Sebastopol's Living Peace Wall shines on
Sebastopol's Living Peace Wall shines on
This year’s induction ceremony will highlight honorees Susan Chunko, David Harris, Norman Solomon and Daniel Ellsberg
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, local resident and peace visionary Michael Gillotti will preside over the Sebastopol Living Peace Wall’s 8th annual induction ceremony in the Town Plaza.
The project, which involves honoring selected individuals for their commitment towards peace, began in October 2015 with the installation of the Living Peace Wall in its present site across from the Town Plaza and an inaugural dedication ceremony.
Each year since, four honorees are selected. Their names are inscribed in the granite wall, their biographies are added to the website, and they are honored at the annual induction ceremony held the second weekend of every September.
Gillotti, a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, conceived of the idea of the Peace Wall after watching America enter into new wars in the Middle East. He brought the vision to fruition with the help of local longtime coastal and environmental planner Richard Retecki.
“In a nutshell, the purpose of the Living Peace Wall is to promote the cause of peace and justice by honoring the peacemakers among us,” Gillotti said, adding that over the years the annual induction ceremony has taken on a sacred quality. The ceremony begins with a song, which is followed by an invocation from a minister. Then the honorees are introduced and honored.
Gillotti is quick to acknowledge the endeavor is an ongoing community effort, run by volunteers and supported by donations.
“I always wanted to have the community involved in this wall,” Gillotti said. “So one of the ways that we set it up so the community can participate is that the community nominates people that they think deserve to be on the wall.”
This year’s Inductees include Susan Chunko, David Harris and Norman Solomon, with a special tribute to prior-inductee (2018) Daniel Ellsberg, who passed away in June. Chunko and Solomon will attend in person and speak, as is the tradition, while Harris and Ellsberg, both deceased, will be remembered.
“The process starts with nominations from the community. In order to place a nomination, you must be a resident of Northern California, with special attention given to residents of Sonoma and Marin counties,” said Gillotti.
The nominees themselves are not limited to Northern California; however, preference is given to nominees from Sonoma County. Honorees, who are chosen from the nominees by a committee, are encouraged to attend the induction ceremony in person,
“We want to honor them publicly,” Gillotti said. “We want them to know, unequivocally, how much we appreciate them and what they’ve done to help move us toward creating a more loving, kind and peaceful world.”
As can be expected, this year’s Inductees include an inspiring mix of people—locals and otherwise—who have dedicated decades of their lives to social and political activism in the name of peace.
Susan Chunco first became an activist protesting the war in Vietnam, and in recent years has served on the board and as treasurer of the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County, collating the Sonoma County Peace Press and tabling at activists’ events for multiple organizations. One of the original advocates for Camp Michela (Remembrance Village), she continues to act as community liaison for the local homeless encampment.
Norman Solomon, a longtime peace activist from Marin County, began his activism at the age of 14, picketing in protest of a segregated Maryland apartment complex. In the 1980s he traveled to the Soviet Union as a spokesperson for the Alliance of Atomic Veterans in an effort to halt nuclear weapons’ tests. In addition, he founded the Institute for Public Accuracy in 1997, traveled in Iraq just prior to the U.S. invasion in 2002, traveled to Afghanistan in 2008 to see firsthand the effects of U.S. military action in that country, and ran for Congress for California’s North Coast Congressional District in 2012. He has also authored and co-authored several books that directly address peace and social justice, and is a regular contributing author to Common Dreams.
David Harris, the ex-husband of Joan Baez, encouraged others to resist the draft and the Vietnam War by mailing their draft cards back to their draft board and refusing to cooperate with the “war making machine.” Arrested by the FBI in the early ’70s and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, he inspired thousands of young men, including Gillotti himself, to resist the draft and the war. He passed away in January of this year.
Daniel Ellsberg, who risked receiving a long prison term for releasing the Pentagon Papers in 1973 and subsequently helped bring about the end of the Vietnam War, was previously inducted into the Living Peace Wall in 2018 and will receive special recognition for his courage and dedication to further the causes of peace and justice.
Community members near and far are encouraged to participate in the Peace Wall by nominating peacemakers, sending prayers and donations via the website, spreading the word to friends and family, and attending this year’s Sept. 9 annual induction ceremony. An eight-minute documentary film about the Peace Wall is available for viewing on the website. For more information, visit sebastopollivingpeacewall.com.
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Wish I could go to the ceremony however I will be out of state. The wall is a wonderful way to honor these deserving honorees!