University of Memphis students and local peace activists gathered at Prescott Baptist Church on Patterson for a candlelit drum circle Thursday, Sept. 27. Sponsored by the Voices for Peace organization, the event took place around a peace sign made up of candles in the grass.
The peace activists have already gotten over 200 signatures on a petition supporting the group’s ideology of “stopping the cycle of violence.”
Voices for Peace is part of a movement on college campuses all over the United States denouncing the aggressive stance the American government has taken towards Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The movement also calls for tolerance and understanding of ethnic citizens residing here as Americans.
“Now we know what it feels like to lose innocent people, like we’ve done to others,” said Julie Rogers, director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.
“This should be a healing experience from which we should learn. Inner peace and peace with your neighbors must be attained before we can achieve world peace,” she said.
As the drumbeats escalated to an intense rhythm, many participants rose from their seats to walk around and sway to the sounds of unity.
The drums, mostly from West African countries such as Mali and Gauna, were and still are used as traditional outlets, assisting both communication and healing. Jembe, the African word for the goblet-shaped instrument is also a word that means “coming together.”
“I don’t want the United States to bomb other innocent people. We should help our own people, but keep other countries in mind,” said Mahal Burr, the 11-year-old daughter of a University of Memphis student and member of the Voices for Peace children’s committee.
“I am a Quaker, and my religion teaches me to ‘keep them in the light.’ That’s what we should do,” she said.
The group, which opposes the United States’ staunch financial support of Israel and the economic sanctions on Iraq, feels that the best way to fight violence and terrorism is to critically evaluate U.S. foreign policy. They believe that by approaching the situation peacefully and bringing the guilty terrorists to justice, any future recurrence of the devastating loss of life that the United States experienced can be avoided.
