Close the SOA! This weekend: Converge on Fort Benning, Georgia

People from all walks of life from across the Western Hemisphere have begun to converge in Columbus, Georgia for the November vigil and nonviolent direct action to close the School of the Americas and to change the racist system of violence and repression that the school represents.

Civil rights veterans and other social justice activists who have been walking since November 12 in an historic march from Montgomery, Alabama to Columbus, Georgia, are expected to arrive here tomorrow to join the thousands who will converge at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia. Together, we will stand in solidarity with the people in Oaxaca, Mexico, and with all the people throughout the world who have become the targets of SOA-style repression, torture and injustice. Simultaneous internationally coordinated actions against the School of the Americas and U.S. militarism in Latin America are taking place over the next three days in Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, El Salvador and Colombia.

Visit the SOA Watch webpage at www.SOAW.org for frequent updates from the events.

Help make this weekend a success! Please donate to support the convergence and the Campaign to close the SOA: Click here

The November Vigil has grown into a massive convergence and organizing space with close to 100 side events including nonviolence trainings, a labor caucus, regional organizing meetings, counter-recruitment workshops, teach-ins with activists from Latin America and with farm workers from Florida, puppet shows, film screenings and more.

For a complete Schedule of Events, click here

In the News: Read Patrick Mulvaney's article Dismay Grows Over US Torture School that talks about the annual protest, the growing international movement to reject US military policy and the Bush Administration's decision to increase training and aid for the militaries of Latin America so as to reverse the region's leftward swing. Click here to read the article.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.


November 16, 2006: We remember 14 year old Celina Ramos, her mother Elba and six Catholic priests, professors of the University of Central America, who were murdered 27 years ago in El Salvador. Presente!

If you haven’t made your travel plans yet, it’s not too late! Gather your friends to drive to Columbus, Georgia or check out the ride board on the SOA Watch webpage.

Plan to bring...

Please bring banners, crosses, Stars of David and other commemorative symbols for the funeral procession. On Sunday, as the funeral procession ends, we will transition into a celebration of life. Bring flowers of all kinds – fresh, plastic, paper, clot – and trumpets, drums, and conch shells for this ritual of life and resistance.

If you plan to cross the line onto Fort Benning, plan to bring $1,000 for bail money, and plan to attend the direct action preparation sessions in the convention center on Friday and Saturday nights.

During the funeral procession, there will be a space for non-arrestable actions in the center of the street for groups to reenact massacres and to create commemorative vignettes. If your group would like to be a part of one of these vignettes, please plan to attend the direct action session.

Accessibility & Interpretation

Braille programs, a wheelchair access area and sign-language and simultaneous interpretation into Spanish will be available on Saturday & Sunday at and near the stage.