Defuse Nuclear War: Honoring and Learning from the NYC Nuclear War Protest of 1982 June 6, 2022
In June 1982, a million people gathered in New York’s Central Park to protest the nuclear arms race. At the time, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were in the thick of the Cold War and shared the same world view — the policy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).
This June 12, PSR Arizona is inviting you to join us and hundreds (if not thousands!) of other peace, disarmament and social justice organizations at a virtual remembrance of the 40th anniversary of that peaceful demonstration to end what continues to be a threat, even after the collapse of the USSR and the reduction in the number of warheads. There remain enough warheads in the hands of nine nuclear nations to destroy the planet numerous times over.
The two-and-a-half-hour virtual gathering will feature speakers including former California governor Jerry Brown as well as the world premiere of a video produced by Oscar-nominated director Judith Ehrlich featuring Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on “defusing the threat of nuclear war.”
The Guest Speaker Lineup
Live presentations include director/producer Jeff Daniels, who will show and discuss excerpts from his 2020 documentary, “Television Event,” about the haunting 1983 TV film on nuclear war, “The Day After.”
Other speakers include Hanieh Jodat Barnes, Medea Benjamin, Jerry Brown, Leslie Cagan, Mandy Carter, Emma Claire Foley, Pastor Michael McBride, Khury Petersen-Smith, David Swanson, Katrina vanden Heuvel, and India Walton.
Access Information
The “Defuse Nuclear War” live stream event is sponsored by the RootsAction Education Fund, which hopes the event will serve “as a catalyst for grassroots organizing.”