Nebraskans for Peace is a left-of-center social advocacy organization that has historically opposed all American military efforts since the Vietnam War. Nebraskans for Peace organizes campaigns through a network of affiliated local chapters, some of which are located on college campuses. More recently, it has aligned itself in support of anti-Israel, anti-conventional energy, and pro-LGBT causes in Nebraska. ¹

History

Nebraskans for Peace was founded in 1970 out of the existing activist network of an earlier organization, Rural Nebraskans for Peace, that protested American involvement in the Vietnam War. ²

Given the popularity of the anti-war movement on college campuses, Nebraskans for Peace found early support among students. Most notably, in the aftermath of the shootings on the Jackson State and Kent State college campuses, students affiliated with Nebraskans for Peace organized a large anti-war protest on the University of Nebraska, Lincoln’s campus. ³

After America ended its involvement in the Vietnam War, Nebraskans for Peace expanded its pacifist platform to include protesting against nuclear proliferation. The organization critiqued the arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States but became more active in its condemnation of American foreign policy after the election of President Ronald Reagan. Nebraskans for Peace actively opposed the Reagan administration’s placement of nuclear missiles in Nebraska and cooperated to protest the move with Nebraska Freeze, an anti-nuclear proliferation group that later merged into Nebraskans for Peace. ⁴

Prior to the country’s collapse, Nebraskans for Peace also frequently sponsored activist trips to the Soviet Union. ⁵

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Nebraskans for Peace has remained consistent in its condemnation of military involvement abroad, especially regarding the “war on terror.” The Obama administration faced criticism from Nebraskans for Peace, which labeled the administration “reprehensible” and “disturbing” for its foreign policy practices. ⁶

Aside from pacificism, Nebraskans for Peace adopted and began advocating for left-of-center policy proposals such as government-controlled health care and increases to the minimum wage as early as the 1990s. ⁷ As of late, supporting environmentalist policy and LGBT advocacy have also taken a central role for the organization. ⁸

Present Activities

Nebraskans for Peace publishes a bimonthly digital and print newsletter entitled the Nebraska Report. The November/December 2019 edition’s front-page article advertises “Nebraskans for Peace’s ‘50th Anniversary Vision Statement for the Future,” which calls for a reduction in meat consumption to allegedly reduce climate change. ⁹

The group also hosts an annual conference. 2019’s Annual Conference featured two keynote speakers, who spoke on nuclear disarmament and anti-Israel issues, respectively. ¹⁰

Though the Nebraskans for Peace website lists 10 chapters, it may not be up to date. The University of Nebraska, Omaha and University of Nebraska, Lincoln chapter descriptions feature summaries of their activities from 2010, and they have not detailed any activity since. ¹¹

Leadership

The current president of Nebraskans for Peace is Ron Todd-Meyer. He is a retired farmer and member of the Nebraska Food Council Steering Committee. ¹²

Finances

Nebraskans for Peace is funded entirely by its sister nonprofit, the Nebraska Peace Foundation. The Nebraska Peace Foundation’s most recent publicly available tax filings from 2017 show total revenues of $103,676 and total expenses of $93,956. ¹³

1. Todd-Meyer, Ron. “2020… Taking a Stand for Hope.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/taking_stand_for_hope.
2. “History.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/history.
3. Stamm, A. (2008). Student Power on the Prairie: UNL in the Sixties. Retrieved January 2, 2020, from http://unlhistory.unl.edu/xslt/xslt.php?&_xmlsrc=http://unlhistory.unl.edu/legacy/unl.00025/unl.00025.xml&_xslsrc=http://unlhistory.unl.edu/xslt/unlhistory.xsl. ; “History.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/history.
4. Nebraska Freeze (Neb.) [RG5225.AM]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2020, from https://history.nebraska.gov/collections/nebraska-freeze-neb-rg5225am. ; “History.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/history.
5. “History.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/history.
6. Rinne, Tim. “Don’t Let Congress Fund More War.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/dont-let-congress-fund-war.
7. “History.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/history.
8. “Priorities.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 2, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/priorities.
9. “The Latest Nebraska Report.” Nebraskans For Peace, 2019. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/nebraska-report.
10. “Annual Peace Conference.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 3, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/annual_peace_conference.
11. “Chapters.” Nebraskans For Peace. Accessed January 3, 2020. http://nebraskansforpeace.org/chapters.
12. Todd-Meyer, Ron. “Nebraska Lawmakers Could Create Markets for Homegrown Food.” Center for Rural Affairs, April 4, 2019. https://www.cfra.org/news/190404/nebraska-lawmakers-could-create-markets-homegrown-food.
13. “Nebraska Peace Foundation 990s.” guidestar.org. Accessed January 3, 2020. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/36-3347131.