By including an event on our list we are not endorsing it, or implying that the event itself exemplifies peace and justice. As an antidote to the history that glorifies war and conflict is normally taught in schools, we are presenting a different history - one that illustrates humankind's struggle for peace and justice.

There are odd connections when you look at history as a series of dates. Sometimes they are deliberate. For example, on March 21, 1960, 69 people were killed in the Sharpeville massacre by South African police. Exactly six years later, the United Nations declared that terrible day would be commemorated as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Other convergences are clearly coincidental. On the 10th of April, 1516, the first ghetto was formed, when Jews are compelled to live in specific area of Venice. On that same day in 1945, US troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

Some events are neither peaceful, just nor worthy of commemoration - such as the day Samuel Colt patented the revolver, or the day that the US Supreme Court decided that teachers may spank their students. Peaceful and just people, however, can use these events as a basis for discussion, reflection or action on issues such as handgun violence and corporal punishment.

We are constantly adding - and sometimes subtracting - from our list. If you have comments or additions, please send them to suives@texas.net. The dates are maintained in an Excel spreadsheet: you can download a copy here. If you find a use for this work - or anything else on the peaceCENTER's web site, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Specific dates are just one way we reflect upon peace and justice history. Also on this website you will find an online edition of The Great Peace March, our timeline of peace and justie events. This format permits us to discuss events that cannot be pinned down to a specific date. We also have a biography section, Blessed are the Peacemakers, which describes the lives thirty-plus peacemakers.