Humboldt Branch Supports Peace and the Planet

The Raging Grannnies at the Arcata Climate Strike. Photo by Judee Mayer.

By Sue Hilton

The Humboldt Branch was busy at the end of September and into October. At the end of September we had two climate events plus a proclamation and a celebration of the International Day of Peace that included information about the importance of treaties for keeping the peace. And then in early October we met with our congressman and talked about some of the same issues plus others.  

Our busy week in September started on September 18 with a Proclamation from the City of Arcata for the International Day of Peace, received by our branch member Azra Sehic, a Bosnian refugee and passionate advocate for peace. The City Council Proclamation emphasized the importance of working on climate issues, since that was the theme of the International Day of Peace this year.

Two days later, on September 20, we had two different Climate Strike events. One was in Arcata and included a great turnout of enthusiastic and determined young folks, and another later in Eureka was smaller but included a very diverse crowd. WILPF wasn’t an official sponsor of either event, but our member Jene McCovey, Yurok elder, did the opening for the Arcata event and the Raging Grannies, about half of whom are WILPF members, sang at both. 

Photo: International Day of Peace photo courtesy of Linda O’Hara-Scott.

The day after the Climate Strike we were all out again at our International Day of Peace Celebration, sponsored by WILPF and the Kunle Community, a local group doing peer-based mental health support. The event started with tabling by many local groups. Jene McCovey did the opening prayer, and there was peace-oriented poetry and music from the Interfaith Gospel Choir, folksinger Jan Bramlett, a local guitarist, and the Raging Grannies.

Sue Hilton from WILPF talked about treaties, starting with treaties and peacemaking agreements between native tribes (local and elsewhere), covering the four treaties in our new handout (which we had at our table), including the two nuclear-related treaties, and ending with a short discussion of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We ended with a candlelight vigil.

And then on October 6, four of us met with our district’s congressional representative, Jared Huffman. We gave him the treaties handout and talked about election security, and about immigration and refugees (brought forward by Azra Sehic, whose personal story of being a refugee clearly impressed Congressman Huffman). We advocated for a Department of Peace and for the Eleanor Holmes Norton bill; and we pushed for a reduced military budget and amendments to end support of the Saudi war in Yemen, no unauthorized war with Iran, and repeal of the AUMF in the NDAA.

Congressman Huffman agreed with us on many things. He pointed to the congressional bill on election security and voting rights, said he didn’t want and didn’t think it would be possible to get another federal department, and agreed to look at the Norton bill. We’ll follow up on that.