GVCP History

A Rich History of Activism in the Genesee Valley

Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace was formed in May 1972, to help bring an end to the war in Vietnam. Since then, we have worked for amnesty for war resisters, for nuclear disarmament (with particular emphasis on Seneca Army Depot) and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and for a change in national priorities to emphasize human needs rather than military spending. We have protested U.S. intervention in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba, and Guatemala. We have demonstrated in local shopping areas against war toys and at local post offices against the draft registration. We helped defeat the establishment of an ROTC program on the SUNY Geneseo campus.

GVCP members participated in peace rallies and demonstrations in Washington D.C., New York City, Seneca Army Depot, Rochester, Syracuse, Harrisburg, Griffiss Air Force Base, Valley Forge, and Niagara Falls, Ontario. We have organized local peace walks and vigils in Avon, Batavia, Geneseo, Henrietta, LeRoy, Lima, Livonia, Mt. Morris, Pavilion, Warsaw, and Wayland. We were a part of the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice in 1976 and the Great Peace March in 1987.

We are proud to be a chapter of Peace Action New York State, and to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our sister group on the SUNY Geneseo Campus, Geneseo Peace Action.

Our activities include an annual vigil to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, and an annual vigil to urge parents not to buy war toys for children during the winter holidays.

GVCP holds monthly meetings in Geneseo. These meetings may be on Saturday or Sunday, usually at 1:00 PM for lunch, and 1:30 PM for the meeting. We have always been a friendly, welcoming group. Please feel free to join us at our next meeting.