Living Peace Wall Honorees

"We honor the peacemakers among us, listed below, who have during their lives worked for peace

and against war, for justice and against injustice, for nonviolent resolutions and against violence,

and for the common good and against selfishness and greed.

By honoring these outstanding individuals we also honor all who share in the collective desire to rise above

differences of race, religion, nationalities and ideologies to that place where we are all brothers and sisters,

where we share a common humanity and a common desire to live in peace with all the people of the world."

May we honor and encourage the honorees below and at the same time, may we be inspired by them to

work in our on way to make the world a gentler, kinder and more peaceful and beautiful place.

*Note: 2020 Peace Wall Induction Ceremony was cancelled due to restrictions on gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic.

2023 HONOREES

Susan Chunco Daniel Ellsberg tribute Accepting for David Harris, Norman Solomon

by Charles Prickett Dmitri Rusov-Morningstar

Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel was originally honored on the Living Peace Wall in 2018. See his original bio

below. Daniel passed from this earth in June, 2013.

He first came to the public's attention in1971 when he illegally leaked the Pentagon Papers, which revealed hidden truths about the Vietnam War and helped bring it to an end.

In 1967, he contributed with 33 other analysts at the RAND Corporation, to a top-secret 47 volume study of classified documents on the conduct of the Vietnam War. These 7000 pages of documents, became known collectively as the "Pentagon Papers". Because Senators could not be prosecuted for anything they said on the Floor, Ellsberg tried unsuccessfully to persuade Senators Fulbright and McGovern to enter the papers into the senate record.

Finally, in 1971 he released the papers to the New York Times, the Washington Post and other newspapers. He was charged under the Espionage Act and faced virtually life in prison. Because of gross governmental misconduct and illegal evidence gathering (they broke into his psychiatrist's office among other misconduct), the judge dismissed all charges against him on May 11, 1973.

Still the government was determined to silence him, but the Supreme Court in the Pentagon Papers case ruled 6 to 3 to allow publication of the papers.

When asked if he had any regrets, Daniel responded, " . . . only that I didn't release them sooner". "There was no question in my mind that my government was involved in an unjust war that was going to continue and get larger. Thousands of young men were dying each year". Daniel Ellsberg's courage, integrity, and devotion to the truth and democracy is a model for all of us and has inspired other individuals to follow in his footsteps. Thank you, Daniel Ellsberg.

Daniel's tribute by Charles Prickett

Susan Chunco

A long time peace activist connected with the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County, she often worked behind the scenes without public recognition. She's also

been a well loved advocate for the homeless of Sonoma County.

Alice Waco, who introduced Susan at this year's ceremony, asked her, "what motivates you, in a few words?" Her response, "I care". Alice continued, her life speaks for itself. She's worked for immigrants rights, working with the Ma first coalition, being a board member of the Peace and Justice Center, a National activist with the Green Party, and hermost involved commitment with the homeless /unhoused of Sonoma County. She cares and it's unclose and personal.

She helped out at Camp Michela when it was on Guerneville Rd. and when it was located on the Joe Rodoto Trail. She frequently visited the unhoused and with her heart and wisdom, she was always an advocate for them. She made sure they

had the supplies they needed and would take them to doctors appointment and shopping. Susan is a true roll model as one who has answered the call to care enough to devote her compassion, her time, her wisdom and her energy to help make life here in Sonoma County worth living for all, she truly has cared and does care about those

less fortunate!

David Harris

Joan Baez's ex., David rose to become one of the highest profile draft resistors during the Vietnam War, encouraging young men to mail their draft cards back to their draft boards and refuse to participate in the war.

He also organized and participated in many non-violent civil disobedience actions in protest of the war. One notable action was, along

with other activists, they tried to prevent the aircraft carrier, The Constellation, from leaving San Diego for Vietnam and to replace its

weapons with medicines and humanitarian supplies.

After he was released from prison he continued his activism by his

books and public speaking.

Because of the impact he had, he was arrested and served nearly two years in Federal prison.

David passed away in January 2023.

Norman Solomon

Norman is an author, documentary film maker and peace activist. One of his most notable books is Making War Easy, which was narrated by Sean Penn. He also ran for congress's 2nd Congressional District as a peace and justice candidate.

Norman has been an anti-war and progressive activist ever since he was fourteen, when he picketed for the desegregation of an apartment complex in Maryland. After high school, he began a life-long commitment to progressive activism, participating in civil disobedience in the anti nuclear war movement. For a time he worked as a spokesperson for the Alliance of Atomic Veterans in Washington, D.C.

As the Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, he challenged the Bush administration's claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, he travelled to Iraq with current and former members os Congress, to meet with top Iraqi officials, in an attempt to avert the United States' invasion of Iraq. A few days after that meeting, Iraq allowed the UN weapons inspectors back into the country.

In 2011, Norman founded Roots Action, an online organization for peace and justice activists. Roots Action now has over a million members and focuses on supporting whistle-blowers, those who expose secrets the US government doesn't want us to know about.

Norman has written 13 books. His most recent published this year is titled War Made Invisible; How America Hides the Human Toll of its Military Machine." It's a follow up to his 2005 book, War Made Easy.

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2022 HONOREES

Rev. Lee Turner for Rev. James Coffee Sister Julie for Brother Toby McCarroll Mary Thanissara for Thich Nhat Hanh Barton Stone

Barton Stone

Like many who became eligible for the military draft during the Vietnam War, Barton had to comfort his attitude toward war and his involvement in it. In high school he joined the National Guard. However, after reading Gandhi and Henry Thoreau, and after becoming familiar with the concepts of “Satyagraha” (non-violence) and civil disobedience, he realized that he could no longer in good conscience be part of the military and war and resigned from the Guard.

He then began working for peace and non-violent resolutions of conflicts. He seriously began contemplating the “horrors of war” and vowed to oppose war and find a way to live without enemies. “In what moral system could it be considered okay to deliberately hurt, injure , or even kill someone?”

Two anti war actions stand out: First, his walk to Moscow for peace and Second, his participation in building a 30 foot sail boat, the Everyman, which he tried to sail into the pacific nuclear bomb test area in the Marshal Islands in 1962 to stop the continued testing of nuclear bombs. He and the crew were arrested by the coast guard and held in jail for eight months.

Barton continues to work for peace by hosting weekly meditation (mindfulness) retreats which help others connect up with the peace within themselves and build an awareness of the dignity and sacredness of all living beings, human and otherwise.

Thich Nhat Hanh

I first became aware of Thich Nhat Hanh during he Vietnam War while I was an activist against the war. He was given a choice as a Buddhist monk to remain meditating in the monastery or to go out to help those around the war suffering from the bombings and turmoil of war. He chose to do both.

He took neither side of the war. Instead he called for the end of the war.

He travelled widely to call for the end of these hostilities, even taking a delegation of monks to the Paris peace talks to make the case for peace.

Consequently, both the north and the south Vietnam denied him the right to return to Vietnam and for 39 years he was in exile and did not return until he was ready to die. He died in January, 2022.

He travelled the world for many years teaching people howe to live a mindful life. He dedicated his life to the work of peace through inner transformation for the benefit of both the individual and society. He eventually opened a center in France --Plum Village, to train people to take his vision of peacefulness out into the world.

More recently, Thich Nhat Hanh has founded Wake Up Wake Up website, a worldwide movement of thousands of young people training in these practices of mindful living, and he launched an international Wake Up Schools Wake Up Schools website program. Alice Waco

Rev. James Coffee

Pastor of the multicultural Community Baptist Church in Santa Rosa and an honorable community leader with an impeccable legacy, Reverend Dr. James E. Coffee is still profoundly missed today. Rev. Coffee grew up in the 1930s and 40s in a segregated town in Oklahoma.

In 1965, the congregation of Santa Rosa's Community Baptist Church asked him to join the church as its pastor. Rev. James E. Coffee led the church for 47 years, and under his leadership, the church bloomed into a multicultural congregation.

He is credited for being a titan for building a caring community and aiding in crumbling the racial divide in Sonoma County. The path to reaching equality was not easy. As a young man, he experienced discrimination such as being relegated to the backdoor of business establishments and to the back seat of buses. However, Rev. James E Coffee always believed in change and acceptance and during his pastor years, he was able to lead Santa Rosa to embrace equality.

Rev. James E Coffee's outstanding accomplishments included being a founder of the Santa Rosa’s Race Equality Week, a collaborative effort between the City of Santa Rosa and the Community Baptist Church to educate, inform, and entertain the public with presentations about racial discrimination, racial equity, and the promotion of diversity.

Rev.Coffee created Rites of Passage twelve years ago, an academy that teaches youth about essential life skills and supports them in believing that they can be successful contributors to the world. In June 1957, Rev. Coffee had the pleasure to shake the hand of Martin Luther King, Jr. Years later he led Santa Rosa to create its first MLK birthday celebration. This event continues annually and benefits the community positively. In addition, he started Bridge Builders in 1966, a diversity forum that reflects the juxtaposition of church and community needs.

A kind soul and honorable citizen, Reverend Dr. James E. Coffee passed away on April 6, 2010. Gone but never forgotten, he left a long-lasting legacy, and his influence continues to touch and inspire individuals.

BrotherToby McCarroll

“Brother Toby,” has lived by Meister Eckhart’s (1260-1328) adage that what a person acquires by contemplation should be spent in compassion. He was a lawyer concerned with human rights through the hysteria of McCarthyism and later the struggle for anti-racial civil rights. During the Vietnam War and Korean Conflict, he supported those advocating peace instead of war and the rights of conscientious objectors.

He drifted toward Humanistic Psychology and was tutored by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), Rudolph Dreikurs (1897-1972) and other gentle people exploring the psyche who helped him move into monastic life.

Hans Küng (1928-2021), President of the Global Ethic Foundation, described Brother Toby as a person of courage and creativity leading “to new forms of spiritual life and social involvement.” He established homes for children impacted by the AIDS pandemic in California, Romania and Uganda and is a founding member of the multi-faith Starcross Community in the hills of Northern California, a sanctuary for nature and for people

He is the author of 13 books, including the classics Notes from the Song of Life, A Winter Walk, and most recently, Stepping Stones: Daily Reflections by an

Unconventional Monk and Violet Seekers: Spiritual Reflections of Tolbert McCarroll.I'm a paragraph. Now in his 90s, Brother Toby is increasingly looking for the sacred in nature and in the ordinary moments of life. He takes great delight in his grandchildren, music, a cup of tea, and his cat, Tigger.

2021 HONOREES

Fred Ptucha

Mary Moore

Adrienne Lauby

*Not shown: Rep. Barbara Lee

Fred Ptucha
Introduced by Richard Retecki

In Fred's own words . . .

“I served four tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a LT in the U.S. Navy. as an intelligence officer with Top Secret Crypto Clearance, I was privy to many of the “dirty secrets” of American policy and became increasingly convinced that the war was a terrible mistake and that we should never have been involved in Vietnam. I’ve carried a lingering sense of guilt about my participation in an immoral and unjust war since my return to civilian life in 1970, over 32 years ago.

- On Returning to Vietnam - The primary humanitarian aspect of Team 18’s work was to provide the money and some token/symbolic labor to build houses for 12 disabled Vietnamese Veterans. The12 veterans had all suffered major wounds such as the loss of an arm, a leg, an eye etc. In addition, their homes and sometimes their entire village had been destroyed by American forces during the war. They had all lost one or more close family member in the war such as a child, a wife, parents, brothers and sisters, etc. Three vets had also suffered wounds or had family members who had been wounded, after the war was over by landmines Americans left behind.

Yet, despite this, we were treated as honored guests at each home site. After an opening ceremony and a small amount of physical work , they would have a big feast with the veterans’ extended family and the leaders of the village with many toasts of rice wine to :Peace and Friendship between the Vietnamese and American People”. I never felt any hatred, anger or resentment from any of the Vietnamese people we met, about the terrible destruction caused to their country and to their individual families. They were unbelievably warm, forgiving and gracious hosts.

Suppose the situation was reversed and the Vietnam had invaded America, bombed my city, destroyed my home and killed some of my immediate family and left me disabled. Then some Vietnamese Vets showed up some 30 years later and said, “We are going to pay for a new house and help you build it”. I wonder if I could be so forgiving and gracious. I doubt it.

Finally I realized that if these Vietnamese Veterans who had suffered so much could forgive me, then maybe it was OK for me to forgive myself. The release of guilt and forgiveness has been a wonderful gift. Now I can finally see Vietnam as a beautiful country with warm, gracious, forgiving people and not as a war”.

Some of Fred's many activities to promote the cause of peace and justice:

-- Helped found Veterans for Peace, Chapter 71 --Co-founded Climbers for Peace Lead first Citizens Tour to USSR 1989

-- In 2018 led a team of Americans who together with Iranians climbed 18,605' Mt. Damavand to improve U.S Iranian relations.

-- Leads the placement of "Peace Poles" in schools with the aim of a Peace Pole in every Sonoma County school.

-- Served 28 years on the Advisory Board of the Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center.

Mary Moore
Introduction by Paul Robbins

Her first activity was in 1962 when she was engaged with the Fair Play Council in San Luis Obispo. The Fair Play Council advocated and promoted integration and racial justice locally, as the members It is my great pleasure today to introduce you to Mary Moore, a local activist for social justice who has served humankind for decades in many causes and who we are fortunate to have had among us in Sonoma County for many of those decades.

Mary came up in the antiracism movement, and that movement has been central to her diverse work since. Her first activity was in 1962 when she was engaged with the Fair Play Council in San Luis Obispo. The Fair Play Council advocated and promoted integration and racial justice locally, as the members

went door to door in good old-fashioned community organizing.

Mary’s work came at a cost in those days of de facto segregation and so-called sunset ordinances in California and indeed what was so throughout the United States. For this act of participatory democracy, Mary’s children were removed from her care by family court, because she had Black people meeting in her home at night. This moment requiring elemental courage is the beginning of the story of Mary’s work in the world as will be told in her upcoming memoir co-written with Lois Perlman, entitled “Unfit Mother.”

In 1979 Mary and sister and brother activists occupied Governor Jerry Brown’s office for 38 days to protest the operation of the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, which, as is almost always the case, was located to be an immediate danger to nearby residents who were poor people of color. Today we recognize the phenomenon as environmental racism. To his credit, Governor Brown seemed to have listened, and the plant was eventually closed.

Mary understood and helped us understand that all our issues are connected, and someone is always profiting from injustice. In the late 1970s a worker at the Bohemian Club gave Mary a membership list and a copy of the secretive lakeside talks, and Mary organized what became the annual protests at the Bohemian Grove summer encampment of rich men. She published to the world the wheeling and dealing that occur at the annual encampment.

Mary Moore wants most to be remembered for basic justice. By basic justice Mary means that we must work together (hold up poster) to “End Racism, Sexism, and Classism and Fight Them Together.” Mary’s work has woven all manner of issues into addressing those three terminally toxic “isms,” and we will honor Mary today, not just with our applause and cheers to celebrate her work. We will truly honor Mary Moore today by leaving here committed again to work together for racial, gender, and class justice.

I now give you our beloved Mary Moore

Adrienne Lauby
Introduction by Alice Waco

I have the honor of presenting to you, Adrienne Lauby, whom I call a prophet of our times. She calls us forth with her vision, to pay attention to the homeless/houseless people who are our brothers and sisters, deserving to live in dignity and acceptance. We are all appalled by the numbers of homeless/houseless. Adrienne is more than that-she does something about it.

I have always admired the manner in which Adrienne approaches living out her values and she learned it caring for her siblings. Her education gave her conservatism but it

didn’t take long in the early 70’s for Adrienne to find her feminist core, responding with her compassionate values as she joined the antiwar movement in her graduation year. Since that awakening, she has lived her life from that deep feminine core of and made it the basis of all her work.

In her 30’s she developed Asthma, a disability which for a decade of her life, put her in and out of hospitals, house-bound, poor, and with much time for reflection. She was now considered disabled and her empathy button got pushed. She became their advocate as she joined the disability rights movement and supported the disabled by speaking truth and giving them an advocate. There are so many ways she lives out this commitment daily and not singly. Especially now through an organization called SAVES, a nonprofit in Sonoma county, keeping before our eyes this open wound. She has finally been given the money to follow through and maybe make it happen.

As long as I have known her, she is Homeless Action, an advocacy group that is made up of the very people she is concerned about-the homeless, along with people who care, and service providers, all empowered by her dedication.

She brings radical acceptance and a thoughtful voice to these organizations building a nonviolent effort to solve conflicts. She is not a lone voice, she is all of our voices, not just sometimes, not in between other parts of her life, not just when she is called..her dedication is very much full time , very much her life.

.Currently she does a program for KPFA called Pushing Limits , a radio program about disability.and even organizes regular public dialogues on racism as part of Sonoma County Racial Justice Allies.

Adrienne is a lifelong activist and a selfless advocate. She stands up for the people who are most vulnerable in our society and in the process she knows how they feel because she has walked in their footsteps herself

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

She is a leading voice for global peace and security, working to reduce conflict, end wars, advance human rights. She has served as a representative to the 68th and 70th United Nations General Assemblies. After 9/11, she cast the lone vote against the (AUMF), which authorized war with Iraq and Afghanistan and many other subsequent military operations.

Barbara served as an aid and then the Chief of Staff for Congressman Ron Dellums,

and served in the California Assembly and Senate. She has been a tireless advocate

for the poor, homeless and disadvantaged.

Finally, she is a well loved and respected leader by the overwhelming members of her district as well as people from all over the world for her courage, bravery and integrity in the face of the high volume war mongering and pressure to fall in line behind the majority of our leaders and the American people who were driven by fear and a desire for revenge following the attacks of 9/11/2001. For this and much more we are happy to be honoring Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

2019 HONOREES

CONGRESSWOMAN LYNN WOOLSEY DR. EARL HERR JENNIFER JAFFE FOR TULA JAFFE JIM CORBETT

1. CONGRESSWOMAN LYNN WOOLSEY

Introduction by Rev. Judith Stone

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey served as the 6th District Representative to Congress for 20 years, including all of Marin and Sonoma Counties!

People all over California, and the United States have recognized her National and International peacemaking efforts. One of 133 members of the House who voted against authorizing the Invasion of Iraq, she was the first to call for Troop withdrawal. No other congressperson can compete with her record in speaking out over 435 times in Congress against that war or any war. She voted consistently to suspend funding it and critiqued reducing money for civilian programs. Less well known is the fact that she stood and was arrested with Jim McGovern, and three members of Color, Donna Edwards, Keith Ellison, and John Lewis protesting genocide in Darfur.

Congresswoman Woolsey was known nationally and internationally, still-- let’s remember we were the ones who had the wisdom to send a “Congresswoman with a Conscience” to Washington.

We who were in her District and most closely followed her career, also remember the ways she also brought people inner peace by working for justice. Many of us have chanted “No Justice, No Peace”. I know I related to this working Single Parent, who described herself as “the first former welfare mom to serve Congress.” From her measure to provide job-protected-leave for military families caring for injured soldiers, to her support for parental leave, and her amendment to expand school breakfast programs for children and make teenagers eligible for after school snack programs, to her support for a measure forcing the IRS to enforce child support payments, and again in her work to her protest Federal funding for the Boy Scouts who discriminated against gay youth, she worked for the kind of justice that can bring an inner peace, that is not momentary or intoxicating!

An ally for women, Congresswoman Woolsey introduced a “Go Girl” measure to encourage young girls to study science and math. She worked to increase women’s participation in the Tech sector. With Nancy Pelosi and others, Congresswoman Woolsey engaged in a silent protest when the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee (Jesse Helms) refused to even consider the ratification of CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Helms called in Security to have these silent, banner-wielding protesters for women’s rights, thrown out.

Lynne Woolsey fought against all forms of discrimination. Who can feel at peace when they are discriminated against? As a Christian, I thank her for supporting the recognition of Ramadan, and advocating against religious discrimination. And. . . .

The next time you go to our Coast to bask in the beauty, and drink in the peace that nature can offer, I hope you will remember that 25,000 square miles of expanded and forever protected Coastal Marine Sanctuary is a Legacy of Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey.

“Justice for all,” including creation, paves the road to peace. We extend our recognition and thanks to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, a Peacemaker par excellence.

Judith Stone

Peace Wall Selection Team

* I want to recommend to you her inspiring two hour Oral History on CSPAN. https://www.c-span.org › video › representative-lynn-woolsey-oral-history...

Most of my comments are taken from that interview and from reading about her online. There is much more to learn.

These are some of her personal qualities that inspired me: warm, personable, fun, down to earth, human and humane, humble, conscientious, courageous, effective, devoted, gets it done, practical wisdom. Majors in Compassion! A woman for others!

2. DR. EARL HERR

Introduction by Dennis Pocekay

Hi, I’m Dennis Pocekay, and I’ve known Earl Herr since 1982, since shortly after my wife and I came to Sonoma County. I’ve always had the greatest respect for him, and I’m honored to do his introduction.

I respect Earl because he left the Mennonite Church, AND because he held on to its most important values: respect for and kindness towards all, giving back, and living a humble, peaceful, and fruitful life. I respect Earl for a story he tells about an early job selling cutlery; he spent 30 minutes convincing his first customer that she did NOT need his knives. I respect Earl because even though he was shielded from being called to war in Vietnam by his prior CO service, he STILL demonstrated against it, up to and including getting arrested. I respect Earl for doing over 1000 suction abortions in the year immediately after his internship, and 2 years before Roe v Wade. This was legal in Washington, DC, and his work helped to prove that the technique was safe and effective.

I respect Earl as a 1984 founding member of the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County, the year I joined him on one of his trips to Nicaragua. And because he spent several months in Mexico learning Spanish, in order to better understand his patients and the role of US imperialism in Central America.

I’ve been talking so far about peace on a macro level, but Earl is also about peace on what I would call a micro level, in his personal relationships. He remains friendly with and respected by all 3 of his long-term partners. His ex-partner of 32 years, Betty Woods, nominated him for this honor, and his first wife, Ruth, and current partner, Noellene, are also here today. And he maintains close relationships with the children of his ex-partners. And I respect him because of something else that occurs frequently. Two weeks ago I was picketing with healthcare workers at Petaluma Valley Hospital; it happened that a nurse next to me mentioned she had worked in the ED for many years. I asked if she knew Earl, and her answer was that he was “one of a kind; they don’t make them like that anymore”.

And finally, I respect him because, at age 82, he remains interested and engaged in pretty much anything and everything that might explain any aspect of our world, our existence, and/or our behavior. He is a gentle and courageous man, and a curious metaphysician, who has always worked for peace and against injustice.

3. TULA JAFFE

Introduction by Richard Retecki

It is an honor to present Living Peace Wall Honoree, Tula Jaffe.

Tula Jaffe was raised in Sonoma County by Jewish Russian immigrants who became part of the Jewish chicken ranching community in the Petaluma area. She went to elementary school in Cotati and graduated from Petaluma High School. Her family put social activism at the center of their lives. Tula was influenced by both her mother and father who were very active in Jewish causes. In addition to her years as an activist, Tula raised her daughter Jennifer in Sebastopol as a single mother.

From 1982-1989, Tula was the founder and director of the local Sonoma County Chapter of WAND (Women’s Action for Disarmament), a national organization started by Dr. Helen Caldicott. As director, Tula advocated for and educated people on the need for nuclear disarmament and the dangers and consequences of a nuclear holocaust. As the director of WAND during the early 1980’s, Tula was also an instrumental figure in the founding of the Sonoma County Peace Center. Tula organized over 200 protesters in the Board of Supervisors chambers to pressure the Board to pass a resolution against the building and testing of nuclear weapons.

In addition, Tula was the coordinator of the Task Force on the Homeless from 1989-1998 where her responsibilities included advocating for affordable housing and social change while working with representatives in the Bay Region to develop a plan to assist the homeless. Tula also educated the public on the need to have a more just economic system developing materials auto tell audiences that homelessness and the arms race is a direct result of an economic system which places profits of the few ahead of the needs of the many.

During her years as an activist, she earned many awards and honors, including the Sonoma County “Woman of Achievement” Award and Congresswoman Barbara Boxer’s “Woman Making History” Award.

At the time of her diagnosis with stage four lung cancer in May of 2018 at the age of 78, Tula was still passionate about social causes and the inequality that is so inherent within our political system. She was still educating and inspiring others as a professor of Social Psychology at Santa Rosa Junior College. Through this course, Tula was able to share her unique experiences working with economically and culturally diverse groups of people as an educator and non-profit leader, to challenge students’ understanding of gender, class, race and ethnicity as social constructs that intersect in people’s lives. Tula passed away in November 2018.

It is a pleasure to introduce to you Jennifer Jaffe, Tula’s daughter. Thanks you.

Jennifer Jaffe

4. JIM CORBETT

Introduction by Paul Robbins

Jim Corbett has been an active citizen of Sebastopol since 1975. His journey as “Mr. Music” began in 1987 when he volunteered to present music for his middle daughter’s first grade class at Park Side Elementary School. His experience led to his establishing the Mr. Music Foundation, and his work in schools expanded to 15 schools in Sonoma County, while employing three full time teachers.

In 1997 Jim founded the Love Choir, where to this day 60 to 80 people gather to sing every week as Sebastopol’s “music family” lives its motto to “Loving the world, one song at a time.” The Love Choir shares its joy throughout Northern California, performing at many public events.

In 2009 Jim led the way for Sebastopol to be declared a Peace Town USA. Jim says the criterion is for at least one percent of the population to meditate every day.

In 2011 Jim began the Peace Town Concerts. This summer there were 13 free concerts in Ives Park with between 900 and a thousand attenders each Wednesday.

Although Jim is officially retired, he continues to spread his message of peace and love through music. He currently engaging in “Ukes in Schools” and sponsors a drumming program at Kawana School in Santa Rosa.

Jim Corbett is truly beloved. In 2009 Sebastopol named Jim “Citizen of the Year,” in 2015 the Sebastopol Senior Center presented Jim with its “Aged to Perfection Award,” and so now we add Jim’s name to our Living Peace Wall that will someday hold 600 names. Imagine that a century from now teachers will be bringing students to the wall to sing, and the peace work of “Mr. Music” will still be living.

Tomorrow happens to be Jim’s 70th birthday, so Jim, today Sebastopol sends its love and birthday greetings along with great gratitude for your loving service to us all through the beautiful energy of music.

2018 HONOREES

Left to right: Tui Wilschinsky, Dolores Huerta, Therese Mughannam, Daniel Ellsberg

1. TUI WILSCHINSKY

Introduction by Rev. Judith Stone

I have the honor of introducing Tui Wilchinsky today. I told him that since he is being recognized for his contribution to peace through dance, I would share some of his accomplishments, but, really you would be best introduced to Tui by sitting down to tea and a conversation with him--- in his sky blue house. There you might get a sense of his wide ranging intellect, his warmth and open heartedness, his deep spiritual commitment to peace and justice. Tui, who had his beginnings in antiwar activism, says, “When you go to a peace demonstration, demonstrate peace.” To balance his outer inner activism he sought inner peace. He has experienced that peace through dance.

Tui gained international recognition teaching and leading the Dances of Universal Peace. For forty years he has led these dances with Ram Dass, Joanna Macy, Sazaki Roshi, Rabbi Solmon Schechter, Matthew Fox, to name a few. He has taught these dances at the Findhorn Foundation, and Shambala Center in Scotland, the Lama Foundation in New Mexico, at Sonoma State University, at the California Institute for Integral Studies, the Person Centered Expressive Arts institute, at the University of Creation Centered Spirituality, the New College, the Abode of the Message, and most recently has toured New Zealand, France and the UK. But, lucky us, his home is here in Sebastopol.

Tui has an MA in Humanistic Transpersonal Psychology and an Interdisciplinary PhD, in Cinema, Psychology and Sociology.

He says “People yearning for Unity have found in the Dances of Universal Peace, a renewing and inspiring practice, based in Spiritual truth and an embodied spirituality. The Dances open us to remembrance of the natural human state, unguarded, authentic and free. They continue to be. . . .a way to make liberating life-energy and “the peace that passes all understanding” a reality for all who come in contact with them.”

2. DOLORES HUERTA

Introduction by Alicia Sanchez

I am a firm believer in signs. I don't know what's going on,

but I feel like I need to take a break from social justice. I've been

going through a struggle in my life, feeling really low in spirit. I've been questioning if what I've been doing the last eight years

has been right. Should I continue with the radio station, is that

enough.

And always, always there's a sign. And today that sign is that I

would have the honor to introduce Dolores Huerta. To me, this is a sign. That I have to keep going, just like

my father used to say. When you are tired and fearful, you have to keep going. You've got to cross that street,

cross that river. When I look at Dolores and I think about how old she is. I won't mention how old she is. (Dolores shouts, I'm 88). And when I see her passion, and see her determination, and her will to keep fighting

and fighting, let me just tell you that to me that's a sign. It tells me that I have to keep going, that all I need is to

maybe just rest a little.

We have to keep going, especially right now of all times, we have to conquer all this hatred that's been happening. It is people like Dolores Huerta who are examples for all of us. I was just out of law school when I joined the United Farm Workers. I was 26, so I've known Dolores Huerta for forty years. I was able to model my work after her. If you're the leader you have to be with the people, you have to do the ground work. You have to work from being the janitor to being the spokesperson, that's what makes a great leader and that is what Dolores Huerta is.

I was there and I saw her during the farm worker years and she was always there with the workers making sure she knew what they wanted so she could negotiate for them. And she was the negotiator for the United Farm

Workers and I feel that many people have not honored her for her work. She was the co-founder along with

Cesar Chavez. With all respect for my brother, Cesar Chavez, but it was our sister here who said "si se puede" no matter what, it can be done. This has been her believe all these years.

Anther thing about Dolores is that she has beat me with children. She has nine and I only have two. And her

children and mine went through anger and they don't like us because we are not there, we are trying to save the world. But they always come back around and they realize that what we were doing was the right thing, that it was for them. So I'm blessed to have two children that understand that and are proud of me and my work. I saw in her movie that her sons came back and really honored Dolores. Not only are you an organizer, an activist, a negotiator, you are also a great mother too. To me that is one of the most beautiful things when you hear your children tell you that. Cause then you know that you've been doing the right thing.

I want to tell you that I'm so proud to be here and to honor such an incredible, wonderful, wonderful woman. And please support the Dolores Huerta Foundation. This is the way you can show love for her and more importantly for the community and for us to have peace and justice in this world.

And here she is. What can I say. Thank you.

3. THERESE MUGHANNAM

Introduction by Alice Waco

Today we honor Therese Mughanan

She is a native Palestinian and in my eyes she is a peace-filled warrior and her weapon of choice is bearing the truth.

When I shared with Therese this honor, she immediately wanted all her fellow warriors to get the award. So just like Therese, to say: “ I am just doing the normal work and deserve no praise.” Yes,She is normally peaceful , normally caring, normally passionate about working for justice for her people and all people.

I love watching Therese work the crowds, which she does whenever there is an opportunity. When she meets you she brings her gentle peace wrapped around her uncomfortable message. And her message might become your message and maybe your journey too..

That is her vision. That is her hope.

This has been her life since at 5 months old when her father Abrahim led the family out of their homeland in Jerusalem after the UN divided Palestine in 1947.

Even now the hospital where she was born, a Russian compound, is a prison filled with many Palestinian youth. These stories feed her heart to keep on bearing the truth.

Her passion in life is to free the oppressed, bring justice where it doesn’t exist, share her being where its needed,…why wouldn’t she do this also so her people could be free; she wants all people to be free but each day she steps forth in the name of the Palestinians and exposes the injustices and brutality of the Israeli occupation on her people. She is a testimony of what her people are experiencing . She is one of them and knowing and experiencing this truth, she wants you to know too.

Yes, she steps on toes when people put them under her feet, but she has a passion, a mandate, a journey to seek equality and human rights for all living in that region- her homeland, her people."

Thank you, Therese,

4. DANIEL ELLSBERG

Introduction by Paul Robbins

While working for the RAND Corporation as a military analyst, and having tried unsuccessfully to get US Senators, to include William Fulbright and George McGovern to release the report of the Top Secret Department of Defense history of the decision making during the Vietnam War, in 1971 Daniel ELLSBERG released the so-called Pentagon Papers to major American newspapers.

By releasing the Pentagon Papers, Daniel ELLSBERG was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 and faced up to 115 years in prison. As a result of government misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, the charges were dismissed.

To the Nixon Administration, Daniel ELLSBERG was the “most dangerous man in America.”

Having been employed as a military analyst specializing in matters concerning nuclear war, having been involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and being intimately aware of the largely unknown 1958 nuclear crisis around the islands of Quemoy and Matsu, and of course being aware of the Nixon Administration’s escalation of the Vietnam War, Daniel ELLSBERG has since spent his life, to this very day, informing and warning us and the world that the threat of nuclear war is as present now as ever before. It is vital that we listen to what he is telling us!

Daniel ELLSBERG’S courage, integrity, and devotion to the truth and democracy is a model for all of us and has inspired other organizations to honor his work with the Ron Ridenour Courage Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, and the Right Livelihood Award.

We are proud to add the name of Daniel ELLSBERG to the Sebastopol Living Peace Wall. May present and future generations see this wall and research the life and work of Daniel ELLSBERG among all the others and may they be equally dedicated to truth, life, justice, and peace.

Friends, let us now honor and welcome Daniel ELLSBERG.

All Photos by David Burns

2017 HONOREES

(L to R) Susan Lamont, Bob Frank (accepting for Charles Liteky), Dee & Don Schilling, Holly Near

Photos by David Burns

1. SUSAN LAMONT

Susan Collier Lamont

Susan was born into a family of social justice awareness beginning with her great grandmother as a suffragette. Starting young as someone who can put her words out in letters to the editor and informational flyers for many causes, Susan used this form of activism along with protesting as she raised her family, ran her own business and continued her education. The seeds were planted and when 9/11 happened, Susan was ready to organize nonstop the public in meaningful and productive ways to be active and cause change and writing was an important part of it.

She used her skills to motivate and educate the masses. She has an ability not just to see an issue but is able to connect issues awakening us to see the real effects of unjust and punitive decisions. In the mid-90's she received her first death threats for writing in support of LGBTQ+ rights.

Susan was on a roll, creating informational fliers with eye opening questions and answers, made eight foot panels-HONOR THEM WITH PEACE- with names of those killed in the 9-11 attack and 7000 names of people killed through out the world in political and religious violence and organized weekly nonviolent protests and other forms of waking the masses. This brought death threats to her home and the Peace Center. .

During her time at the Peace and Justice Center as a Board member and Center Coordinator, she embarked on projects such as Militarization of Law Enforcement and also a project assisting soldiers of the Iraq war find their legal means to follow their consciences. She continues to be active in Veterans For Peace Chapter #71 and helped organize a daylong teach-in at Sonoma State

Since leaving the Center, her local advocacy and organizing has influenced every crisis especially the Andy Lopez killing and the beating of prisoners in our local jail. With the election of Donald Trump, she founded It Won't Happen Here, a group, which created a statement telling local elected representatives that we want them to refuse to cooperate with any laws, or executive orders, which violate the civil liberties of any residents of the county. Each effort morphed into coalitions with Susan as the main organizer.

As Susan says so eloquently “Key to all my work has been connecting the dots between peace and social justice issues, both locally and nationally. For example, the killing of Andy Lopez reflects the intersection of race, immigration, poverty, lack of opportunity, gangs, militarization of law enforcement, guns/toy guns and much more.”

There is much more, since it is a daily happening with Susan and “googling” her name will give you the Press Democrats contacts and more .

2. REV. DON & DEE SCHILLING

In 1965 Rev. Don Shilling traveled to Selma, Alabama to stand with protesters after the March 7 Bloody Sunday incident. Their goal was to insure the safety of the marchers, an effort which often put their own lives at risk. I recall hearing of one incident when Don was at a cafe eating dinner with another pastor – both seeking a safe place to spend the night with some of the movement's supporters. Don went to one house, the other pastor went in another direction to a different house.

That pastor was never heard from again. The climate of hatred and fear was so pervasive that many feared for their lives during those days spent in Selma. Don at the time was a young father of one child, with another on the way.

Later Don, as pastor of Marin City's Presbyterian Church, helped to found an organization called Operation Give A Damn, which helped younger children receive much needed scholastic and emotional guidance by older children in the community. After leaving Marin City, Don became the founding Executive Director of a similar organization in Sebastopol in 1976: Operation Getting It Together. Over the next 20 years that group helped give thousands of children the support and stability they needed to succeed scholastically.

During those same years, his wife Dee worked to provide affordable or no-cost legal aid for local low income residents. And because she is bi-lingual, she could help many of those who were Hispanic with a limited English vocabulary. Dee still provides this service to Sonoma County residents, 40+ years later. In addition, she was instrumental in a 10 year fight to create a more humane new jail for Sonoma County.

3. HOLLY NEAR

Born in Ukiah, Holly Near is respected around the world for her music and activism, and her joy and passion inspire people to join her in celebration of the human spirit.

Holly Near has made a career speaking to anyone in the world who believes in peace, justice, and feminism as a flowering of the peaceful and powerful possibilities for human beings.

In 1971 she joined the Free The Army Tour, a road show of music, comedy, and plays organized to stop the war in Vietnam. During this time, Holly became a globally conscious feminist, linking international feminism and peace action.

In 1972, she became one of the first women to start her own independent record company, Redwood Records. The purpose was to promote and produce music by politically conscious artists from around the world. Often cited as one of the founders of the Women’s Music movement, she not only led the way for outspoken women in the music world, but also worked for peace and multicultural consciousness.

Another significant area of Holly’s activism is the LGBTQ community. She was one of the first artists to discuss her sexual orientation during a pioneering interview with People magazine. A staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights, she is comfortable with her own sexuality and has a clear understanding of the fluidity of sexual orientation.

Finally, Holly Near is also a teacher, presenting master classes in performance craft and songwriting to diverse audiences.

As Holly says, “Music can influence choices, for better or worse. A lullaby can put a troubled child to sleep but Muzak can put a whole nation to sleep. A marching band can send our children off to war. It can also have everyone laughing and dancing and loving as it leads a gay-pride parade.”

Holly Near is a treasured cultural leader hailing from our beautiful Northern California, and it is with great satisfaction that the people of Sebastopol add her name to our Wall of Living Peace.

for more info: hollynear.com

4. CHARLES LITEKY

After attending the university of Florida for two years, Charles entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1960 and joined the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, a clerical organization based in Silver Spring, MD. In1966 he volunteered as a Army chaplain and served with the 199th Infantry Brigade.

Because of his bravery in Vietnam, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

His medal citation states that on December 6, 1967, Mr. Liteky, the son of a career Navy petty officer, repeatedly neglected his own shrapnel wounds and,without a weapon, helmet or flak jacket exposed himself to mortars, land mines and machine guns to rescue 23 wounded colleagues who had been ambushed by a Vietcong battalion. He evacuated the injured soldiers and administered last rites to the dying.

He was the fifth military chaplain since the Civil War to receive the award.

When he went to Vietnam, Mr. Liteky recalled, “I was 100 percent behind going over there and putting those Communists in their place. I thought I was going there doing God’s work.” But after he returned from Vietnam he had a change of heart, left the priesthood and became a peace activist. In 1986 he left his Medal of Honor in an envelope addressed to President Ronald Reagan at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The envelope was retrieved by the National Park Service and placed in the collection of the National Museum of American History, where it remains.

That same year Charles mounted a debilitating 47 day hunger strike near the Capitol against American involvement in Nicaragua. In the late 70’s a former nun, Judy Balch, had introduced him to refugees from El Salvador, “teenagers, whose fathers had been killed and tortured.” As a result he evolved into a vigorous opponent of American support for the right-wing factions there and in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

He later served two prison terms for trespassing at the Army’s School of the Americas (now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) at Fort Benning,GA, which trains soldiers from Latin America. He stated that his dissent and civil disobedience has been motivated by the same impulses that motivated him to rescue his fellow soldiers in Vietnam, “It’s to save lives.”

In 1990 he was sentenced to six months in federal prison for squirting blood on portraits at the above School, and to the maximum one year in 2000 for a similar protest.

In 2002 and 2003, he visited Baghdad to protest the impending American invasion. “I am in deep sympathy with all of those young men that are over there now doing what they think is their patriotic duty, Mr. Liteky told NPR in 2004. “I think it is more of a patriotic duty of citizens of this country to stand up and say that this is wrong, that this is immoral.”

In 1983 he married ex nun, Judy Balch in San Francisco, and lived there until his death at 85 in 2016. Just prior to his death he had completed a memoir, Renunciation.

2016 Honorees

2016 HONOREE BIOGRAPHIES:

1. Jimmy Carter 1924 —

The 39th President of The United States from 1977 to 1981. Though Carter’s greatest contribution to peace while president was the signing of the Israeli-Egypt Camp David Peace Accords, which he worked tirelessly to accomplish, most of his work for peace and justice has been done since he left office. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center in 2002.

In 1982 he set up the Carter Center in Georgia as a base for advancing human rights. Since then he has traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, observe elections, and advance disease prevention and eradication in developing nations. In addition, Carter is a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity Project, which has built thousands of houses for impoverished families here and abroad.

2. Lucy Forest 1920 — 2015

Lucy Forest was a compact woman with a great steely determination to do whatever she could to resolve or prevent injustice, war and other distortions of humanity. A revered elder among Sonoma County’s activists, Forest wielded her intellect and collaborative skills to build consensus to act against homelessness, neglect of the elderly, abuse of workers, discrimination and militarism. She co-founded the Peace and Justice Center in Santa Rosa

as well as the Santa Rosa Creek Commons housing cooperative.

Later in life she became a leader of the Gray Panthers and authored “On The Plus Side” column in the Press Democrat. She advocated for seniors in areas such as housing, health care and continuing education. Throughout her long life she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others and promote the cause of peace and justice.

3. Linda Sartor 1954 —

Linda Sartor has not only talked the talk of peace activism and nonviolence, she has walked the walk. For ten years after 9/11 she repeatedly put her life on the line as a citizen peacemaker by traveling to a variety of violent conflict zones throughout the world. She has traveled to Israel, Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Bahrain as an unarmed peacekeeper and witness. She has written a book about these experiences, Turning Fear Into Power.

In addition, Linda has worked with several organizations focused on nonviolent action. She was awarded Peacemaker of The Year by the Peace and Justice Center and currently serves on their board.

4. Dr. Charles O. Prickett 1946 ---

Charles O. Prickett began his activities toward world peace and justice while in high school doing surveys of area businesses to determine if racial discrimination was occurring in his hometown, Carbondale, Illinois. In college he became a member of the local chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and began picketing local business that refused to serve or hire people of color. Charles attended the March on Washington in 1963, and participated in the Mississippi

Freedom Summer of 1964, where he worked operating Freedom Schools, conducting voter registration drives, organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and organizing local black farmers to vote in U.S. Department of Agriculture fall elections. He also helped organize the Selma-Montgomery March in 1965.

His work in the civil rights movement was modeled after the philosophy of Gandhi, that of nonviolent resistance to racism and discrimination. He was drafted and was classified as a non-combatant conscientious objector.

Charles has written a book about his experiences in the civil rights movement, “Remembering Mississippi Freedom Summer” (Amazon). This book chronicles the experiences he had as an active participant of the civil rights movement, and includes his meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King while working on the Selma-Montgomery March. His book contains nearly 80 pictures, most from a movie he helped make with Richard Beymer in 1964, “A Regular Bouquet” (YouTube). This movie contains the only film record of Freedom Schools and voter registration efforts from the Freedom Summer. PBS in their series “Eyes On the Prize”, and “Freedom Summer” have used these images.

He continues to be active as the featured speaker at multiple area public schools and civic organizations, and has presented at Martin Luther King observances at SRJC. He is currently an attorney in Santa Rosa, California, and has been a pro tem judge in small claims and traffic court in California for over thirty years, and has served as a mediator for the Sonoma County Superior Court.

for more info: charlesprickett.com

2015 Honorees

2015 Honorees: From left to right: Accepting for Rev. George Houser, his daughter Martie Leys and wife Jean; Barry Latham-Ponneck, Alicia Sanchez. Nelson Mandela's plaque and congratulatory letter have been sent to his family in South Africa.

2015 HONOREE BIOGRAPHIES:

1. Barry Ponneck 1951 —

The Three Mile Island nuclear disaster of 1979 ignited Barry Ponneck’s passion for peace, human rights, and the environment. He joined SONOMoreAtomics in its struggles for peace and environmental safety as he opposed the construction of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, research on nuclear weapons at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the militarization of space at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and the testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada.

Through his membership in the affinity group Radical Ions, Ponneck continued his work in partnership with concerned Sonoma County residents, living in Cotati, Forestville, and for about 20 years in Sebastopol.

Ponneck became a trainer of nonviolence, and through the decades he worked with many others to train many hundreds of citizens to engage the world through active nonviolence. Ponneck was instrumental in the production of free benefit concerts for environmental and peace organizations through the middle 1980s.

During the Contra Wars in the 1980s Ponneck traveled to Nicaragua with a Harvest Brigade, working on a cotton farm and traveling the country, bearing witness to the Nicaraguan people’s suffering and courage as they resisted death squads that were killing their families.

In 1990 Ponneck and the Radical Ions became leaders in the Redwood Summer series of actions to stop the clear-cutting of old growth redwood forest. The movement drew activists from throughout the world and garnered national attention to the issue of corporate holding companies that were buying small companies and liquidating the assets, devastating the environment and the local economies in the process.

During the Gulf War, Ponneck was a leader in organizing the largest march and demonstration to date in Sonoma County history when at least 3,500 citizens met in Santa Rosa on January 13, 1991 to protest the war.

When the Iraq War began, Ponneck again organized a march and demonstration, the second-largest to date in Sonoma County when at least 3,000 citizens protested what was later to be shown to be a war begun based on false information.

Throughout his life, Barry Ponneck has dedicated his whole being to the service of human beings as he works to create, in association with others, a world where every person may achieve the full potential of her or his life without fear of war or an unhealthy environment.

Since the early 1990s Ponneck has been challenged as his body struggles with the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease. Yet, he continues to organize on behalf of the rights of citizens who struggle with disabilities and people isolated in nursing homes.

As of this writing, Ponneck’s latest action was organizing a benefit concert to raise money for Music and Memory, a nonprofit seeking to provide iPods for every American living in a nursing home. Studies have shown that hearing the music that accompanied a person’s life’s journey helps slow the loss of memory for those isolated from their communities.

2. Alicia Sanchez 1951 —

Alicia Sanchez, a Sebastopol resident has been present in the journey of nonviolence throughout her whole life. She is the daughter of farmworkers and was inspired to work nonviolently with Cesar Chavez in bringing decent living and working conditions to the farmworkers. She continued her work with the Mexican women in Santa Rosa where she co-founded the Sonoma County Industrial Union where she used the principle of nonviolence and carried that through her 30 years of organizing workers in Sonoma County.

Most of us know Alicia also as a public speaker on issues of women, immigrants, peace, justice, labor and environmental issues. Since 2010 she as been president of Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation which operates KBBF 89.1, the first Bilingual radio station in the United States. Her presence on many Boards in the past years, including the Center for Peace and Justice, reflects her commitment to the principle of nonviolence.

She stands in silent vigil every Friday in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa as part of the Women in Black, an international network of women committed to peace with justice. They mourn all victims of violence. Alicia lives her nonviolence in all aspects of her life.

Some of the many awards she has received are:

California Rural Legal Assistance Certificate of Appreciation (2003)

Peacemaker of the Year — Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County (2001)

United Farm Workers Union Appreciation Certificate (2001)

Press Democrat’s Award to the “50 Who Shaped our Century” (1999)

Woman of the Year — State of CA legislature (1991)

The Senator Pat Wiggins Working Class Hero Award by the North Bay Labor Council AFL-CIO (2013)

South Park Community Center Mural of Community Activists (2011)

Sonoma County ACLU Jack Green Award (2010)

* Photos of Barry Ponneck and Alicia Sanchez by Don Jackson Photography

3. Rev.George Houser 1925 — 2015

(From the Press Democrat, Aug. 20. 2015)

Rev. George Houser was an Anti Apartheid activists, a leader in the U.S.Civil Rights movement and helped organize Journey of Reconciliation—a forerunner of the 1960’s Freedom Rides into the deep south.

He co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights group, in1942 after he and a black friend were denied service at a Chicago restaurant.

The group became a national organization, enrolling tens of thousands of members. They endorsed nonviolent protests and sit-ins at establishments around the country.

Houser was also known for his stand against conscription. He was sent to prison just before World War II after declaring himself a conscientious objector.

In 1952 he co-founded Americans for South African Resistance and became executive director of the American Committee on Africa in 1955. He worked to abolish apartheid and to end colonial rule throughout Africa before retiring in 1981. Later he met with South African leader Nelson Mandela on several occasions. He was recognized for his work in Africa in 2010 when he received the Oliver R. Tambo Award.

“His heart was always with anyone who was dealing with any kind of subjugation,” said his daughter, Martie Leys. “He was always fierce in his determination to see justice prevail, but he was always respectful, always nonviolent, always willing to talk.”

After moving from the East coast he lived with his wife, Jean, the last several years at the Friends House in Santa Rosa.

4. Nelson Mandela 1918 — 2013

Born in Apartheid South Africa, at an early age he took up the cause of ending Apartheid and securing full citizenship for the majority black South Africans who were being brutally suppressed by the minority white government. Because of his activism and his involvement in the African National Congress, he was imprisoned off and on until finally receiving a life sentence for treason and sent to Robben Island Prison in 1964.

After 26 years he was released in 1990. He then went on to become president of the ANC and

together with President FW de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994 he was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected President.

Though he participated in violent activities in his youth, in his later years he eschewed violence and embraced reconciliation. He is credited with uniting his country and avoiding a bloody retaliation against the white minority. By setting up the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” he provided a format for the airing of grievances and crimes on both sides while confronting the truth and reality of life under Apartheid.

Sebastopol Living Peace Wall