Honor the Dead by Working for Peace

Isaac Villegas, pastor of the Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, delivers an address at the Memorial Day Commemoration of the Victims of War held in Chapel Hill on May 28. Photo credit: Emily O’Hare, WILPF member.

By Lucy Lewis
Triangle (NC) Branch Steering Committee

Triangle (NC) WILPF was deeply engaged in Memorial Day activities, bracketed by two Poor People’s Campaign events. On Sunday, May 27, five WILPF members traveled to Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, NC, for an inspiring Mass Meeting with Rev. William Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the campaign. The event was focused on the campaign’s theme for Week 3—The War Economy: Militarism and Proliferation of Gun Violence.

On Memorial Day, the Orange County Peace Coalition, of which Triangle WILPF is an active member, sponsored its annual Commemoration of the Victims of War. More than 75 community members gathered at the Chapel Hill Public Library to hear Isaac Villegas, pastor of the Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, deliver his address “The Violence of Borders.”

Pastor Villegas began by remembering Claudia Patricia Gómez Gonzáles. “Gonzáles left her hometown of San Juan Ostuncalco in Guatemala, traveling 1,500 miles to Texas, crossing from Mexico into the United States somewhere near Laredo, finally arriving at San Bravo, a little over a mile into the United States,” he explained. “She was on her way to Virginia, to reunite with her boyfriend, and find work, but this past week a U.S. border patrol agent killed her in San Bravo, Texas.”

He continued, “Gonzáles is part of a whole movement of people who have been enslaved by a global economy that keeps them poor, barely alive, desperate for work, and desperate to escape the network of U.S. gangs that have migrated to Central America…” Pastor Villegas shared with the audience his concerns about how this administration is dehumanizing immigrants in order to justify the brutality of its immigrant policies. (Villegas’ full remarks will be printed in the next issue of Peace & Freedom).

Other program highlights included Memorial Day Proclamations from Mayor Pam Hemminger and Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle, songs by the Raging Grannies and the folk duo A Different Thread, a statement from the national Veterans for Peace by Doug Ryder, chapter president for NC Veterans for Peace, readings of “Whom Will We Honor Memorial Day?” by Howard Zinn and “Things We Carry on the Sea” by Wang Ping, and “Preemptive Peace - North Carolinians Speak,” a responsive recitation.  The event began and ended with a somber trumpet playing of Taps.

On Tuesday, May 29, Triangle WILPF gathered in Raleigh to hear Rev. Barber, North Carolina veterans, and members of Moms Demand Action address the war economy and failure to address human needs or curb gun violence. Rally participants then headed to the Legislative Office Building, where a joint House-Senate committee was holding a hearing on tax-related portions of the state budget.

Twelve protesters were arrested for interrupting the proceedings by calling for funds to address education and health, while dozens more flooded the halls with chants and singing.

Earlier in the month, on Monday, May 14, 200-plus protesters gathered in broiling heat outside the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh to hear powerful speakers address the core issues of the Poor People’s Campaign and the themes of Week 1—children and women in poverty, persons with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community. 49 protestors, including three WILPF members—Emily Keel, Liz Evans, and Fran Schindler—then formed a circle in the street in front of the NCGA and were subsequently arrested for blocking traffic.

Unlike in previous Moral Monday protests in NC, protesters who have been arrested for past civil disobedience won’t be allowed to do community service for their actions; they can either opt for a Superior Court trial (bypassing District Court altogether) or receive a 24-48 hour jail sentence.

Later in the afternoon, arrestees and supporters gathered at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church to address legal paperwork, sum up the day’s events, and share. They committed to come back the following week, and for the next six weeks.

For more information:
Contact Lucy Lewis: llewis2001@earthlink.net