The White House Peace Vigil is an anti-nuclear weapons peace

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 genera ...

started by William Thomas in 1981. Thomas believed it to be the longest running uninterrupted

anti-war protest An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

in U.S. history. After Thomas's death in 2009, it was maintained around-the-clock by

Concepción Picciotto Concepción Picciotto (born María de la Inmaculada Concepción Martín; 15 January 1936 – 25 January 2016), also known as Conchita or Connie, was a Spanish-born, United States–based peace activist. She lived in Lafayette Square, Washington ...

until her death in 2016, and also by other volunteers to prevent the vigil from being dismantled by authorities.

History

Thomas launched the anti-nuclear vigil outside the White House in

Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square is a seven-acre (30,000 m2) public park located within President's Park, Washington, D.C., United States, directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east and Pennsy ...

on June 3, 1981. He was later joined by Concepción Picciotto in August 1981 and Ellen Benjamin in April 1984. Over the years various other activists have joined them, including those from the Catholic Worker Movement, Plowshares Movement and

Occupy D.C. Occupy D.C. was an occupation of public space in Washington, D.C. based at McPherson Square and connected to the Occupy movements that sprung up across the United States in Fall 2011. The group had been demonstrating in McPherson Square since Octob ...

It continued to be staffed by activists during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In 2013, the Peace Vigil was disassembled while it was briefly left unattended. It was restored the same day.

Influence

Thomas and the White House Peace Vigil inspired U.S. House of Representatives Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to introduce the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act, that would require the United States to disable and dismantle its nuclear weapons when all other nations possessing nuclear weapons do likewise. The Congresswoman has been introducing a version of the bill since 1994.

In the media

''The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue'', a 2012 documentary directed by Tim Wilkerson and 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 on 1 ...

, recounts the lives of anti-nuclear activists Thomas, Concepción 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 El ...

References

External links

WHPeaceVigil.com

Proposition One website

1981 establishments in Washington, D.C. Anti-nuclear protests in the United States Anti-war protests in the United States Peace camps Peace vigil {{Activism-stub

History

Influence

In the media

See also

References

External links