Massachusetts Peace Action

Justice 4 All Thursdays
2026-06-25 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-18 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-11 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-04 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-28 11:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | 1000 District Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 United States, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, 01803, United States
Via Turn Purple 2 Blue:

Greater Assabet Indivisible Network (GAIN) invites you to stand in solidarity with immigrants and resistance to ICE and their cruel and lawless detention of our neighbors Thursdays from 11am-1pm. Regardless of any other political views, you are welcome to join us and demand Justice 4 All so long as you do so non-violently.
Our friends at Bearing Witness have been hosting gatherings at this location for many weeks. We are an unaffiliated group, but very much aligned with their values and mission. Our goal is to add to the total number of hours that citizens stand in non-violent opposition to the deplorable detainment conditions at this location. If you have been to Bearing Witness on Wednesdays, we would love to have you at Justice 4 All Thursdays.
Schedule (Starting Thursday, September 4 – more dates to follow)
11:00-11:30 Welcome; music; announcements
11:30-12:30 Stand with signs along District Ave
12:30-1:00 Optional short march down to Mall Rd.
What happens at this ICE office?
ICE personnel depart from District Ave. in unmarked vans with tinted windows on missions to abduct immigrants across New England. Immigrants may also show up at the office for appointments. The facility on District Ave was never intended to be a detention center, yet immigration lawyers and media interviews reveal that people are now being housed here in conditions that have been called “abysmal” and “unsanitary.”
What to expect at Justice 4 All?
We are committed to nonviolence, and we stand peacefully with signs outside the facility. We do not block the entrance, we do not physically approach ICE agents as they walk to/from the parking lot, and we do not block traffic on District Ave.
Signs
This is a very targeted action outside the ICE facility, so it’s not the venue for protesting other causes. Even though we care deeply about other issues, while outside ICE we must remain focused on immigration.
Parking and other tips
For parking, please use the Macy’s overflow lot (75 Burlington Mall Road, follow signs for Macy’s, see map). For those with mobility challenges, please keep in mind that the lots closest to ICE — the FAA lot beside ICE and the BAE Systems lot directly across the street from ICE — have both been blocked off. There are restaurants nearby (Clover, Pressed Cafe, Chipotle) to get food and use the bathroom. Before arriving, please consider your own self-preservation (citizenship status) and self-care (sunscreen, hydration, etc.)

Bearing Witness @ ICE
2026-06-24 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-17 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-10 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-03 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-27 11:00 - 13:00 | 1000 District Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 United States, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, 01803, United States
Join Bearing Witness @ ICE outside the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) New England Headquarters office in Burlington, next to the Burlington Mall, every Wednesday from 11am-1pm.
Stand with us in solidarity to show our love & support, express our shame at ICE, and bear witness to the cruel and unconstitutional actions of our government. Regardless of your views on any other political issues, if you support immigrants and their constitutional rights and are committed to nonviolence, join us.
Schedule (every Wednesday)

11:00-11:30, Welcome and announcements
11:30-12:30, Stand or sit with signs; option to read the U.S. Constitution to ICE
12:30-1:00, Short walk along the sidewalk on District Ave to Mall Road

NOTE: Please sign up for our email list as we may cancel due to severe weather or other circumstances.
If you’re never attended a standout and are curious about signs, parking and more, click The Standout

The Real Origins of the Ukraine War, and Why It Matters Today: with Prof. Ivan Katchanovski
2026-06-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Tuesday June 23rd @ 7pm ET

Ukrainian-born Prof. Ivan Katchanovski, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa, will discuss his most recent book, The Russia-Ukraine War and Its Origins: From the Maidan Massacre to the Ukraine War. His research into the Feb. 2014 Maidan protests, massacre in Kiev, and its aftermath refutes much of the dominant narrative of the Ukrainian and U.S. governments about the causes of the war. He’ll also discuss his research into the military realities of the past four years of war, and the prospects for a negotiated peace settlement to prevent Ukraine from suffering even greater losses of soldiers, territory, and economic infrastructure.
Ivan Katchanovski teaches at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa and has taught in the U.S. and Canada for many years. He has also authored The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: The Mass Killing that Changed the World, and co-authored Historical Dictionary of Ukraine, part of the series Historical Dictionaries of Europe.

No Fear with Street Theater
2026-06-20 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-13 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-06 11:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-30 11:00 - 13:00 | 1000 District Avenue Burlington, MA 01803 United States, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington, 01803, United States
Join the new protest group, “No Fear Street Theater” for weekly protests on Saturdays starting October 11th from 11am to 1pm. Stand up for immigrants two blocks from the Burlington ICE office. All are welcomed and encouraged to support our immigrant community. The protests will be held at Burlington Mall Rd. at District Avenue.

Meet and Support Jonathan Paz for Congress
2026-06-14 15:00 - 17:00 | mh-magazine
Watertown, Sunday June 14. 3-5 pm
Home of Joseph & Lani Gerson
MAPA has endorsed Jonathan Paz in his campaign to oust and replace Katherine “AIPAC” Clark in Congress.
Unlike Clark, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from AIPAC, Jonathan is deeply committed to economic and social justice and peace.
Please join us in meeting Jonathan, learn about his story and platform, and support his new, young, and clear voice for the changes we need and to better represent us in Congress.

Register Here There is room for only 35 wonderful people. Address will be provided to those who register a few days before the event.
Donate to Jonathan’s campaign (You must also register separately for the event)

From U.S. Sanctions to Medical Solidarity: Standing with Cuba
2026-06-14 15:00 - 17:00 | Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St, Boston, 02116
June 14 – 3 to 5 pm – Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St
From Cuba to Calabria – Documentary from Belly of the Beast
Dr. Tanalis Padilla, researching and writing book on Cuba’s international missions
Leah Hastings & Eric Ross – Just returned from May Day in Cuba

Vets Say NO to the Iran War
2026-06-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Over 150 veterans and military families occupied the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building on April 20, 2026 to protest the war in Iran. This webinar acknowledges and explores the resistance of enlisted soldiers and veterans to this illegal war. The webinar also takes up the war crimes committed by the US military involving the destruction of Iranian culture and the murder of Iranian people and the psychological impact of these crimes on soldiers.

About Face is a group of active duty soldiers and veterans organizing to end the US foreign policy of permanent war. Originally formed in 2004 as Iraq Veterans Against the War, they have been speaking out out against US wars based on lies and advocating for active duty and returning veterans since then.
Speakers:
Kevin Benderman is a Board Member of About Face and served ten years in the US Army. First deployed to Iraq in March 2003, he refused to return for a second deployment because of the lies that preceded the invasion, the harm being done to the Iraqi people, and because it went against everything he thought it meant to be a soldier. Denied conscientious objector status, he was court-martialed, confined for 15 months, dishonorably discharged and lost all benefits.
Jeff Parente is a graduate of Penn State University and an Iraq War, Marine Corps veteran. He has been a member of Veterans for Peace for ten years and About Face: Veterans Against the War for almost 3 years as well as working with multiple other organizations. A committed peace activist, he is a critic of the military industrial complex ad advocates for cutting defense spending to fund human needs.
Bahar Sharafi is an Iranian-American activist born in Tehran with family there. Now living in Dorchester, she is a MAPA board member and co-chair of the MAPA-initiated Stop the US War on Iran committee. She is a volunteer leader with the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Iranian American Council, and a co-founder of CD8 for Palestine. She will show her video “A Glimpse of Iran” during her presentation.
John Schuchardt, J.D.. is co-director of The House of Peace together with his wife Carrie Schuchardt. As a 1stLt., he resigned his commission from the US Marine Corps in 1965 after the marines’ landing at DaNang. For 50 years, he has been active with Plowshares direct disarmament actions, trials, and imprisonments; A member of AFSC, MAPA, and Veterans for Peace, he helped realize the construction of four Peace Pagodas with Japanese Buddhist Order Nipponzan Myohoji. In 2010, he participated in a citizen diplomacy delegation to Iran. In 2019 he was part of a Global Network delegation to Russia.
Mike Prysner is Executive Director of the Center on Conscience and War. He joined the US Army ust before 9/11 and took part in the invasion of Iraq. When he returned home he got involved in the struggle against the war, leading civil disobedience against the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the active duty soldiers who accessed the media he has produced, including the podcast Eyes Left, have become war resisters.
Nancy Goldner, LICSW, has been an anti-war activist since the Vietnam War. She has supported the emotional recovery of veterans from the trauma of America’s endless wars since founding the Returning Veterans Response Network in 2007. She is a member of the Racial Justice Action Group of Mass Peace Action.
Register to attend:

Organizing for Progressive Leadership in CD1
2026-06-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Online Event
Those of us in CD1 have long been trying to figure out how to replace Rep. Richard Neal with someone who actually is progressive, who actually will respond to at least some of our agenda, who actually will meet with us and listen to us. Several candidates whom we have backed have tried to do this over the last decade. We have not so far succeeded.
So now we have another chance. With Jeromie Whalen. We are sure that you already know about him and probably are backing him.
We in Massachusetts Peace Action, the whole board, voted to endorse Jeromie, and now we are trying to figure out how we can help make sure he wins the September primary. We want to ask you to come to a meeting. Yes, another meeting – June 10 at 7 pm, via zoom. We are reaching out to you, our MAPA members in CD1 and our best and most progressive buddies in W. Mass and CD1, to talk with us as to what we in MAPA can do with you to push Jeromie forward to victory.
We have a few ideas: Houseparties in different parts of the CD. Joining the campaign in doorknocking, taking voter registration forms with us. Making sure there are house signs everywhere. Donating. But we actually would like to ask for your help to help us figure out where we can make the most difference.
Will you join us?

Jamie Belsito: Peace Advocates Meet & Greet
2026-06-07 17:30 - 19:00 | Racial Justice/ Indigenous Solidarity
Join MAPA’s endorsed candidate for Congress Jamie Zahlaway Belsito and network with progressive advocates from our community. Support for Art for Liberation and voices for change.
Let us know you’ll be there, and make a donation to the campaign at the same time!
Read about why Jamie Belsito is the peace and justice candidate in CD6.

Dance For World Community Festival
2026-06-06 | Harvard Square, Harvard Square Station, Cambridge, MA, 02138
DWC Annual Festivals celebrate the rich diversity of Greater Boston’s dance sector and its valued contributions to the area’s cultural and economic vitality. The event is produced by JMBT in collaboration with local government, area businesses, dance organizations, other cultural agencies and social service/advocacy nonprofits. Performances and introductory-level classes are offered by over 60 local dance companies presented on multiple outdoor stages along Harvard Square’s Massachusetts Avenue and in JMBT studios. Over 20 local nonprofits display exhibits to engage attendees and raise awareness about important social and environmental issues. Offerings by local businesses, exhibiting artists and food vendors are also made available. The Festival is free to the public and attended by approximately 20,000 people.
The indoor/outdoor event will feature five performance stages, diverse dance forms presented by over 60 dance groups, free introductory-level dance classes and table exhibits along “Advocacy Way” on Massachusetts Avenue (between Bow Street and Putnam Avenue) by area nonprofits.
A free event for all to enjoy, the Festival brings together local dance performers, instructors, other artists and activists from social service and advocacy agencies to raise awareness about the growing urgency for world peace, and social and environmental justice. Advocacy Way is a unique opportunity for activist and community service groups to connect with local arts groups and their diverse audiences and raise critical local and global issues that can create social change.
Have an interest in participating? Please fill out the form below to apply for participation in the Festival as an Advocacy Organization Partner.
The application deadline is Friday, May 1, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their acceptances on a rolling basis with final notifications on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Please note that there is a $30 fee to host a table at the Festival. The fee covers the cost of the rented table and two chairs. A tablecloth is also provided.

Books not Bombs Teach-in
2026-06-05 17:00 - 18:00 | Online Event
Please join last in this semester’s AAUP/AFT Books Not Bombs teach-in (Zoom Link Below):
Books Not Bombs 2026 – Defending Campus and Schools Expression
Teach-in Agenda for Friday June 5, 2026:
5:00 pm – Welcome and Introductions;
5:05 pm – Supporting the Protect Act for Public Schools in the State Legislature – Emily Romero (Mass Advocates for Children);
Discussion
5:15 pm – Continuing K-12 Budget Pressures from Federal Cuts – Cambridge School Committee Member;
Discussion
5:25 pm – Lesley Faculty Win Contract – SEIU509 Lesley Univ. Rep;
5:30 pm – Ramping up Minds Not Missiles Campaign in Support of Increased Federal Higher Education Funding -Jonathan King (Minds Not Missiles Education Fund);
Discussion
5:40 pm Date and time for fall monthly Teach-ins – Owen Madaus (Books Not Bombs Committee);
5:45 pm – Adjourn.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82131313100?pwd=[REDACTED]

Tech Bros Threaten Nurses, Teachers and Elder Care Workers
2026-06-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Online Event
Enriching the 1% and bleeding the state budget is on the agenda for Massachusetts MAGA. Two ballot questions put forward by the Massachusetts High Tech Council and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership would dramatically lower the state income tax and shrink revenue by billions, causing teachers, firefighters, and police to be fired across the state. Join us to learn more about this threat to our common wealth and what you can do to stop it.
Harris Gruman is the Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union Massachusetts State Council. In that role he has expanded direct care worker organizing, raised progressive taxation, created major new social insurance programs in paid leave and health care, and elected candidates like progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren. He has served as a Board Member of Massachusetts Peace Action. As an independent scholar, Dr. Gruman has written and taught on the philosophy of history, political culture, and social activism.
Respondents:
Cari Medina is executive vice president of 1199SEIU for Massachusetts.
Dan Hoffer is a Boston based activist and organizer who has been working in Union and Democratic politics since 2003. Dan has Iowa roots but grew up in Wayland, Mass and later attended Boston University (Class of 2006). For the last 14 years he has worked at SEIU and is currently the Political and Legislative Director for SEIU local 509 representing human service workers and educators in Massachusetts.
Erika Uyterhoeven is State Representative for Massachusetts’ 27th Middlesex district and is a MAPA endorsed candidate for State Senate for Massachusetts 2nd Suffolk distict.
See the Tax Cuts Ballot Sheet for more information on the issues.

Register to attend.

Hands Off Cuba - Join the National Day of Action for Cuba
2026-06-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Holyoke City Hall, 536 Dwight St, Holyoke, MA 01040, Holyoke, MA, 01040, United States
Hands Off Cuba Rally 6 pm June 3rd, Holyoke City Hall — see flyer

U.S. Policy of Regime Change in Cuba
2026-06-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Online Event
Peace & Justice Conversations

Join us to review the history of hostility and potential in U.S.-Cuba relations. Peter Kornbluh and William LeoGrande will help us to better understand Washington’s current economic warfare that has created a dire humanitarian crisis for the Cuban people and how it may evolve into more direct U.S. military attacks against the island nation.
Peter Kornbluh is a senior analyst at the National Security Archive and the director of the Archive’s Cuba Documentation Project. He is a contributor to The Nation, Foreign Policy, Responsible Statecraft, Cigar Aficionado and other media outlets. He is a co-author, with William M. LeoGrande, of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana. Kornbluh is also the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.
William M. LeoGrande is a professor emeritus of government and former dean of the American University School of Public Affairs. He is a specialist in Latin American politics and U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America and has been a frequent adviser to government and private sector agencies. Professor LeoGrande previously worked on staff for the Democratic Policy Committee of the U.S. Senate. His articles have appeared in various international and national journals, magazines and newspapers. He has written five books, the latest being Back Channel to Cuba.
Sponsored by New Hampshire Peace Action, cosponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action
Email doreen@nhpeaceaction.org if you don’t receive the Zoom link after RSVP’ing.
About NHPA’s bi-weekly Zoom Peace & Justice Conversation Series: 2020’s upheavals brought us to a new moment of reckoning and possibility. How do we want to live in the world? What do we value? How can we make the changes we’ve been yearning for? NH Peace Action has been engaged in working for change for decades. We’d like to bring you into these conversations about issues and options for the future. There is no charge to attend, but your contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated.

Cuba After Castro
2026-05-29 19:00 - 21:00 | St James Episcopal Church – Parish Hall, 1991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140
Join us for a unique opportunity to learn about what really is happening in Cuba and just who the top leader of the country is. Massachusetts Peace Action is holding an exclusive showing of the film, “Cuba After Castro”, to be followed by a discussion facilitated by me, Merri Ansara, just returned from many months in Cuba.
Months before NBC and Kristen Welker made popular headlines with their interview with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canal, Abby Martin and Matt Belen with Breakthrough News made their nterview with President Diaz-Canal, an indepth view beyond trite headlines and questions like “will you step down,” revealing more fully who he actually is and represents and what actually is going on in Cuba.
The first leader of Cuba born after the Cuban Revolution, President Diaz-Canal came into office confronting a perfect storm of intensified U.S. sanctions, a media war, a devastating pandemic, and historic domestic protests. Díaz-Canel reflects on navigating these existential crises for the nation he has come to lead.
Miguel Diaz-Canal was nominated by and succeeds Raul Castro, last of the Castros to hold power in Cuba. Now Raul Castro has been indicted by the United States for a fatal incident in 1996 when 2 American planes piloted by Cuban Americans from Miami, flew right into Cuban airspace despite many warnings to the U.S. from Cuba.
Based on the indictment of Raul Castro, reminiscent of the kidnapping of Venezuela’s President Maduro, the United States is threatening to invade Cuba, making it more of an imperative than ever to understand what is happening in Cuba, and just who the President of this country is.
Join us for the film and for a discussion at Mass Peace Action in Cambridge May 29, 7:00 pm.. Sign up to attend.

Stand up for Palestine at Harvard Commencement
2026-05-28 07:30 - 09:30 | Harvard Square T Entrance, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, 02138
Gather in front of the Harvard Red Line entrance
Join us to be present as people from all over the world arrive!

Bring signs consistent with our message to Harvard:
• End Harvard’s complicity in the Palestine Genocide
• Divest Harvard from weapons for Israel
• Support Palestinian self-determination
• Stop erasing Palestine
• Stop crushing dissent on campus
• Opposing genocide is NOT antisemitism!
Sign up at masspeace.us/harvard-comm to let us know you’ll be there!
Sponsors: MAPA; Community Encampments for Palestine; Vahavtah: A Judaism Beyond Zionism Synagogue; Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment; Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine; Cambridge for Palestine; Somerville for Palestine; Jewish Voice for Peace Boston; Diana’s List/ Theodore Parker Church, Southeast MA for free Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement

Just Sustainabilities in Policy, Planning, and Practice Webinar
2026-05-27 16:00 - 17:00
In his talk, Julian will outline the concept of just sustainabilities as a response to the ‘equity deficit’ of much sustainability thinking and practice. He will explore his contention that who can belong in our cities will ultimately determine what our cities can become. He will illustrate his ideas with examples from urban planning and design and the ‘Minneapolis Paradox’ that shows that green doesn’t mean socially just
Speaker :
Julian Agyeman Ph.D. FRSA FRGS is a Professor in the Department Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, a Secondary Professor at The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and is the Fletcher Professor of Rhetoric and Debate, an endowed professorship at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA.

Antiwar Memorial Day Observance
2026-05-25 12:30 - 15:00 | Boston Common, near Park Street Station, Park St and Tremont St, Boston, MA, 02108, United States
Smedley Butler Veterans for Peace (VFP), About Face Veterans Against War, Mass Peace Action, National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and Military Families Speak Out (MFS0) will have a MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE ON MONDAY 5/25/26 AT 1PM... Meet up at Boston Common Park St station, Boston Mass to start the Memorial March.

The Memorial March through the Boston Common to MA Memorial Flag Park at Soldier & Sailor Hill and to the NEW About Face /MFSO/NIAC Display at Boston Common. The display, EYES WIDE OPEN, will honor Iranian children killed in the initial US/ISRAEL school strike at Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, southern Iran.

Bring your VFP flags, banners & posters. All are welcome. Please pass this on.

Emergency Rally for Cuba
2026-05-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Park St Station, Park & Tremont Streets, Boston
Emergency: The Trump administration has just indicted Raul Castro and five other Cubans – possibly a move leading to another military operation to kidnap them, following in the steps of the Maduro Abduction in Venezuela. And the danger of all out military action against Cuba hangs over the heads of the Cuban People.
Sign up to let us know you’ll be there — or to register your organization as a cosponsor.
Download and Print our Stop Trump’s Threats against Cuba pamphlet
Initiated by MAPA, cosponsored by July 26 Coalition. Cosponsors list in formation
