Thomas Merton Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Peace activist group.

In 1972, in part to protest the Catholic Church's silence during the Vietnam War, the Thomas Merton Center (TMC) of Pittsburgh was established, affiliating itself with the International Thomas Merton Society. In these early years, the TMC, named after a trappist monk and peace advocate, not only voiced opposition to the Vietnam War, but was also active locally in many other issues. Primary among these was the desire to fight racism and end poverty. To this end, the TMC helped establish the Jubilee Soup Kitchen, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and the Pittsburgh Chapter of Amnesty International. During the following decade, the TMC increasingly worked toward raising awareness of the Nuclear Arms build-up and wars in Central America. Throughout the 1980s, the TMC protested corporations such as Rockwell, Westinghouse, and IBM (among others) for their relationship with the Department of Defense. The culmination of these efforts resulted in the River City Campaign, launched with the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. This campaign took aim at increased defense spending as the TMC along with community activists held protests, teach-ins, and conducted acts of civil disobedience. In the midst of these activities, the TMC was also vocal in their opposition to American involvement in Central American political affairs and domestic insurgencies. In their Sister City Campaign, the TMC organized a Witness for Peace Program that linked Pittsburgh and San Isidro, Nicaragua. In the 1990s, the TMC was active in protesting the first Gulf War and later the "Contract With America" legislation of 1994 and 1995. Also during this time, the Tri-State Conference on Steel and the Citizens Budget Campaigns worked in conjunction with the TMC to fight the loss of well-paid industrial jobs in the Pittsburgh region. In the 2000s, the TMC worked to abolish nuclear weapons, protested the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War and advocated for economic justice in the region. The Merton Center continues to publish its monthly newspaper The New People, a publication dedicated to addressing issues of war, poverty, racism and oppression around the world. The TMC remains active in pursuing issues that they deem central to peace and social justice, acting as a resource for other like-minded organizations throughout the region.