Important Talk to Discuss the Themes of War in Ukraine
By: Hope O’Shaughnessy
Medea Benjamin, who co-authored with Nicolas J.S. Davies, the new book, War in the
Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict (OR Books) will speak tomorrow. She
will be joined by Rev. Karlene Griffiths Sekou on Weds. October 5, 2022, at 7 p.m. The
talk will take place at the Lothrop Auditorium at the Community Church of Boston, 565
Boylston Street, Boston. Attendees can also join by
on Zoom or YouTube. The talk is sponsored by the Community Church of Boston and
Mass Peace Action.
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Paris
Forum website, Rev. Karlene Griffiths Sekou is an international public health
professional, speaker, preacher, culture worker, and community organizer. For over
twenty-years, she has situated her work within the realms of international human rights
and de-colonial and anti-colonial cultural regeneration and is the Founder and Principal
of the Dignity Project International, according to the ICAN site.
The OR Books website illustrates this new book as an essential primer, which is a call to
action to look at the war in Ukraine from a different perspective. According to the
publisher’s website for the new book, the authors serve to “Skillfully bringing together
the historical record and current analysis, War in Ukraine looks at the events leading up
to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation
and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily
propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that
could prove cataclysmic, reading this timely book will be an urgent necessity.”
In addition, Noam Chomsky gave this assessment of the book on the OR Books website:
“This careful, informed, judicious study is an invaluable guide to understanding Russia’s
criminal invasion of Ukraine, and most crucially, how we can act to help bring this
terrible tragedy to an end.”
Medea Benjamin and Reverend Karlene Griffiths Sekou are leading thinkers and
speakers in the field of peacemaking. Benjamin is an American political activist, best
known for being a co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the co-
founder of the human rights group Global Exchange, according to the CODEPINK
website. Medea is also the author of several books including Inside Iran: The Real
History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran (OR Books). According to
Wikipedia, she has received several awards for her work including the U.S. Peace
Prize in 2012 “in recognition of her creative leadership on the front lines of the antiwar
movement.” In 2014, she received the Gandhi Peace Award from Promoting Enduring
Peace “to honor her for her unyielding advocacy for social justice of more than 30
years.” Her newest book may be purchased at: https://www.orbooks.com/
