I enlisted the help of several people to make valentines to take to Representative Henry Brown's office: The congregants at Unity Church of Charleston, the students of the Montessori School at Unity, and the residents of My Sister's House, a local shelter for women and children fleeing from domestic violence.

To help the students understand what we were asking them to do, I visited them at their school and we had a talk about what domestic violence is and what they think Peace is. There are six students in this elementary class, and they had questions prepared for me when I arrived. Their teacher tried to get them to say what they thought Peace was without using "not" statements. It was very difficult for them to say what Peace is instead of what it is not.

They had created valentines, and had stood out in the carpool line and asked parents to sign the valentines to support the bill. They were very excited about their role in this project, and were surprised that there were a few people who did not want to sign. We talked about "being the bill" and that if someone didn't want to sign, we were not going to judge them for it.

I took materials over to the office of My Sister's House to be delivered to the residents so they could make their valentines. I wish I could have spoken to them, but we were just beginning our friendship, and so that will hopefully come in the future. They did write notes to the Congressman on the back of their valentines, asking him to support HR 808 for their safety and the safety of their children. It was humbling to read what they wrote, and to know that it came directly from their hearts.

On that Valentine's Day, I picked up the six children from the Montessori school along with their teacher, and we went to Rep. Brown's office. The aides in the office were very nice, and welcomed us in. The children were shy about asking questions, but the teacher did ask what Rep. Brown thought he could do for the bill. Jonathon, his aide, said that it was in committee right now, and that Rep. Brown could not do much about that, as he was not on the committee himself. That's when I smiled and said, "But he could be the first Republican co-sponsor!" That got a smile from Jonathon, as well as the children.

They were kind enough to let us take a photo in Rep. Brown's office, with myself, their teacher, another adult who joined us, and Jonathon. The children were given books about the constitution and how a bill becomes a law. Before we left, the children wanted to sign the guest book. They each signed individually, and knew that Rep. Brown would know they were there when he returned from Washington.

When we returned to school, we were talking about our experience before I left. One of the children asked me if that did any good! I said absolutely, because even if Rep. Brown is not ready to sign on yet, he will know we were there and that we want him to sign on. We will go back at other times, and if we visit enough, he will know we are serious. It's not a quick fix, but if we continue to "be the Peace we want to see," then we will know that our voices will be heard.

Youth Speak for Peace.
Back row L to R: Alexandria Ravenel, Jonathon, Jack Bennett, Jeremiah Fox, Christopher Gowe, and Dee Partridge. Front row L to R: Jennifer Coyne, Ce Ce Fish, Coby Wilcox, and Dashiell Jay