Liberty Tree | Journal of the Democratic Revolution

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., is a minister, community activist, and as President of the Hip Hop Caucus is one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life. As an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Rev. Yearwood has become an important figure in the peace movement as an outspoken critic of the occupation of Iraq.

Ms. George Friday is a Liberty Tree Local Democracy Program Director. She is a former co-chair of United for Peace & Justice.

Friday: In your own words, the Reverend Lennox Yearwood is “just a freedom fighter.” Why a “fighter”, that’s an odd way for a peace activist to define himself?

Yearwood: Our circumstances; just the situation and struggle, it’s a battle and that makes me a freedom fighter.

And the peace activist in you?

I know that in doing this work it’s important to maintain a loving and humble spirit. I hope I reflect that. The battle is organized money versus organized people. I’m on the side of organized people so let the battle begin.

That’s right! I also know that in October you and other leaders shook up Capitol Hill during the No War-No Warming protest. How do actions like these help us win the battle?

The first few days of No War/No Warming were great but we must find ways to sustain the presence and pressure. Increased resistance is good, so we have to keep that peak of resistance strong. We knew after this president’s first term that he was addicted to war. Now this congress is co-dependent; doing nothing, so we must . . . change the structure . . . change the people in congress . . . win legislation that says that no one profits from war. We have to remove profit from exploiting our communities. Cap the billionaires from war, the billionaires from prisons, the creation of wealth at the expense of people must stop. Ruthless creation of profit without accountability is dehumanizing. As the old saying goes, “people not profits”.

Public opinion shows agreement with your thoughts, when do you think this opinion will result in change?

There is public outcry, but that does not mean we have the political will needed. Until you change political will you won’t change anything. I’d rather have 99% political will and 1% public opinion, if Congress acts on that will. So how do we change both? That’s what we need; not just street theater but suite theater.

Okay, so let’s say we have this political will, what now?

First get money out of war, and organize people so they know what we have to gain in bringing the dollars that go to war to the many issues in need of change, not just war and not as a segregated movement.

The progressive movement as a segregated movement will not stop the war. Right now, while we say these issues are all connected to justice our protests for change are segregated with white people working against the war, brown people working on immigration and black people working on prisons. We must link these in a process so people understand what 2 billion a week looks like. So instead of killing 100 Iraqis a week how might this money be used? How can all the money going to war be directed to community change? 2 billion weekly makes a big difference quickly.

Sounds good. Tell me Rev, what needs to happen to get us there?

Change the structure — we have no choice. In 2006 all those voters had a silent revolution but the new congress has fallen down, they’re co-dependent. This was the clearest mandate to Congress ever, which they ignored, so change the electoral process. I believe in the process, in democracy. If we lose faith in democracy — it‘s over! Then there’s no need to democratize defense.

You can’t blog a revolution. We’ve missed the ball on this. Our good work to change public opinion worked but we did not work to increase political will. We need more than just email blasts. We have to put our bodies at risk to change political will.   There are soldiers who are coming out and saying that war is illegal. That’s needed, courageous and helpful. Make it clear - don’t go back for a 2nd or 3rd term.   After the 1st time you know how bad it is, you know so don’t go back.

We also have to keep counter recruitment strong.   And help people remember that being elected doesn’t mean Bush is right. Hitler was elected. He made laws so what he did was legal! Being elected doesn’t mean you have to go along.   You must do something or you are complicit.”

This feels far off. Can you describe this transformed American country, this changed culture and possible future where we’ve learned our lessons?

There’s been a history of fighting against imperialism. So children can look back on slavery without feeling the affects of the shackles of slavery like many of our generation do. Children could study it; look back upon it knowing we learned from those lessons.

They would know that yes, we had nuclear weapons but we learned our lesson from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we learned lessons from dropping bombs and now this is a world where people are healthy and at their highest intellectual abilities.

This generation of children would be looked upon as the dream generation, the beloved community. When all of us with different resources live together in society where peace reigns. This is not just a dream, this can happen, it is a vision for this country that can happen.

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