This summer marks the 79th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings that killed and injured hundreds of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. Many of our Back from the Brink Hubs and endorsing organizations will be co-sponsoring, hosting, and otherwise involved with events that commemorate and honor victims, past and present.
Please see the list of locations below, and click + to view more information on each event. You can also click + again to close the additional information.
Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, CA / Online)
More information: https://trivalleycares.org/2024-hiroshima-commemoration-events
PSR-LA, BftB, SND, Teens4Disarmament (Los Angeles, CA)
We are honored to invite you to “Lanterns of Hope: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” an event to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Event Details:
WHAT: Lanterns of Hope: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 79th Anniversary Vigil
WHO: Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Back from the Brink coalition, Teens4Disarmament, and Students for Nuclear Disarmament
WHEN: Friday, August 9th, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
WHERE: Gloria Molina Grand Park (Fountain Plaza), 200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
WHY: To commemorate the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings and call for the elimination of nuclear weapons
This event will begin with a traditional Japanese village dance performance. A moment of silence will be observed after our guest speakers, followed by the release of paper water lanterns, each individually decorated, to honor the victims of the bombings.
Our keynote speaker, Kikuko Otake, a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and author of “Masako’s Story: Surviving the Atomic Bombing in Hiroshima,” will share her family’s experience. Maylene Hughes, Grassroots Organizing and Policy Coordinator at Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, will manage the event and provide materials for the public to learn more or join the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.
Other esteemed speakers include:
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Dr. Jimmy Hara, board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
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Eddie Laiche, student activist and co-founder of Students for Nuclear Disarmament
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Manon and Kanon Iwata, student activists and founders of Teens4Disarmament
The event aims to come together in community while raising public awareness of nuclear threats and building support for banning and eliminating nuclear weapons.
We look forward to your presence at this meaningful event. Together, we can honor the past and work towards a future free from the threat of nuclear weapons.
Contact Maylene Hughes for more info: mhughes@psr-la.org
Event page: https://preventnuclearwar.org/lanterns-of-hope-remembering-hn/
Monterey Peace and Justice Center (Monterey, CA)
With traditional taiko drumming, music, poetry, and stories, culminating in a lantern floating ceremony at dusk, this year’s Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration at Lovers Point Cove in Pacific Grove marks the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). The Monterey County Branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, (WILPF), honors those who perished in the atomic bombings and those who survived and are still with us.
The ceremony acknowledges the violence and long-term consequences of the atomic bombing and reaffirms our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons so that such a tragedy is never repeated.
This respectful, inclusive, and free event is open to the public.
Emcee: Beverly Bean, Chair of WILPF Monterey County Branch
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sharat G. Lin, medical physicist, is affiliated with Human Agenda and is a Board Advisor for the Initiative for Equality. He teaches, writes and lectures on global political economy, migrant labor, public health, environment, war and peace, and arts in social activism. Contact Sharat Lin at 408-915-9744 or sharatlin@hotmail.com
Sundown will signal the launching of the peace lanterns. Tai-Chi Master Jim Scott-Behrends will play meditative music on the Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo) flute while the Peace Lanterns float serenely on the cove waters, pulled by kayaks.
Sponsored by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Monterey County Branch.
Co-sponsored by the City of Pacific Grove, the Peace Coalition of Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula Friends Meeting (Quakers), Veterans for Peace, Monterey Chapter 46, and the Monterey Peace and Justice Center.
More information/RSVP on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-hiroshima-nagasaki-remembrance-tickets-903936407127
Back from the Brink - CT (West Hartford, CT)
2024 Hartford Area Hiroshima / Nagasaki Remembrance
Hiroshima / Nagasaki Remembrance
A Shared Call for Nuclear Weapon Abolition
The USA, Russia and China upgrade their nuclear arsenal and more countries develop nuclear weapons, it is time to say STOP THIS MADness. Join us as we Hope Out Loud for the abolition of nuclear weapons and a nuclear free world.
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Promoting a vision of a nuclear-free world
6:30 – 9:00 PM, Friday, August 9th
Friends (Quaker) Meeting House (backyard)
144 South Quaker Lane, West Hartford, CT
(NOTE: easiest access to the ‘backyard’ is the Quaker Lane Cooperative Nursery School walkway between 142 and 151 Maplewood Avenue)
5:30 pm – Pot Luck Dinner and time to talk
7:00 pm – Program with Music, Speakers and Spoken Word
8:30 pm – Candle-Lighting Ceremony featuring creation of a large candlelit peace sign
More information: http://hopeoutloud.org/ or email ericstamm@aol.com
Greater Boston PSR (Cambridge, MA)
BE SERIOUSLY SCARED is an evening in solidarity with the people of Japan to remember the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki on August 9, and nine years later, the poisoning of 23 Japanese fishermen aboard the Lucky Dragon #5 and countless others by the hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll.
This free event will take place on Monday, August 5 at 7 pm at the Main Branch of the Cambridge Public Library. The producer and co-writer of the feature film Tickling the Dragon’s Tail (in development), Cambridge resident Larry Jay Tish will present the tragedy of the Lucky Dragon #5 and the Bikini Atoll.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A and dialogue with the audience.
Larry Jay Tish is a filmmaker, performance artist, actor and writer and resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Michael Dwyer is a filmmaker, public artist and graphic designer and lives in Upstate New York.
Massachusetts Peace Action is co-sponsoring this event. Dr. Ira Helfand will be presenting on behalf of the Boston Back from the Brink Hub.
More information: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/be-seriously-scared-a-film-screening-presentation-and-dialogue/
Western MA BftB Hub (Northampton, MA)
For the 79th Hiroshima/Nagasaki commemoration, the Western Massachusetts BftB Hub will be working with their local faith community to have bells rung at 8:15am, Tuesday, August 6, throughout the Connecticut River Valley. Letters to the Editor and an Op-Ed piece are being submitted explaining to readers of our several local newspapers the meaning and importance of the bells they will hear. Then, after August 6, more letters will be sent, saying: “Did you hear those bells on August 6? Here is what it meant.” For details on letter writing, please contact Bruce Stedman (301-602-3684; brucestedman1@gmail.com).
In late August, the Hub is organizing an in-person Back from the Brink gathering at Look Park, Northampton, Massachusetts from 2-5pm. It will be a chance for 30-40 Hub members and other activists working to abolish nuclear weapons to meet each other, share ideas, and discuss new strategies for moving forward the elements of the Back from the Brink call. To attend, please RSVP as soon as possible with Henry Rosenberg (413-221-1135; hwrbpt@gmail.com).
Chesapeake PSR (Fulton, MD / Online)
Back from the Brink (BftB) and Chesapeake PSR member RF Gillum has organized the first Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial service of the Baltimore-Washington Conference (600 churches) of the United Methodist Church, which will occur at 11am on Tuesday, August 6 at the Mission Center in Fulton, MD.
BftB Steering Committee member Gwen DuBois will be featured speaker.
For Zoom link email: frifkey@bwcumc.org.
Greater Springfield Campaign for Nonviolence (Springfield, MA)
Co-sponsored by BftB Hub, Pioneer Valley PSR
Syracuse Peace Council (Syracuse, NY)
🌍 August 6th at 7:00 p.m., @ Bishop Harrison Center, 1342 Lancaster Ave., Syracuse, 13210. The Syracuse Peace Council will sponsor a screening and discussion of the award-winning 20-minute documentary Appreciation: The Tomiko West Story, a survivor’s story of Hiroshima, with Director Michael Dwyer. Jeremy Love, National Field Organizer of the Back from the Brink Campaign to Prevent Nuclear War will lead a discussion about escalating tension between nuclear-armed nations and actions citizens are taking to prevent nuclear catastrophe. Free and open to the public (donations accepted) Refreshments will be served.
🧑🤝🧑 Friday, August 9th, gather at 11:30 at Clinton Square, (corner of W. Genesee Street and South Salina St.) in Syracuse to join the Peace Council for a SOLEMN PROCESSION: Toward a Nuclear-Free World to remind our community of the horrors of nuclear war and the hope that comes from working together. . Bring your own signs or carry one of ours. Contact Wendy Yost at 315-807-9134 for more information.
PeaceWorks Kansas City (Kansas City, MO)
Remember Hiroshima, Nagasaki
August 4, 2024 6:30 pm
Loose Park Lagoon
PeaceWorks KC will gather again at the Loose Park Lagoon this year to remember the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the lives lost or forever changed by those atrocious events. We will share a potluck on Aug. 4 at 6:30 pm, before our 7:30 pm program.
PeaceWorks KC has been leading this event since 2005. In past years, we have floated lanterns, rung bells, enjoyed poetry and been inspired by speakers connected to the Japanese experience. We gather to remember the awful nuclear bombings in hopes that they will never happen again. History forgotten is history destined to repeat itself. As we prepare for this annual event, the National Security Campus, South KC’s nuclear bomb plant, prepares to double its size and production. Our nation is preparing for an escalation of nuclear weapons production, with the NSC making mechanical and electrical parts for 7 new bombs. A new cold war is upon us, and it is centered right here in KC.
More information: https://peaceworkskc.org/remember-hiroshima-nagasaki/
Wisconsin PSR (Madison, WI)
Lanterns for Peace – August 4, 2024
TENNEY PARK – MADISON, WISCONSIN
Rain Plan: If it rains, we will create lanterns and complete the speaking program inside the John Wall Family Pavilion. Then if it is clear enough, we will launch the lanterns on the water.
Join us for this family friendly event on Sunday, August 4th to commemorate the lives lost in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings 79 years ago and make sure that such nuclear attacks never again take place. We remember the past, so that we can envision and work for a peaceful, just and nuclear-free future.
The event will be open to the public to attend at Tenney Park outside of the John Wall Family Pavilion and the entire event will be held outdoors weather & temperature depending. You are welcome to mail in your lantern design by Monday, July 29th to our office if you cannot be in attendance.
SCHEDULE:
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6:30pm: Open to public at to create lanterns
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7:30pm: Program starts
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~7:45-8:00pm: Lanterns launched at dusk
More information: https://psr-wisconsin.org/lanterns-for-peace-2024
Coalition for Peace Action (Princeton, NJ)
CFPA’s 45th Annual Commemoration of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings
Join Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) for an outdoor program beginning at 7:00 pm.
Monday, August 5, 2024 | 7:00-8:30 PM
Hinds Plaza
65 Witherspoon Street
(adjacent to the Princeton Public Library)
Keynote Speaker: Shiho Burke
We are honored to have the deep perspective ofShiho Burke, whose family’s first-hand experience of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima — including her mother’s survival — both informs and drives her peace activism.
In her own words …
“Growing up in Hiroshima amidst my parents’ firsthand experiences of the atomic bombing profoundly influenced my dedication to advocating for world peace. At the age of 10, I starred in the movie White Town Hiroshima (Shiroi machi hiroshima), directed by the renowned Tengo Yamada — known for Barefoot Gen — and produced by Kaneto Shindô, whose film Postcard was Japan’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards.
By the time I was 16, as a member of the Crane Club at Hiroshima Jogakuin High School and a Peace Ambassador, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe with a Hiroshima TV crew to film a documentary. During this journey, I visited the family of the architect of the Atomic Dome, Jan Letzel, who was Czechoslovakian. I also visited Berlin, including Hitler’s last residence, and one of the concentration camps, Theresienstadt.
In recent years, while raising three children, managing several businesses, and working as a translator, I have continued to actively participate in peace events as a speaker whenever possible. Currently, I am dedicated to completing my mother’s memoir, with upcoming plans to focus on this project further this fall when my son departs for Princeton University.”
With songs of peace performed by The Solidarity Singers of The New Jersey State Industrial Union Council
Origami crane-folding activity for all-ages!
The origami crane folding activity will include instruction for children. This activity is included as origami cranes are the Japanese symbol for globally banning nuclear weapons. Candle lighting and a moment of silence will conclude the Program.
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Weather permitting, beginning at 6:00 PM attendees are invited to bring their own picnic meal to enjoy on Hinds Plaza (no alcohol please) – tables and chairs are already set up in the Plaza. If inclement weather is forecasted, the decision to move the event indoors to Nassau Presbyterian Church will be made the morning of August 5th. Please check back here or on our social media platforms for updates.
RSVP for this FREE event today!
While the event is FREE and open to the public, for best planning we do ask that those planning to attend the 7:00 PM Program RSVP to jnew@peacecoalition.org with your name and the number expected in your party.
More information: https://peacecoalition.org/events/1459-cfpas-45th-annual-commemoration-of-the-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-bombings.html
NH Peace Action/NH BftB Hub (Online)
Pairing the personal stories of Hibakusha nuclear bomb survivors with their evocative portraits created on her 2003 trip to Hiroshima, long-time peace activist Jane Bernhardt brings a moving account of the horrors of August 6, 1945 and its aftermath in her multimedia presentation, The Hibakusha Peace Project. Please join us in seeing and listening to these profound messages that compel a moratorium on nuclear weapons.
The Hibakusha Peace Project is an opportunity to reflect on the memory of Hiroshima with the hope of transformation. It is a series of collage portraits of A-Bomb survivors by Jane Smith Bernhardt, accompanied by their stories and poems.
Jane is a graduate of the Guild for Spiritual Guidance and a seven-year course in multi-dimensional healing through Greta Bro’s Wisdom Ways Mystery School. Practice in meditative listening opened the way for the extraordinary illuminations on the afterlife recorded in her first book: We are Here Love Never Dies.
You can read more about Jane HERE.
More information/RSVP: https://actionnetwork.org/events/the-hibakusha-peace-project?clear_id=true
From Hiroshma to Hope (Seattle, WA)
Washington PSR will be tabling at the “From Hiroshima to Hope” event on Tuesday, August 6 in Green Lake, Seattle.
More information: https://fromhiroshimatohope.org/
