I have only a little to add to Janet’s eloquent observance post. But I want to say, especially to those who believe that people would not die if they kept “their business” to themselves, that these people were doing no more than any person does: they were just trying to get by. Every human bleeds the same color blood as every other human, and all of us humans are the same: human. It is way past time for people to be treating every other human as they themselves want to be treated.
Tag: Peace
Peace & Justice History for 11/20:
| November 20, 1816 The term “scab” was first used in print by the Albany (N.Y.) Typographical Society. A scab is someone who crosses a union’s picket line and takes the job of a striking worker.  Read The Scab by Jack London |
| November 20, 1945 The International War Crimes Tribunal began in Nuremberg, Germany, and continued until October 1, 1946, establishing that military and political subordinates are responsible for their own actions even if ordered by their superiors.Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis were on trial for atrocities committed during World War II, ranging from crimes against peace to crimes of war, to crimes against humanity. The Nuremberg Trials were conducted by judges from the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain.  The Nuremberg defendantsRead more |
| November 20, 1959 The United Nations proclaimed “The Declaration of the Rights of the Child,” because “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.” Read the text of the Declaration |
| November 20, 1962 President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order forbidding racial discrimination in public housing. |
| November 20, 1969 Eighty-nine American Indians seized Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, offering to buy the island from the federal government for $24 worth of beads (the alleged price paid to the Canarsee Delaware Indians for Manhattan Island; it was actually 60 Dutch guilders). Their numbers swelled into the hundreds at times; the General Services Administration, which had responsibility for the site of the former federal prison, and Coast Guard gave them the opportunity to leave the island peacefully.They were reclaiming it as Indian land by right of discovery, and demanding fairness and respect for native peoples. The occupation lasted for more than a year. Said Richard Oakes, a Mohawk from New York, “We hold The Rock.”  Indian people and their supporters wait for the ferry. Photo/Ilka Hartmann  a new entrance to Alcatraz; Photo/Michelle Vignes Read more about the occupation  LaNada Boyer (formerly Means) inside one of the Alcatraz guard barracks where occupiers lived from 1969-71. Much of the graffiti from 30 years ago remains throughout the island today. Photo by Linda Sue Scott. |
November 20, 1977 Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat addressed the Israeli Knesset (parliament). “I come to you today on solid ground to shape a new life and to establish peace. “But to be absolutely frank with you, I took this decision after long thought, knowing that it constitutes a great risk….” Text of Sadat’s speech to the Israeli Knesset Listen to the speech |
| November 20, 1987 SANE (The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy) and FREEZE (the campaign to freeze all testing of nuclear weapons) merged at their first combined convention in Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the largest U.S. peace organization. Peace Action today |
| November 20, 1993 The U.S. Senate approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating the world’s largest trade area covering Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november20
Midweek Poetry
Personal Poem Esther Belin
When I walk around downtown Durango
I sometimes find myself searching for the location
Of shops and restaurants no longer there
With quiet intention, I will walk past familiar places:
Carver’s, Brown’s Shoe, Maria’s Bookshop
When in deep thought, I walk into the Animas
Chocolate Company – and like the numerous times
Before, the rows of truffles within the case
Deeply absorb me – the chocolatier’s artistry of
Small batch truffles, neatly arranged
Multi-colored, diversely shaped, shiny speckled &
smooth surfaced, gold dusted, nut-layered
globes rotate into my thoughts, a lasso spiraling
my focus like a funnel, like a warm caress leading me
by the hand, a lover’s scent lingering in the air
I do not buy a tray of truffles, nor an Americano coffee,
or any discounted chocolate tucked in the bin
by the east wall – rather I deeply absorb into
The something missing from this morning – the lingered
Yearning, the inability to coax last night’s thoughts:
Come forth & sing! Strands of hair beneath my pillow
Lost (or loose among) – inventoried in last month’s
Balance sheet – Did I?
O Asphyxiation – how You applaud My lapses
The lapping of consummating downtown walks
This evening there is a ruckus on Main St.
I lift my head, and see Nancy who just came from
The Pride event at the 11th St. Station
She’s covered with rainbow hearts &
We split one down the middle and pose
Click
Click
Click again
The goofiness, the anointing of laughter, the
Hug in broad daylight on Main St. in this
Mountain desert, tourist-tangled, tousled about
Like miners searching for a Mother-lode-of-
Gold town, the place I call home
Copyright © 2024 by Esther Belin. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 19, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
Tuesday Poem
Stories
You are a Diné woman
A cosmic energy of earth and sky
Nihimá Nahasdzáán
Azhé’é Diyiní
Winter is over
So, we put our stories in the drawer
Then we take them out for the next winter
It is said stories are only told in the winter
So, the bears and snakes do not hear them
My father is not a traditional man
But he grew up as a traditional ashkii yázhí
He speaks the tongue of the sky and earth
of our people
He knows the ways of our land
But denies it all
One day I tell him
about watching coyote and lizard
stories as a young girl in boarding school
in my Navajo culture class
I tell him excitedly how the videos are now on youtube
but I still don’t understand them
because the videos are only in Navajo
I show him the cute coyote and lizard video
in hopes he will translate for me
He stops me the first ten seconds in
And tells me I shouldn’t watch it
Not because he doesn’t believe in cultural preservation
We are only supposed to watch and tell those stories during the winter, he says
Ohhhhhh, I say as I close the app
All the years my dad talks down on our traditions
I find it interesting, he still abides by the way of the seasons
because he knows snake and bear might hear
Or maybe he said it for other reasons
Copyright © 2024 by Amber McCrary. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 18, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
Peace & Justice History for 11/19:
| November 19, 1915 Joe Hill, a labor organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was assassinated by firing squad in the courtyard of the Utah State Penitentiary in Salt Lake City.  The IWW, or Wobblies as they were known, were advocates of organizing all workers into One Big Union. It is reported that Joe had been framed for murder by copper bosses, the press and government forces. Just prior to his execution, as Joe stood before the firing squad he propelled himself him from organizer to labor martyrdom with these words: “Don’t waste any time in mourning. Organize!“ Joe Hill: The Man Who Didn’t Die, and more The IWW today |
| November 19, 1969 In an effort to undercut growing opposition to a draft made necessary by the Vietnam War, Congress passed a law requiring random selection of draftees through a lottery. The Selective Service System would call up young men based upon their birthday, first with 19-year-olds and those with expired college deferments. |
November 19, 1977 Sadat arrives in Israel In an unprecedented move for an Arab leader, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat traveled to Israel to seek a permanent peace settlaement with Egypt’s neighbor after decades of conflict. This action was extremely unpopular in the Arab World and especially among Muslim fundamentalists. Egypt and Israel had fought four wars since 1948. Sadat on November 9: “ Israel would be astonished when they hear me say this. But I say it. I am ready to go even to their home … to the Knesset and discuss peace with them if need be.” Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on November 11: “ Let us say to one another, and let it be a silent oath by the peoples of Egypt and Israel: no more wars, no more bloodshed and no more threats.” Together in Israel: Sadat: “ I wish to tell you today and I proclaim to the whole world: We accept to live with you in a lasting and just peace.” Begin: “ Everything must be negotiated and can be negotiated. We Jews appreciate courage, and we will know how to appreciate our visitor’s courage.” Sadat’s speech to the Israeli Knesset (parliament): |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november19
Monday’s Poem
(Someone must have wished for Summer before it’s even Winter?)
Sufficient
Citron, pomegranate,
Apricot, and peach,
Flutter of apple-blows
Whiter than the snow,
Filling the silence
With their leafy speech,
Budding and blooming
Down row after row.
Breaths of blown spices,
Which the meadows yield,
Blossoms broad-petaled,
Starry buds and small;
Gold of the hill-sides,
Purple of the field,
Waft to my nostrils
Their fragrance, one and all.
Birds in the tree-tops,
Birds that fill the air,
Trilling, piping, singing,
In their merry moods, —
Gold wing and brown wing,
Flitting here and here,
To the coo and chirrup
Of their downy broods.
What grace has summer
Better that can suit?
What gift can autumn
Bring us more to please?
Red of blown roses,
Mellow tints of fruit,
Never can be fairer,
Sweeter than are these.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 17, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
Peace & Justice History for 11/18:
| November 18, 1910 Hundreds of suffragists marched on the House of Commons in London, England, with reinforcements arriving to replace the “fallen” and arrested. Protesting government inaction on the Conciliation Bill, which would have enfranchised about a million women, they were brutally forced back by London police, leading to a public outcry. Read more |
November 18, 1964 FBI director J. Edgar Hoover publicly characterized Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. as “the most notorious liar in the country.” King replied that Hoover “has apparently faltered under the awesome burden, complexities, and responsibilities of his office.”  The FBI vs. Martin Luther King Democracy Now |
| November 18, 1970 President Richard Nixon asked Congress for supplemental appropriations for the Cambodian government of Premier Lon Nol. Nixon requested $155 million in new funds for Cambodia — $85 million of which would be for military assistance, mainly in the form of ammunition. |
November 18, 1989 More than 50,000 people took to the streets of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, demanding political reform. In the biggest demonstration in the country’s post-war history, protesters held up banners and chanted: “We want democracy now.” Read more |
November 18, 1993 South Africa’s ruling National Party, and leaders of 20 other parties representing both blacks and whites, approved a new national constitution that provided fundamental rights to blacks and other non-whites, ending the apartheid system. South Africa held its first democratic multi-racial election on April 26, 1994.From the preamble: “WHEREAS there is a need to create a new order in which all South Africans will be entitled to a common South African citizenship in a sovereign and democratic constitutional state in which there is equality between men and women and people of all races so that all citizens shall be able to enjoy and exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms….”  South African citizens in line to vote. Constitutional history of South Africa (2 separate pages) |
| November 18, 2001 In London, 100,000 marched against the U.S. and British attacks against Afghanistan.  |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november18
I Wish I Could Like This 10,000 Times!
Woot!!
Sunday Poetry
To Wahilla Enhotulle
Alexander Posey 1873 –1908
(To the South Wind)
O Wind, hast thou a sigh
Robbed from her lips divine
Upon this sunbright day—
A token or a sign?Oh, take me, Wind, into
Thy confidence, and tell
Me, whispering soft and low,
The secrets of the dell.Oh, teach me what it is
The meadow flowers say
As to and fro they nod
Thro’ all the golden day.Oh, hear, Wind of the South,
And whispering softer yet,
Unfold the story of
The lone pine tree’s regret.Oh, waft me echoes sweet
That haunt the meadow glen—
The scent of new-mown hay,
And songs of harvest men;The coolness of the sea
And forest dark and deep—
The soft reed notes of Pan,
And bleat of straying sheep.Oh, make me, Wind, to know
The language of the bee—
The burden of the wild
Bird’s rapturous melody;The password of the leaves
Upon the cottonwood;
And let me join them in
Their mystic brotherhood.This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 16, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
Peace & Justice History 11/16, 17:
| November 16, 1928 An obscenity trial began for Radclyffe Hall’s novel, “The Well of Loneliness.” Great Britain banned it for its treatment of lesbianism, though it contained no explicit sexual references.  A U.S. court in 1929 ruled similarly, for its sympathetic portrait of homosexuality, and because it “pleads for tolerance on the part of society.”  Radclyffe Hall Read more |
| November 16, 1989 Six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were brutally murdered by U.S.-trained and -supported death squads in El Salvador.In 1995 the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador linked the slayings to 19 members of the armed forces who were graduates of the School of the Americas (SOA, now known as Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), a facility run by the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia. Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. The graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people.  Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. The Truth Commission’s report More on the School of the Americas |
| November 16, 1990 President George H. W. Bush issued Executive Order 12735 which found the spread of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) to constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” He declared a state of national emergency to deal with this threat. The order reiterated U.S. policy to lead and seek multilaterally coordinated efforts to control the spread of CW and BW and directed the secretaries of State and Commerce to adopt a variety of export controls. |
| November 16, 1994 After receiving assurances from the United States, Britain, and France, the Ukrainian Parliament approved Ukraine’s agreement to follow the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapons state. |
November 17, 1973  President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, that “people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” Read more  |
November 17, 1980 Hundreds were arrested at the Women’s Pentagon Action protest of patriarchy and its war-making. Read more |
| November 17, 1989 Riot police in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, arrested hundreds of people demanding the resignation of the leader of the Communist-led government. More than 15,000 people, mostly students, took part in the demonstration demanding democratic rights. [see November 18, 1989 below] |
| November 17, 2000 The Florida Supreme Court froze the tallying of the state’s presidential election returns, forbidding Secretary of State Katherine Harris to certify results of the vote count in the presidential race between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorynovember.htm#november16
Scottie's Playtime 