Community leaders Bob and Jane Estes received the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice 2017 Peace Activist of the Year award Saturday night.
The couple were recognized at the coalition's annual meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church in west Little Rock for helping to organize the annual Arkansas Peace Week event, leading grass-roots political organizing, and participating in groups such as the Women's Action for New Direction and the Arkansas Homeless Coalition.
The Esteses have also spent 12 years on the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice board, including service as officers of the organization.
The 2017 award marked the first time a couple has been recognized. Past recipients include Sophia Said, Robert Johnston, the Rev. Stephen Copley, Neal Sealy and the Rev. Benny Johnson.
The Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice is a nonprofit association of individuals and organizations focusing on three areas: peace and nonviolence, social justice, and ecology. The coalition sponsors public forums and lectures, movie screenings, and art exhibits and helps sponsor other peace and justice-related events, such as Arkansas Peace Week in September and a series of anti-racist training sessions from the Catalyst Project.
Andrea Hogan-Lewis of the Save Our Schools Campaign was the keynote speaker. The Save Our Schools organization is trying to persuade policymakers to return the Little Rock School District -- now under state control -- to resident control.
Metro on 02/14/2017