The Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund is the educational arm of Massachusetts Peace Action, also known as Mass Peace Action, which is among dozens of state and local level affiliates of the left-of-center anti-war advocacy organization Peace Action. Peace Action was founded during the Cold War to oppose nuclear proliferation. ^{1 2}

Peace Action has dozens of affiliates at the state and local level throughout the United States. The Massachusetts organization is among its most active affiliates along with Peace Action New York State, Westchester Peace Action Committee (WESPAC), and New Hampshire Peace Action, many of which also have education funds that conduct similar work to the Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund. Massachusetts Peace Action and the Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund were involved in organizing and supporting high-profile anti-Israel student protests in 2024 at campuses throughout Massachusetts. Issues of priority for the group include calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling for drastic cuts to U.S. defense spending, and calling for a ban on nuclear weapons. ^{2 1 3 4}

Financials

Massachusetts Peace Action was granted tax-exempt status in 1986, making it among the oldest local affiliates of the national Peace Action organization. In 2006, the Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund was formed as an educational arm with charitable status, which allows it to accept tax-deductible contributions, while Massachusetts Peace Action is the group’s lobbying arm. Funding for the organization is distributed between the two arms of the organization with the education fund consistently generating more revenue than its counterpart. In 2022, the education fund raised $199,000 while Massachusetts Peace Action raised $109,000 in revenue. ^{5 6 7 8}

History

The national Peace Action organization was first formed in 1957 as the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, known as SANE. ⁹ SANE opposed U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, and in November 1965 organized the “largest antiwar demonstration up to that time.” SANE supported the presidential campaign of then-U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) in 1968, which centered around bringing an end to the Vietnam War. ⁹ SANE continued its activities throughout the twentieth century and in 1987 became Peace Action which it merged with the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, also known as FREEZE, an anti-nuclear testing group that was formed in 1979. SANE and FREEZE also had several local and state affiliates prior to the merger, including Massachusetts Peace Action. ⁹

Activities

The Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund operates a variety of programs for Massachusetts Peace Action network, although the group does not publicly delineate which programs each arm of the network respectively handles. ¹

Massachusetts Peace Action has a student internship program for college students and many of the group’s interns were organizers of controversial anti-Israel protests in 2024. Once such intern for the group elaborated on the use of masks among protestors to shield identities, and another stated that they were unconcerned about potential discipline for taking part in disruptive protests, explaining that “I feel like sometimes this is the kind of stuff that we have to give up in order to fight for what we believe in. And I’m thinking, if I don’t have my co-op, at least I [can] continue to raise my voice and fight for the people in Gaza.” ³

The group also remains opposed to nuclear proliferation, the original advocacy cause of the organization, and opposes military force that it contends could lead to nuclear war. Regarding the Russia-Ukraine War, the group released a statement opposing the use of long range NATO missiles in Russia, stating that “President Biden is under intense pressure from the United Kingdom, Ukrainian President Zelensky, his own State Department and much of the American press to lift present restrictions on the use of NATO long range missiles against targets deep inside Russia…[d]o we want to find out if Russia would follow through with such retaliation?…Thus far President Biden has fortunately refused to authorize such missile strikes. He needs the support of the American people to hold to that refusal.” ¹⁰

The group has also published far-left stances regarding racial topics, stating that “White supremacy and settler colonialism are entrenched in the US. Our criminal-legal system embodies racism, with high rates of incarceration for Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.” The group also lent its support to state legislation that would put a moratorium on the building of new jails and prisons. ¹¹

1. “About.” Massachusetts Peace Action. Accessed November 30, 2024. https://masspeaceaction.org/about/
2. “Peace Action.” Library of Congress Web Archive. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0002416/
3. Bustillos, Esteban. “‘This is too important’: Students share why they risk school discipline and relationships to encamp for Gaza.” WGBH. May 3, 2024. Accessed November 30, 2024. https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-05-03/this-is-too-important-students-share-why-they-risk-school-discipline-and-relationships-to-encamp-for-gaza
4. “Who We Are.” Peace Action. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.peaceaction.org/who-we-are/
5. “About the Fund.” Peace Action New York State. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.panys.org/the-fund
6. “About.” Peace Action New York State. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.panys.org/about
7. “Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund.” ProPublica. Accessed November 30, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43082045
8. “MassPeace Action.” ProPublica. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43082045
9. “History.” Peace Action. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.peaceaction.org/who-we-are/our-mission/history/
10. “OPINION: Choose Restraint, Avoid World War III.” Franklin Observer. September 30, 2024. Accessed November 30, 2024. https://franklinobserver.town.news/g/franklin-town-ma/n/274667/opinion-choose-restraint-avoid-world-war-iii
11. “Racial Justice/ Indigenous Solidarity.” Massachusetts Peace Action. Accessed November 30, 2024. https://masspeaceaction.org/our-issues/racial-justice-indigenous-solidarity/