The Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice awarded Anncha Briggs the Peace Activist of the Year and decARcerate as the Peace Partner of the Year on Saturday. Briggs is a member of the Women's Action for New Directions, a nonprofit organization dedicated to peace and security, working on initiatives such as nuclear nonproliferation and advocating for a federal budget that promotes diplomacy. "She has brought those same convictions to our annual Peace Week events in central Arkansas over the years," the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice stated in its award to Briggs, who is in the design and art consultation profession. "This past year she anticipated, with others, the promise of championing the creative and educational arts and sciences for school-age children." She helped organized the "Knitting for Peace -- Knitting, Crocheting, Felting and Weaving for Peace in Time of Pandemic" event. An exhibit, which will be open for viewing from April 23-30, will be displayed at New Deal Studio and Gallery, 2003 S. Louisiana St., Little Rock during that week. The decARcerate organization is a statewide nonprofit group that works to end mass incarceration in Arkansas. It does such work through education, public policy, grassroots organizing and advocacy programs aimed at helping people become effective leaders. For the past few years, the organization has emphasized work to end solitary confinement and supporting people with covid-19, the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice said in its award to the group. The awards were announced during the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice "Spring Gathering" on Saturday at Allsopp Park in Little Rock. A panel discussed the upsurge in violence in the Little Rock area, with a focus on programs aimed at reducing or preventing violence. The Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice is an association of individuals and organizations who seek to promote peaceful and just relationships between individuals, communities, organizations, governing bodies and the environment through education, dialogue and action. The organization is committed to a culture of peace and building a country where domestic policies are sound and just, and the world at large is treated with respect and dignity.
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