Statement from 8th Day Center for Justice in removing our endorsement of October 27

The 8th Day Center for Justice asks that our name be removed as an endorser of the October 27 rally to end the war in Iraq. We respect all of the groups who have endorsed the October 27 Rally to End the War in Iraq and we support the call to bring our troops home now. We certainly agree that tens of thousands of people need to take to the streets to call for an end to the invasions and the massacres done in our name.

Our concern is in the list of invited speakers. We cannot endorse a rally in which the organizers invite the following speakers:
• Mayor Daley who called for the arrests of over 800 activists on the night of the invasion in 2003 (including members of 8th Day), was Cook County States Attorney during the time when Jon Burge and other members of the District 2 Police were torturing confessions out of African American men, and has allowed for the militarization of some of the Chicago Public Schools;
• Senator Richard Durbin who just on October 1 voted an additional $150 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and voted for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment declaring the Iranian army a terrorist group and opening the possibility of an attack on Iran;
• and Senator Barack Obama has not been present to vote against the Kyl-Lieberman amendment or vote against funding the wars.
• We also note a huge gender disparity among those invited to speak. So far there are three women on the entire list. Although the list is not yet finalized, this does not bode well for a sense of overall justice as to who will be speaking.

The 8th Day Center for Justice has a mission that states “Impelled by the belief that all creation is sacred and inter-related; imbued with the principles of nonviolence, mutuality and cooperation, 8th Day Center for Justice, a coalition of Catholic, religious congregations, commits to act as a critical alternative voice to oppressive systems and work actively to change those systems.” In acting as a critical alternative voice, we cannot endorse those who are promoting oppressive systems being speakers in our name.

We are open to political dialogue with you in the future and will not try to impede any individual from attending the event. We merely ask that our name be removed from your website and any further publicity that has not yet been printed.

Together in the Struggle,
The staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice