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PEACE EVENTS THROUGHOUT REGION TO COMMEMORATE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI
by
Brandywine Peace Community | 07.27.2010
PEACE EVENTS THROUGHOUT REGION TO COMMEMORATE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI...solemnly and dramatically remembering the victims of war and humanity’s first steps into nuclear age 65 years ago, the Brandywine Peace Community will hold a series of peace vigils and commemorations, educational events, as well as nonviolent action protesting of nuclear weapons, U.S. war policy, and Lockheed Martin. PEACE EVENTS THROUGHOUT REGION TO COMMEMORATE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI As it has for more than three decades, the Brandywine Peace Community will, as part of ceremonies and commemorations around the world, observe the upcoming anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 6 – 9, solemnly and dramatically remembering the victims of war and humanity’s first steps into nuclear age 65 years ago, with a series of peace vigils and commemorations, educational events, as well as nonviolent action protesting of nuclear weapons, U.S. war policy, and Lockheed Martin. The series of peace events will begin with an August 6th Hiroshima Day nonviolent action protest of Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons manufacturer and war profiteer as well as the United States’ chief nuclear weapons contractor, that will also include nonviolent civil disobedience. On Friday , August 6, the group will conduct a Hiroshima Day ceremony and protest demonstration beginning at noon at the driveway entrance to Lockheed Martin, Mall & Goddard Boulevards, behind the King of Prussia Mall, in King of Prussia/Valley Forge, PA, that will include: the tolling of a large bell 65 times, once for every year of war and nuclear weaponry since the first atomic bombing; the audio broadcast of a narrative describing the start of the nuclear age and the account of the Hiroshima bombing; readings from survivors of the atomic bombing; a symbolic ceremony of “memory, hope, and peace” involving incense, water, and sunflower seeds; and nonviolent civil disobedience in which people will face arrest for crossing onto the arms giant’s property in a statement of nonviolent resistance. Prior to the noontime ceremony, there will be a four-hour vigil for peace at Lockheed Martin, commencing with a loud siren blast at 8:15 a.m., the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Throughout the Hiroshima Day demonstration there will be large pictorials of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, large banners and signs, including a large wooden sign, with the Lockheed Martin logo, reading: “WE’RE MAKING A KILLING!” On Friday, August 6 at 7 p.m., the Brandywine Peace Community will host a large screen showing of the 2007 documentary film WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Peace Center of Delaware County’s First-Friday Free Film series, 1001 Old Sproul Road in Springfield, Delaware County. The film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Steven Okazaki, is an unblinking examination of the atomic bombings and their aftermath, that features accounts by atomic bomb survivors, as well as American involved in the bombings, historical footage and rare or never-before-seen material. On Monday, August 9, beginning at 11a.m., on the west side of Phila. City Hall, 15th & Market Streets, the Brandywine Peace Community will hold a Nagasaki Day demonstration emphasizing a singular message of peace on a banner shaped like a postcard reading: “ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS – LOVE, Philly”. At noon, the peace vigil will be followed by a walk to the steps of SS Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral, 18th & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Phila., PA. for a peace dedication in memory of the victims of the world’s second atomic bombing. Ground zero for the Nagasaki bombing at 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, was St. Mary’s Urakami Roman Catholic Cathedral. The bombing destroyed at the time the largest Catholic community in all of Asia. More than 200,000 people were killed in the blast and fire of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thousands upon thousands have died and continue to die from radiation sickness and radiation induced diseases. The ongoing focus of the Brandywine Peace Community’s protests throughout the year is Lockheed Martin and regularly includes nonviolent civil disobedience for which Brandywine members and supporters are arrested and jailed. The nationally known faith-based peace activist group and center of regional anti-war and peace activity is now in its fourth decade. ################## |
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