin Galleria at 1402 Grandin Road S.W., from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The center's steering committee and its supporters will meet from 7 to 8 p.m. to discuss plans for new programs and new ways of attracting volunteers.
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