On Saturday, January 23rd 2021, the Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center celebrated its 12th Annual Peace Awards Ceremony via ZOOM. The virtual celebration on the 23rd featured keynote addresses from our awardees, a special Peace Center retrospective historical video, a raffle fundraiser, as well as time for small group discussion/mingling via breakout sessions. If you missed the event, you can find the keynote addresses of our awardees below on and on youtube channel!
Each year, the Peace Center selects an individual or organization to be awarded our Local Hero for Peace & International Hero for Peace Awards. Our Local Hero for Peace awardee was Mary Taylor, founder of the Black Lives Matter Committee of the African American and Friends Club in Rossmoor. Our International Hero for Peace Award was the organization, The Black Alliance for Peace.
Mary Taylor has taken an active lead this year organizing in her community. In the midst of a global pandemic and multiple uprisings across our own country, Taylor took the lead in organizing numerous rallies & educational guest speaker events that served to raise awareness around issues of racial & social justice as a response to the police killing of George Floyd. One of these well-attended events, was a candlelight vigil remembering victims of police brutality. Taylor was also responsible for organizing a highly popular, ongoing series that offers Rossmoor residents a chance to share their personal experiences with racism.
Our International Hero for Peace awardee was The Black Alliance for Peace, an organization that concentrates its efforts on opposing the U.S. war agenda and other projects of militarism abroad through educational activities, movement support, and awareness building. They also work to raise awareness about the link between global militarism and the state-sanctioned repression Black and Brown communities face domestically. We’ve been following the work of the Black Alliance for Peace since early last year – and we have been consistently impressed and inspired by their strong presence and leadership. During the pandemic, they have mobilized activists across the globe – as well as held space for webinars and discussion.
The virtual celebration on the 23rd featured keynote addresses from our awardees, a special Peace Center retrospective historical video, a raffle fundraiser, as well as time for small group discussion/mingling via breakout sessions. For more information on our work, please visit: www.ourpeacecenter.org