Vigil

Peace Vigil Activists Eye Future As White House Readies For Change

November 24, 2024 John Zangas, DC Media Group. Resist! Donald Trump, Peace, Vigil, Washington DC, White House

Washington DC — It is a sunny hot Saturday afternoon in mid-November at Lafayette Park as a steady line of tourists filter past the little white tent of the Peace Vigil outside the White House. The signs covering the tent reflect views contrary to everything the incoming administration stands for. The activists go about their daily rituals of preparing for a shift change. It’s 4 o’clock. Time seems to stand still. Nearby the sounds of carpenter’s tools, hammers, drills, and saws, echo from the scaffolding while truck warning beepers sound across Pennsylvania Avenue as the temporary inauguration stands are slowly going up.

Solidarity With Fight To Stop ‘Cop City’ After Police Murder Forest Defender

January 22, 2023 IGD Worldwide, It's Going Down. Resist! Atlanta, Cop City, Georgia, Police, police brutality, Solidarity, Vigil

Across the US, people held vigils to mourn the police murder of forest defender, Manuel Teran, 26, also known as Tortuguita, on Wednesday, January 18th and to rally in solidarity with the struggle against the destruction of the Weelaunee forest and the construction of the counter-insurgency training facility known as “Cop City.” Unicorn Riot wrote: A protester was shot and killed by police Wednesday morning, January 18, in the midst of a multi-jurisdictional raid on the Atlanta Forest, also known as the Weelaunee Forest, in DeKalb County, southeast of Atlanta. The identity of the protester is currently unknown. A Georgia State Trooper was reportedly also shot during the raid and is currently undergoing surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, according to police. At least three other protesters were reportedly arrested during the raid and were charged with “aggravated assault on a public safety officer” and “domestic terrorism.” A forest defender, who was present during the raid and spoke with Unicorn Riot under conditions of anonymity, reported hearing 10-12 gunshots all at once followed by a loud boom.

July 12: A Vigil To End Human Concentration Camps

July 6, 2019 Lights for Liberty. Resist! Detention Centers, Immigration, Migrant Children, Vigil

We are a coalition of people, many of whom are mothers, dedicated to human rights, and the fundamental principle behind democracy that all human beings have a right to life, liberty and dignity. We are partnering with international, national, regional and local communities and organizations who believe that these fundamental rights are not negotiable and are willing to protect them. On Friday July 12th, 2019, Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Concentration Camps, will bring thousands of people to locations worldwide as well as to concentration camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by migrants.

Thousands Of People Are Organizing A Huge, Nationwide Vigil At Detention Camps Across America.

June 26, 2019 Annie Reneau, Upworthy.com Resist! Detention Centers, Immigration, Undocumented, Vigil

When you hear one story, you may assume it's an anomaly. When you hear a few stories, you might think they're just rumors. But at this point, the number of reports from on-the-ground sources documenting blatant human rights abuses on our soil cannot be ignored. We have doctors, lawyers, public health officials, civil rights experts, and reporters sharing horrifying first-hand accounts of what is happening to people—to children—we have detained. We have administration officials on video telling incredulous judges that children in overcrowded detention centers do not need access to showers, soap, toothbrushes, or blankets.

“Dreamers” Take A Stand For DACA In 24/7 Vigil Outside White House

September 6, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! DACA, Immigration, Undocumented, Vigil, White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - Washington, DC — Supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are conducting a 24-hour vigil outside the White House despite administration plans to scrap the program within 6 months. In spite of President Trump’s intent to make good on a campaign promise to end DACA, a White House memo leaked on Sunday preserved hopes that political pressure can save the program. An Obama Executive Order of 2012 gave legal status to nearly 800,000 children of undocumented immigrant families. Those children, known as “Dreamers,” their advocates and supporters have been circulating a petition and maintaining a vigil outside the White House since August 20 to keep them from being deported. Advocates say that Dreamers should maintain their legal status because they had little say in their parents’ decision to bring them to the U.S. and that canceling the program is like pulling the rug out from under a government promise. It would force participants to live in the shadows, take away their jobs and put them in jeopardy of deportation, the advocates say. Many Dreamers are legally permitted to work with some serving in the U.S. armed forces, while others attend school.

Protesters Illuminate Charlottesville During Candlelight Vigil At UVA

August 18, 2017 Carla Herreria and Ryan J. Reilly, www.huffingtonpost.com Create! Charlottesville, Racism, Vigil, White Nationalism

By Carla Herreria and Ryan J. Reilly for The Huffington - CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ― A new light illuminated Charlottesville on Wednesday, when thousands of people assembled on the University of Virginia campus for a candlelight vigil. The peaceful gathering was in protest of the weekend violence that broke out after white supremacists stormed the campus with Tiki torches. Demonstrators on Wednesday swayed with their candles as they sang, “This Little Light of Mine” and the American classic “This Land Is Your Land.” At one point, people chanted, “Love wins!” After the vigil ended, a group chanted, “Black Lives Matter.” Brandy Mokhtar, a Richmond resident who graduated from UVA in 1996, said she felt “compelled” to be a part of the candlelight vigil. She said she wanted to help “cleanse and wash away all the hatred that was spread across the grounds.” Mokhtar said UVA is “a very safe place,” where violence is out of place. Mokhtar, who is black, said the school had its share of controversies during her time, but UVA responded well and she had a wonderful college experience.

Peace Vigil Marks Hiroshima Anniversary

August 8, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Hiroshima, History, Nuclear Weapons, Vigil

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - On Sunday At exactly 7:02 PM, peace activists Philipos Melaku-Bello and Cliff Roberts sit quietly at the Peace Vigil in front of the North Portico of the White House. They mark the moment when 72 years ago the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. But this historic day passes at the White House in typical form. If not for the Peace Vigil activists, there would be no one to remind the passers by of its significance. The many flags, signs and photos at the Peace Vigil could easily lead to confusion as to why it is there. There are over a dozen posters with different messages about war, occupation, politics, and oppression. Reprinted photos of the attack aftermaths on Hiroshima and Nagaskaki are attached to the two permanent wooden boards of the Peace Vigil. Above them are three flags: a large silk Tibetan flag hangs on the left sign, and an anarchist flag sags on the right, while a small plastic American flag sits in the middle above the tent. The signs and flags embody principles that both compliment and contradict each other and this is essence of discourse at the Peace Vigil. Several hundred tourists are milling about while posing for selfies.

Thousands Join Hong Kong Vigil For Tiananmen Square Anniversary

June 6, 2017 J.R. Wu and Katy Wong, www.reuters.com Resist! Hong Kong, Vigil

By J.R. Wu and Katy Wong for Reuters - Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong on Sunday for a candlelight vigil to mark the 28th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing's Tianamen Square, while Taiwan urged China to make a transition to full democracy. Nearly three decades after Beijing sent tanks and troops to quell the 1989 student-led protests, Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the event on the mainland and have yet to release an official death toll. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand killed. Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is the only place on Chinese soil where a large-scale commemoration takes place, symbolizing the financial hub's relative freedoms compared with the mainland. This year's events are especially politically charged, coming just a month before an expected visit of President Xi Jinping to mark 20 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China. "When Xi Jinping comes, he’ll know the people of Hong Kong have not forgotten," Lee Cheuk-yan, an organizer of the annual candlelight vigil, said.

Peace Vigil Stands Near White House As A Warning To Nuclear War

April 13, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Nuclear War, Protests, Vigil, White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - Whenever the President looks out from the North Portico side of the White House, he can see his nearest neighbor seated in front of the white tent of the Peace Vigil. Its plastic canvas is silhouetted against the lawn of Lafayette Park, which is lined with tulip beds and stately elms. The tent is flanked by two large white signs standing over it like guards, displaying photographs of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bomb aftermaths. The black and white photos illustrate the graphic carnage of the end of WWII when the US nuclear bombings extinguished tens of thousands of lives in milliseconds and ushered the age of atomic warfare.

White House Peace Vigil Attacked

August 12, 2016 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Peace, Vigil, White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - An unknown assailant destroyed the White House peace vigil tent, slicing it in half, on Wednesday afternoon. Philipos Melaku-Bello, the coordinator of the vigil, was sitting watch at the time and unhurt. He reported hearing someone call him a racial epithet and turned to see an eight foot gash in the tarp overhead. He put out a call for help on social media and within hours, about ten supporters responded. The attack occurred while Secret Service were moving tourists back from the sidewalk in front of the White House and across Pennsylvania Avenue toward Lafayette Park, and a large crowd surrounded the vigil.

Overnight Peace Vigil At NRA

June 18, 2016 Rebecca Green, www.codepink.org Resist! LGBTQ, Orlando Shooting, Vigil

By Rebecca Green for Code Pink - This Monday, June 20, CODEPINK and a diverse coalition are organizing an overnight peace vigil in front of the NRA to honor the 49 people killed and 53 injured in the tragic mass shooting this past weekend in Orlando and call for a ban on assault weapons. We will have 49 hearts to honor those slain in the horrific act, and will have individuals volunteer to represent these lives that were ended too soon. We will be joined by representatives of Muslim groups, LGBTQ groups, anti-gun violence organizations, mothers who have lost children to gun violence, peace groups, and individuals who have been directly affected by the epidemic of gun violence

White House Peace Vigil Will Keep Going, Activist Vows

February 8, 2016 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Anti-Nuclear, Peace Movement, Vigil, White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - The future of the longest-running peace protest in the U.S. recently came into question when its co-founder, Concepcion Picciotto, passed away on January 25. Picciotto was largely responsible for keeping the anti-nuclear vigil in front of the White House going since its beginning in August 1981. Long dreaded, her death is mourned by supporters and fellow volunteers who have kept the peace vigil going for 34 years. Her absence also creates a practical problem: how to cover the long shifts she put in every day through all kinds of weather.

Vigil Held Outside Juvenile Detention Center Where Teen Died

February 5, 2016 Anna-Lysa Gayle, www.wlky.com Resist! Detention Centers, Juveniles, Vigil

By Anna-Lysa Gayle for WLKY - HARDIN COUNTY, Ky. —Mourners gathered in Hardin County Sunday night to remember a teenager who died shortly after arriving at a juvenile detention facility. Dozens stood outside the Lincoln Village Juvenile Detention Center, praying and shouting Gynnya McMillen's name as they called for answers. McMillen, 16, was found dead on Jan. 11, hours after she was admitted. She was brought there after a physical altercation with her mother.

Canadians Suspend Bid To Mine Near Devil’s Tower

February 1, 2016 Talli Nauman, www.nsweekly.com Resist! Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Vigil

By Talli Nauman for Native Sun News - SUNDANCE, Wyoming – The Canadian company that has proposed to mine rare earth minerals near the culturally significant tribal landmark of Mahto Tipila, or Devils Tower, suspended activities Jan. 21, at the so-called Bear Lodge Project. The announcement by the company’s California law firm led the U.S. Forest Service to cancel open houses Jan. 23 in Sundance and Jan. 24 in Upton, Wyoming, which the agency had scheduled to inform the public of the plans contained in a draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS, for the project.

Jerry Berrigan Memorial Drone Blockade

January 29, 2016 Bruce K. Gagnon, www.space4peace.blogspot.com Resist! Drones, Maine, Vigil

By Bruce K. Gagnon for Space for Peace. Syracuse, NY - Jerry Berrigan, who died on July 26, 2015 at the age of 95, was a husband, a father, a brother, a teacher and someone who – like his brothers Dan and Phil – dedicated his entire life to Jesus’ command to love one another. Jerry came to the base on a bi-weekly basis whenever he was able, in Jerry’s words, “to remind the base commander of our government’s pledge under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, a treaty to safeguard non-combatant’s well-being in any warzone in which U.S. forces are engaged in combat.” And further, “to register horror and indignation at reports of bombing missions by drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan which resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians; men, women and children.”

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