Maryland United for Peace and Justice will hold its 21st annual conference this weekend at Seton Keough High School in Catonsville.
The schedule opens tonight with a 6:30 p.m. potluck dinner at Christ the King Episcopal Church on Brookdale Road and an informal networking and preparation gathering afterward.
About 150 activists from Maryland are expected to attend, and late registration is still available in person, organizers said.
A 7:30 a.m. breakfast kicks off a full Saturday of discussions and workshops of traditional, topical and new concerns and strategies for the Maryland progressive community.
“It?s a time for people from all over the state, who sometimes don?t see each other often during the year, to get up to date on issues and network,” said Tony Langbehn, a Baltimore native and one of the organization?s founders.
The title of this year?s conference, “Creating a Culture of Peace,” also was the theme of the group?s annual Fred Benjamin Peace Awards. Five scholarships will be presented by the conference Saturday to area high school students who won essay, art and poster competitions highlighting the message of peace this year.
Some of the topics and workshop leaders this year include 27-year CIA officer and author Ray McGovern, who will discuss intelligence and the antiwar movement among veteran intelligence professionals; John Judge, who will talk about the counter-recruiting effort in Maryland; and Bill Jenkins from the Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowshop, who with others will address the efforts of those working in the spiritual progressive community.
