About 125 anti-nuclear weapons activists rallied at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2015, before marching almost two miles to the Y-12 National Security Complex. At front from left are JR Dazo of Las Vegas; Ken Jones of Asheville, N.C.; Buddhist monk Denise Laffan of Newport, Tennessee; and Roberto Guzman of Detroit. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance has organized several nuclear disarmament events at Alvin K. Bissell Park and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge today.
There was a names and remembrance ceremony scheduled from 6-9 a.m. today (Saturday, August 6) in front of Y-12, at the intersection of Scarboro and Bear Creek roads. That annual ceremony marks the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. Uranium for that bomb, code-named Little Boy, was enriched in Oak Ridge.
From 12:30-3:30 p.m. today (Saturday, August 6), OREPA has a Concert for Peace and Rally for Disarmament at Alvin K. Bissell Park with a March for Abolition that starts at the park.
OREPA has other events planned as well, including a Peace Lantern Ceremony at 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 9, the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. The Peace Lantern Ceremony will feature music, chanting, traditional Japanese dance, and peace lanterns at Sequoyah Hills Park in Knoxville.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Dave Smith says
I suppose the person in the foreground of the photograph was looking for parallelism in the phrasing of his sign, but he’s mistaken on two counts.
First, it’s not 70 miles from Asheville, NC, to Oak Ridge, TN. It’s about 140 miles. Maybe he meant to write 70 mph (while driving) from Asheville to Oak Ridge.
Second, it’s been 71 years – not 70 years – since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which of course hastened the end of WWII and brought peace.
Truth is too often sacrificed for catchy slogan.
I hope the protesters will broaden their interest enough to hold their next protest in North Korea. NK is the only country test-firing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles at their neighbors.
Philip W Nipper says
If it were not for our nuclear deterrent capabilities, North Korea might very well be doing more than just tests.
johnhuotari says
Hi, Dave.
I used a file photo from 2015 for the preview story on the OREPA events on Saturday, so the 70th anniversary sign was from 2015. I apologize, but I don’t recall the details of the 70-mile pilgrimage. I’d have to check my stories from last year to see if I included any information on that.
I hope that helps.
Thank you,
John