Dear Reader,
I’m writing to share some amazing news with you! Beyond the Bomb is joining forces with Global Zero to move forward as a single, unified organization, elevating the fight to abolish nuclear weapons.
Four years ago, after years of advocacy in other movements, I joined Beyond the Bomb as Executive Director. From the start, we were determined to be a place for strategic, campaign-centered, people-powered organizing to abolish nuclear weapons. We were oriented around cutting through jargon and opening the door for people to engage on such a critical issue. We built a team that I am immensely proud of and did work in changing the face of nuclear weapons advocacy in ways I could not have imagined.
A few months into the pandemic, as the landscape of politics and advocacy began to fundamentally change, we saw an opportunity to transform not only how Beyond the Bomb took on its advocacy work, but also how organizations like ours show up in halls of power, on the streets, and with other movements. Together with Global Zero’s CEO Derek Johnson, we began to investigate the idea of consolidating organizations in earnest. We saw an opportunity not just to merge our organizations, but to take all our incredible building blocks and dream up something powerful and new.
What we designed, and have been testing over the last six months, is a bold new model for building power and influencing policy. With a foundation built on operationalizing imagination, empathy, courage, trust, and justice, we orient our work around what we want to achieve: abolition of nuclear weapons, restorative justice for those impacted by these horrific weapons, a culture shift in the way nuclear deterrence is viewed, and a movement to drive all of these changes. We are integrated — grassroots organizers, communicators, policy experts, and more all coming together to bring our unique skills to the table as we work for a better world.
In our new model, strategy and values go hand-in-hand, and we are delighted to share that this new way of working is already producing some powerful results. I’m thrilled to announce that after a period of piloting and testing, we are moving forward in this way formally. That means while the Beyond the Bomb brand will be retired, the spirit of our work and our intersectional, justice-centered approach to this issue will be deeply embedded into Global Zero’s mission and operations going forward. And you, members of the BombSquad, will continue to play a critical role in the success of our movement.
Thank you for all that you’ve contributed to Beyond the Bomb and for helping us feel confident taking this incredible step in a bold new direction. We are in this together and hope you’ll continue the fight with us. Your support is more important than ever.
With gratitude from all of us at Beyond the Bomb,
Cecili Thompson Williams,
Senior Partner for Strategy + Innovation, Global Zero
P.S. Want to know more about what this new Global Zero looks like? Go check out our staff page, where you’ll see all of us from Beyond the Bomb plus some awesome new additions!