William Thomas Hallenback Jr., known as Thomas (March 20, 1947 – January 23, 2009), was an American

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

activist and simple-living adherent who undertook a 27-year peace vigil – the longest recorded

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...

in US history at the time, with the title passing to his co-protestor Concepción Picciotto after Thomas' death – in front of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. Thomas was born in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

, and became a truck driver, jewelry maker, and carpenter. Inspired by the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It ...

, he became a

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

and began traveling the world in the interest of

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

. In 1978, having tried to swim across the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...

on his way to Israel, Thomas spent eight months in an Egyptian prison. Later, in response to

United States foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, ar ...

, he destroyed his

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

while trying to renounce his

American citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The British authorities deported him to the United States in 1980. In 1981, Thomas traveled to Washington, D.C., and spent several months at

Mitch Snyder Mitch Snyder (August 14, 1943 – July 3, 1990) was an American advocate for the homeless. He was the subject of a made-for-television 1986 biopic, '' Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story'', starring Martin Sheen. History Snyder grew up in Fla ...

's Community for Creative Non-Violence. On June 3, he launched the

White House Peace Vigil The White House Peace Vigil is an anti-nuclear weapons peace vigil started by William Thomas in 1981. Thomas believed it to be the longest running uninterrupted anti-war protest in U.S. history. After Thomas's death in 2009, it was maintained ...

in Lafayette Square. A couple of months later, in August 1981, he was joined by Concepcion Picciotto and then, in April 1984, by Ellen Benjamin. The following month, on May 6, 1984, Thomas and Ellen were married at a

Quaker wedding Quaker weddings are the traditional ceremony of marriage within the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker weddings are conducted in a similar fashion to regular Quaker meetings for worship, primarily in silence and without an officiant or a rigi ...

. During the first three years of the vigil, the Park Police had arrested Thomas sixteen times. The charges ranged from illegal camping to

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...

. In subsequent years, Thomas and Ellen protested with numerous other activists, including representatives from the

Catholic Worker ''Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper published seven times a year by the flagship Catholic Worker community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice. ...

and Plowshares movements. Thomas died on January 23, 2009, aged 61, of pulmonary disease.

Legacy

Thomas and the White House Peace Vigil inspired Delegate

Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Ea ...

to introduce the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1994. It would require the United States to disable and dismantle its nuclear weapons – once all other nations possessing nuclear weapons did likewise – and redirect the funds saved into

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

and social projects. Since 1994, Norton has continued to introduce revised or renewed versions of the bill. In March 2011, for example, following the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...

in Japan, it was reintroduced under the name of the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act". ''The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue'', a 2012 TV documentary commissioned by the

Al Jazeera Documentary Channel Al Jazeera Documentary Channel (Arabic: الجزيرة الوثائقية) is a pan-Arab satellite Arabic language film and documentary channel and a branch of the Al Jazeera Media Network based in Doha, Qatar. It was launched at 12:00 GMT o ...

, recounts the lives of Thomas, Ellen, Concepcion Picciotto and

Norman Mayer Norman David Mayer (March 31, 1916 – December 9, 1982) was an American anti-nuclear weapons activist who was shot and killed by the United States Park Police after threatening to blow up the Washington Monument. Early life Mayer was born in E ...

References

External links

* , September 16, 2007.
Peace Park Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas 1947 births 2009 deaths American anti–nuclear weapons activists American anti-war activists American tax resisters Christian radicals Nonviolence advocates Simple living advocates People from Tarrytown, New York American Quakers

Legacy

See also

References

External links