Letter given to Store Managers:
United for Peace and Justice-Delaware Valley Network (UFPJ-DVN)
c/o Coalition for Peace Action
40 Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ 08542
(609) 924-5022
cfpa@peacecoalition.org
www.peacecoalition.org
November 2009
Dear Store Manager in the Franklin Mills Mall,
I am writing on behalf of United for Peace and Justice-Delaware Valley Network. We are a regional network of over 90 organizations that are collaborating and networking on peace and justice projects in the Delaware Valley Region.
You may be aware that starting this spring, we began a Campaign seeking to close the Army Experience Center (AEC), which is located in the Mall. We feel deeply, as a matter of conscience and decency, that it is wrong and immoral to entice children as young as 13 by glamorizing war and violence, as is done in the AEC.
To date, our protests have consisted of Vigils outside the Mall, and a few larger Marches and Rallies that have started elsewhere and ended up in front of the AEC. While the Army has announced that it is dropping plans to export the AEC nationally, it is still operating the one at Franklin Mills Mall at this time.
We have contacted the Mall owners to express our deeply felt opposition to this recruiting effort that includes allowing young children to hold weapons, enter Humvees and other military vehicles, and play violent video games that target racial minorities. To date, we have received no response to our letter.
We are therefore approaching you to seek your help in urging the Mall owners to cancel the lease of the AEC and evict them. We feel it is not only immoral, but bad for business for you as the manager of another store in the Mall, to allow them to remain. We urge you to contact the Mall owners to strongly register your opposition to allowing the AEC to remain in Franklin Mills Mall.
We are beginning a Campaign urging shoppers to refrain from shopping in stores in Franklin Mills Mall until the AEC is no longer there. We are inviting shoppers to sign the pledge on the reverse of this letter. We have no intention of hurting your business, but as a matter of conscience are urging shoppers to use their power as consumers to press the Franklin Mills Mall to evict the AEC.
We want to be open about what we are attempting, and would welcome your support for this effort.
Sincerely, on behalf of UFPJ-DVN,
The Rev. Robert Moore (609) 924-5022 Work; (609) 924-1206 Home; (609) 937-6931 Cell
Bill Deckhart and Cathy Leary (215) 380-6804
Robert M. Smith (610) 544-1818 work; (484) 574-1148 cell