On Saturday, December 2nd, I was delighted to host the 40th Anniversary Reunion of our 1983 Vandenberg and Livermore Actions.
Over thirty long-time activists gathered at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists to reminisce on our powerful actions that helped stop the MX missile from being deployed and slowed the development of new nuclear weapons. Many thanks to my long-time friend Mokai for suggesting this, and Bill Simpich for helping organize the event. Also to Cece, Mark MacDonald, and Pat Fahey for bringing sound and technical support that made it all work.
I donned my original wedding dress to read an excerpt from my book Get a Life about my arrest at Vandenberg Air Force Base and my arrest in the wedding dress at Livermore Labs. Between Zoom and our live event, we heard from such movement luminaries such as Starhawk, Jackie Cabasso, Tori Woodard, Kate Rafael (who flew in from Seattle), Rafael Gonzalez, David Solnit, Marylia Kelley, David Hartsough, and Peter Lumsdaine.
Hugs and smiles abounded as those of us at the live event then mingled, catching up with friends we had not seen in years if not decades. After some refreshments, Mokai, Bill, Pat, and I played some acoustic music, starting with Mokai’s “Warrior Woman,” a tribute to the late great Judy Bari.
Meanwhile, Tori facilitated a lively discussion on Zoom about organizing for the future. A few items that emerged from this were:
- a December 28th blockade at Travis Air Force Base to protest huge planes suspected of taking arms to Israel;
- the 50th-year reunion at Rocky Flats in 2028;
- a blockade at Livermore focused on the plan to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal (specifically the ground-based ICBMs. (New plutonium pits would be manufactured for new Sentinel missiles to replace the Minutemen missiles);
- linking the anti-nuclear weapons movement to the Palestine support movement;
- climate Survivors movement that would give young people, in particular, survival skills and hope.;
- discussion of how the sense of belonging and being part of something bigger than yourself could maybe bring people out of their shells;
- people need to learn how to grow food in their region, stay in touch if the internet goes down, change our wasteful lifestyle, and apply pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- permaculture workshops.
We have started following up on these conversations via Zoom. Please email me if you want to be included.
In solidarity, dress