[Photo credit: Hank Pellissier. Edited for size.]
By Hank Pellissier
On January 25, Saturday night, a standing room only crowd participated in a hugely successful “Peace Gathering” event at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Fifteen Free Palestine activist groups with table displays and stage presentations explained to the enthusiastic crowd the compassionate and liberating steps they were taking to assist the victims of genocide and apartheid, and how the public could help them.
Attendees were generous! A CODEPINK Bake Sale sold pies, cookies, and cakes to raise $725 for Prosthetics For Palestine. Other groups, overwhelmingly from SF East Bay, included Veterans for Peace, Mount Diablo Peace & Justice Center, Berkeley Banner Drop, Nor Cal Sabeel, Taxpayers Against Genocide, Berkeley Network For Palestine, Peoples Arms Embargo, Women in Black, Health Workers For Palestine, Bay Area Divest, Doctors Against Genocide, Albany El Cerrito for Palestine, and RACCOON.
The intention of the event, produced by Humanist Mutual Aid Network, was to introduce the multitude of groups to each other and like-minded progressives, to encourage collaboration, strategy-sharing, and unification in upcoming large actions.
Two South American musical acts provided rousing entertainment. A three-piece Chilean band played protest songs with the crowd joining in, and an Aymara duo from Bolivia played traditional music and explained the current endangerment of Evo Morales. Awards were also handed out by CODEPINK - the “pink badge of courage” - to eleven activists, for their exemplary commitment.
Children hugely enlivened the event. A young girl - eight or nine years old? - opened the show by leading the crowd in Free Palestine chants, with her sister closing the night with a violin solo of We Shall Overcome. Their brother, armed with an air horn, blasted Times Up warnings to the speakers. All three children sold discount megaphones, trumpets and t-shirts to eager older buyers.
The Peace Gathering will be a regular event at the Berkeley UU with the next event scheduled in March or April. East Bay activists who want to table and presentation in the future can contact the producer at humanistmutualaid [at] gmail.com.
Hank Pellissier is a writer, editor, speaker, activist, political theorist, producer, and nonprofit director.