Our History

City at Peace was established in 1994 in Washington, D.C., in response to the increasing segregation, racial hatred and violence engulfing youth, and declining opportunities for teens to build community across racial and cultural divisions. Response was so extraordinary that the program was featured on Nightline with Ted Koppel and became the subject of a full-length HBO documentary titled city at peace. Callers from around the country inundated the offices, hoping to initiate programs in their own communities.

With overwhelming demand for the program growing, City at Peace convened a team of national leaders to take part in a strategic planning process to determine how to best assist these communities. The outcome was Cities at Peace, Inc. (dba City at Peace-National). To date, over 2,000 youth have participated in City at Peace. Together, they have created 40 original musicals witnessed by over 100,000 live audience.

City at Peace-National now has a central office in New York City, and active programs in New York City, Los Angeles (CA), Washington, D.C., Santa Barbara (CA), Charlotte (NC), and Baton Rouge (LA). The organization also works in partnership with the Israel Association of Community Centers to conduct 19 City at Peace programs involving nearly 600 youth in 10 communities in Israel and in Cape Town, South Africa.

CP-NY was launched in New York City as an autonomous site of City at Peace-National in April 2001 through the initiative of a local network of more than 40 concerned parents, educators, artists, celebrities, business professionals, and community organizers.