This statement was a collaborative creation by artists and activists for Not In Our Name in April 2002. In October 2002, approximately 5,000 people recited it together at a rally in Central Park, which was pretty cool. It has been recorded by Saul Williams, and his recordings have been mixed by DJ Spooky and Coldcut, which is also pretty cool. It is not copyrighted, as NION encourages its widespread distribution and use. There are also free mp3 downloads available at www.notinourname.net.
We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices
done by our government,
in our names
Not in our name
will you wage endless war
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions
of blood for oil
Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more children
letting history take its course
over the graves of the nameless
Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for
Not by our hands
will we supply weapons and funding
for the annihilation of families
on foreign soil
Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us
Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil
Not by our will
and Not in our name
We pledge resistance
We pledge alliance with those
who have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war
or for their religion or ethnicity
We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world
to bring about justice,
freedom and peace
Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real.