The origin story of Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) is widely known - the Encirclement of Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in October 1983, its commitment to nonviolent action and its belief in "egalitarian social, economic, political and environmental structures where all people are empowered to participate directly in decisions that affect their lives."
All these years later, the Boulder nonprofit thrives with the generous commitment of its supporters. If your heart pounds to restore and protect Earth and human rights, build community, educate, organize, and act in service of a more just and peaceful society, you'll find in RMPJC a real community.
"At many public events over the past several months, we have found incredible energy, people signing up to join our organization, and a lot of interest in our work," says development director Jen Shriver. "Our biggest challenge is to strengthen our organization and our movement, to create a world abundantly full of peace and justice."
Currently, RMPJC's three primary focus areas are anti-nuclear, free Palestine and nonviolence education and the intersectionality of these issues.
* Anti-nuclear: "We practice the principles of Nuclear Guardianship founded by eco-philospher Joanna Macy. These principles are a guiding structure for humanity to live with and take responsible action in the face of the unfathomable timescales of nuclear waste. Nuclear weapons and nuclear energy are both intricately connected technologies and must be treated currently as part of the same paradigm of weapons of mass destruction. Despite all the greenwashing being promoted by the nuclear energy industry, one must not ignore the fact that it is occurring at the same time as a new nuclear arms race. We work to bridge more communities around responsible action to prevent nuclear war and prevent further environmental degradation through extractive industries like nuclear energy," said Chris Allred, administrator
* Free Palestine: "We hold strongly the belief that none of us are free until all of us are free. We believe that our liberation is bound up in frontline fights for liberation around the world; as the same corporate, political, financial, and military forces that are working globally to oppress frontline communities are working to oppress our communities here at home. Palantir, the company that supplies AI technology that the IDF uses to create 'kill lists' of Palestinians in Gaza, is headquartered in Denver. In 2024, a bar code found on a component of a bomb dropped on Gaza was traced to a Woodward facility headquartered in Fort Collins. Google and Lockheed Martin, which both have major facilities in Boulder, have been directly linked to aiding and abetting the genocide in Gaza. Furthermore, many of our cities, including Boulder, invest in companies such as Microsoft and Caterpillar, which have been tied to war crimes against Palestinians. Each year, over $360 million of our Colorado tax dollars are used to fund Israel's weapons and military, while far too many people in our own communities are deprived of housing, food, education, and healthcare. We work closely with many Palestinian members of our community who are experiencing mental and emotional agony watching their friends and families subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing," said Giselle Herzfeld, campaign coordinator
* Nonviolence education: "Nonviolence is not to be mistaken with passivism because there is nothing passive about nonviolence. It is an active force that confronts sources of violence through creative action and love. We offer many different trainings in the field of nonviolence education for people to continue to hone their skills and knowledge," said Chris Allred
"We seek to empower our fellow community members to act for the betterment of our world. Therefore, we offer nonviolent direct action trainings to give people the confidence, tools and resources to draw from when planning and preparing to act. Time and again, we have seen these trainings motivate and energize people to stand up and engage with the issues they feel passionately about, and we have seen the ripple effect this collective empowerment has on communities," said Giselle Herzfeld
How do these three areas intersect? RMPJC works to "solve the interconnected problems of war, climate chaos, racial injustice, exploitation of immigrants, and the expensive and harmful errors of nuclear power and weapons," Shriver says. "We need housing, health care, and bike lanes, and we need true solutions to our conflicts, instead of wars that just add more harm to people and the earth."
Chris Allred: "Intersectionality is among our highest priorities in movement building. Each year, we learn by experience how every struggle for justice is interconnected. We are living under a system of structural violence in need of serious reconciliation and intervention. The only way to achieve this is by building our grassroots power through intersectionality.
By working together on campaigns, educational events, and building community, we recognize our shared struggle for liberation and harmony with the Earth."
"Certainly we are moved by a love of justice, a love of the earth and humanity. We invite everyone to jump on the peace train," said Jen Shriver
"We are being called to not shy away from the intensity of emotions that arise when we think about the problems our global community is facing. First, we must hold and honor our anger, our grief, our pain. These emotions arise because of the deep love we feel for the world around us. From here we have two choices: succumb to hopelessness and despair and fall into inaction, or lean into the passionate love we feel for the world around us, and use our passions as fuel for activism and tools for change," said Giselle Herzfeld
RMPJC would love for you to join its work. Sign up to receive a newsletter and get involved at RMPJC.org or follow on Instagram at @rmpjc.boulder. Help keep the movement thriving by making a donation to support its work. Colorado Gives Day is December 9, and you can maximize your impact by becoming a monthly sustainer: coloradogives.org/organization/RockyMountainPeaceandJusticeCenter.