Bikes Not Bombs Publishes Open Letter on Name

The name on top of the 28-year-old Jamaica Plain non-profit organization that sends bicycles to communities around the world as a symbol of peace and unity has come into focus following the Boston Marathon bombings.

Bikes Not Bombs Executive Director Jodi Sugarman-Brozan wrote an open letterTuesday expressing sadness in the aftermath of the bombings, which left three dead and over 180 injured. In her letter, she pointed to the reason for the name, and why it has stood since the organization’s inception in 1984.

“On some level,” she writes, “the bombs we disarm through our work are symbolic. Toxic environmental conditions, street violence, roadblocks to education and employment; young people in Boston and our international partners face these realities every day. We believe that bikes can transform their lives. But the reality is that the violence and war that prompted our founder, Carl Kurz, to launch Bikes Not Bombs 28 years ago persist today and our vision of a more peaceful and just world is more relevant than ever.”

Below Sugarman-Broznan’s letter is a letter penned by Kurz in 2002 which helps to define the mission statement of the organization with locations at Bartlett Square and Amory Street.

“We have kept the name ‘Bikes Not Bombs’ for many reasons,” Kurz writes. “While our work has branched out in numerous directions, it is the name with which the organization was born, and by which it is known – to anti-war activists, environmentalists, transportation advocates, cyclists, and youth alike. Sometimes what we do tangibly acts against militarism, and sometimes it doesn’t. We continue, however, to have an anti-war as well as an environmental mission. The "not bombs" reminds us of that, which is more important now than ever.”