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Peace Works is an annual project of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice in the form of a lecture, conference, or other event that provides a forum for exploring the meaning and practice of justice and peace as they affect the social, economic, political, environmental, and spiritual aspects of people’s lives.  We proceed with the understanding that all people share not only human rights, aspirations, and needs, but also the foibles of fear, aggression, and domination.  With this in mind, we encourage Peace Works participants to explore their own hearts first as they connect to the world community.  Striving for fundamental social change and a just society, we focus on individuals and groups who work on local, national, and global levels to resist oppression, inequality, and war.  We explore racism, poverty, global economic inequality, oppression of women and other forms of injustice.  In doing so, we strive to formulate and communicate a hopeful vision of a world community that responds constructively to its inhabitants’ rights, aspirations, and needs.

Through Peace Works, we strive…

1. To bridge differences by increasing awareness about the issues that separate human beings.
2. To recognize inherent connections across borders and areas of study, and to honor our shared struggle for the peaceful and just world that we deserve to live in.
3. To address issues of injustice including war, racism, economic inequality, environmental degradation, and oppression of individuals, groups, and peoples.
4. To foster the activism that brings light to the darkness of oppression, learning how each of us can work effectively for justice and peace by educating, advocating, organizing and agitating in our own communities and beyond.
5. To affirm values which reflect Rachel Corrie’s spirit, including intellectual and geographical exploration, cross-cultural appreciation, creativity, and willingness to stand up to oppression.
6. To celebrate the immense contribution and sacrifice made by those who visualize this better world, and to inspire all of us with the knowledge that one day we will get there.

Learn about past Peace Works events by clicking on the posters below:

Highlights:

Peace Works 2018- Middle Eastern Film Festival (partnership with the Olympia Film Society)

Peace Works 2017 – From Marches to Movements: Turning community members into activists, activists into leaders

Peace Works 2016 – Inaugural Rachel Corrie Memorial Lecture with Professor Ilan Pappe: “Why is Palestine still the issue?”

Peace Works 2015 – From Ferguson to Palestine and First Nations to US Borderlands, a panel featuring Omar Barghouti.

Peace Works 2014 – Mass Incarceration in the US & Palestine featuring a discussion with Angela Davis and Noura Erakat.

Peace Works 2013 – “Rachel Corrie 10 Years: the Person & the Struggle” call to action including Phyllis Bennis & Ramzy Baroud.

Peace Works 2012 – Olympia’s first Shuruq Arab Festival! 

Peace Works 2011 – Solidarity in Action conference featuring a keynote by Alice Walker. 

Many thanks to our scholarship applicants and selection committee for their incredible contributions. We are proud to announce Bridget Drager as the 2018-2019 recipient of the Rachel Corrie Memorial Scholarship.

Bridget Drager is a senior at The Evergreen State College. Her emphasis of study is Cultural studies with a specific interest in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Islamic studies. Her interest in these subjects is inspired by previous travels to the region. Currently, Bridget is writing a piece on the Bedouin of Jordan for a program at Evergreen. For her final year of studies, she will be studying Arab feminist literature. In the future, Bridget plans to pursue an MA in Middle Eastern studies.

The Rachel Corrie Memorial Scholarship at The Evergreen State College is a one-year scholarship for students, at all undergraduate class levels, dedicated to gaining a better understanding of peace and justice efforts around the world. A focus on the Middle East is valued, but it is not required to be considered for this scholarship. Applicants must show how they will use their studies to promote human rights and social justice through community activism, scholarly analysis and/or political advocacy. Areas of interest may include peace, justice and conflict resolution studies; international relations; Arab culture and Arabic language; US policy in the Middle East.

Requirements:

• Letter of application explaining your qualifications and why you wish to be considered for the scholarship. Include a short description of your intended studies and how you plan to incorporate them into the community and/or international context described above.  (Your letter can be up to 2 pages in length.)
• Include a sample of analytical or creative work that you have produced which conveys your commitment to and interest in social justice. This could be an analytic essay, prose, art, poetry, photography or anything else which you feel conveys your message about social justice issues. This piece of work should not be longer than 5-pages. (In your letter, note the relevance of your work (writing, art, poetry, etc) to the application.)
• Two letters of recommendation from individuals, other than relatives, who are familiar with your qualifications. This can include a recommendation from someone who knows about your work in the community and/or social justice interests and efforts.

Selection Process: 

There is a committee of four who review the applications.  The committee consists of 1 RCF board member, 1 member of the Evergreen faculty, 1 community member, and 1 member of Rachel Corrie’s family.  Each committee member reviews all applications thoroughly and independently. The committee comes together and after discussion and evaluation, the recipient is chosen by consensus of the group based on the above requirements.

 To learn how to apply for the Rachel Corrie Memorial Scholarship, please visit The Evergreen State College website. 

Previous Recipients of the Scholarship: 

2017-2018 Joshua Pollock

2016-17 – Dakota Rakestraw