Vietnam Era Anti-War Group Is Revived

Classic poster appears again

   Ironies abound now.
   In 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, television writer-producer Barbara Avedon invited 15 women to her house to take a stand against the conflict raging in Southeast Asia.
   The result was Another Mother for Peace (AMP). The organization’s logo, a sunflower with the words, “War Is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things,” created by Los Angeles artist Lorraine Schneider, became an instant classic.
   Thirty-six years later, concerned about the potential human costs of America’s war on terror and spurred on by friends and people who remembered the work of AMP, Joshua Avedon, Barbara Avedon’s son, and Carol Schneider, Lorraine Schneider’s daughter, began to consider — separately — how to go about reviving AMP.
   Joshua Avedon, who lives in Venice, said, “I first was motivated to do something in the wake of 9/11 and before the Afghan war. I was concerned that in our rage to avenge the deaths of our innocent citizens, we would bomb the hell out of Afghanistan, killing thousands of theirs. At the same time, people began contacting me via email and phone asking about whether anyone had given thought to reviving AMP in response to the rampant militarism of the Bush administration. Most folks just wanted to get hold of posters, stickers and medallions with the logo. I created an online store at cafepress.com to make the stuff available and within five months had sold over $2,500 in merchandise at cost plus one penny per item. The intent was to let the message find its way back into the public consciousness and respond to the flood of requests.
   “Simultaneously, across town Carol Schneider and her sisters were experiencing a similar phenomenon of people reaching out to them, wanting to know if AMP would come back and asking about the Peace Materials. They got together with Gerta Katz (AMP’s original Art Director) who had guarded and renewed the trademark on the art for the past two decades, and began the legal process of reincorporating.”
   According to Avedon, “As more and more people visited the site and bought stuff, I figured it was time to take the next step. I called Carol to tell her what I was thinking and she told me about her own efforts. At that point we joined forces.
   “Carol and her husband Bill Donnelly’s leadership and generosity are what really allowed AMP to become a reality again. Most of the founders are no longer around, so the torch has been passed to the next generation.”
   Carol Schneider and Donnelly, who teaches at UCLA, are both clinical social workers, and she said his organizational skills were instrumental in getting AMP up on its feet again.
   Avedon said, “AMP’s first new Peace Homework assignment followed the trail blazed by the original group — a Mother’s day card to be sent to elected officials urging peace (anothermother.org/mothersdaycard67.html). We sold hundreds of cards and began an email list that is still growing … the medallions are now available again and we’re creating new Peace Materials and Peace Homework as we gain momentum.
   “Another Mother for Peace published its first newsletter in August of 1967 and the group soon attracted the support of some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Donna Reed, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Dick Van Dyke were just a few of the stars who leveraged their celebrity to bring awareness to AMP.”
   Avedon noted, “My mother’s writing coupled with Lorraine’s graphic, the design work of Gerta Katz, the organizational skills of Dorothy B. Jones and the sweat equity of an army of volunteers are what allowed AMP to take off like a rocket from that small start in my parents’ living room.”
   Barbara Avedon, who died in 1994, wrote for many of the era’s leading television shows and co-created “Cagney and Lacy,” which had a long run on CBS and won a number of Emmys.
   Lorraine Schneider, the daughter of Russian immigrants, grew up in Boyle Heights, was schooled in non-violence and became an artist and print-maker. She created “Primer,” which was to become AMP’s logo, for an art competition. The original was four-by-four inches. Her husband and Avedon’s husband, both physicians, were friends.
   In an introduction to a book of Schneider’s art work, Avedon wrote, “On February 8, 1967, fifteen friends met at our house to discuss ‘doing something’ about the war in Vietnam. We wanted to do something that would communicate our horror and disgust to our elected representatives in one concerted action. We were not ‘bearded sandaled youths,’ ‘wild-eyed radicals’ or dyed in the wool ‘old line freedom fighters’ and we wanted the Congress to know that they were dealing with an awakening and enraged middle class — voters, precinct workers, contributors. We decided to send a Mother’s Day card to Washington. We would print and distribute one thousand — one thousand letters of protest that said in a very ladylike fashion:
   For my Mother’s Day gift of this year,
   I don’t want candy or flowers.
   I want an end to killing.
   We who have given life
   must be dedicated to preserving it.
   Please talk peace.
   “Lorraine had given our family an etching of ‘Primer’ some months prior to that meeting. Its eloquent, irrefutable, sunflower truth said it all for us. I called Lorraine and asked if we could use ‘Primer’ on the face of the card. She said, yes, and one thousand became two hundred thousand cards. And because of her genius Another Mother for Peace was born.”
   The book was Lorraine Art Schneider, 1925-1972, An Illustrated Catalogue of her Graphic Work
   Schneider died in 1972 at 47.
   As the 2004 election approaches, Another Mother for Peace will create new Peace Homework assignments and conduct a concerted campaign to “Make Peace a Priority” in the public debate.
   People who wish to learn more about AMP or order its materials, including the poster and medallions should visit its website: www.anothermother.org
   All proceeds are used to support its work.