Please note: Many events have been cancelled, postponed or moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please check with local organizers to confirm events and follow local safety guidelines if attending events in person.
Reading of John Hersey’s Hiroshima
Townsend Park, Albany, NY (Henry Johnson Blvd and Central Ave)
Friday, August 6, 2021 at 11:00AM ET
A reading of John Hersey’s Hiroshima will take place on Friday, August 6, 2021 in Townsend Park (Henry Johnson Blvd and Central Avenue), in Albany, NY, starting at 11:00 AM. The event is free and open to the public, and those interested in reading can sign up when they arrive. Please bring chairs. Sponsoring organizations include the Tom Paine Chapter of Veterans for Peace, the Poetry Motel Foundation, and Upper Hudson Peace Action. This public reading, commemorating the atomic bombing of Japan, was started by the late Tom Nattell, an Albany poet and environmental activist, and has occurred every year since the late 1980s. For further information, contact Dan Wilcox: dwlcx@earthlink.net or 518-482-0262.
Hiroshima VIRTUAL Commemoration
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 7:30PM-8:30PM ET
United Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset, NY. Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Willow, and Shelter Rock Unitarian Social Justice Committee invite you to a Hiroshima Commemoration with poetry, music, prayer, and presentations. On the program are music from Karl Jenkins, presentations by Ray Acheson from WILPF and Emily Rubino, Exeutive Director of Peace Action New York State, a reading from Margaret Engels, and music from Willow. Register
The Mighty String Demons Commemorate Hiroshima/Nagasaki
S Staten Island Children’s Museums grounds. 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY
Saturday, August 7 at 11AM-12:30PM (ET)
The Mighty String Demons will use beautiful music, the story of Sadako, and origami paper cranes to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the cause of peace and abolishing nuclear weapons forever. This program is a collaborative project of Peace Action of Staten Island, the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, and the Mighty String Demons.
Sponsor: Peace Action New York State
A Virtual Commemoration of the 76th Anniversary of the U.S. Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Wednesday, August 4 at 7:30 – 8:30 pm Eastern
Keynote Speakers:
Ray Acheson, Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom and author of
Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy
Emily Rubino, Executive Director, Peace Action NYS
Moderator: Claire Deroche, Social Justice Coordinator, UUCSR
Reading: Margaret Engel, LI Alliance intern
Music: Willow, Women’s Acapella Choir with Farah Chandu
Closing: Margaret Melkonian, LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
Sponsors: Social Justice Committee of Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, LI Alliance for Peaceful
Alternatives, Peace Action New York State, and Willow
Time TBA
Reading of the Phila. City Council Resolution and Reading Excerpts from UN Nuclear Ban Treaty
Sponsor: Brandywine Peace Community
Friday, Aug. 6; 7:00 PM Japanese Bell. (West of the Iowa Judicial Branch Bldg, 1111 E. Court Ave. DM) A remembrance and memorial service to include reflections, poetry, music, and the traditional ringing of the bell and placement of flowers.
Sun. Aug. 8; 1:30- 3:00 PM First Unitarian Church, 1800 Bell Ave. DM. Zoom presentations to be followed by local responses.
Global Zero will share their campaign to secure international commitments to a No First Strike policy. The National Iranian American Council will present an update on the status of the reinstatement efforts of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
NIAC will also give an update of the impact of sanctions on the Iranian people.
Sponsor: Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace
Sponsor: Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Multiday event with presentations, trainings, and day of action. Detailed schedule here.
Shine a Light, Stop the Hate, Lower the Heat
August 6 & 9, 9 am Pacific each day
Featuring speakers and musicians. Hybrid event – some virtual and a small presence at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab in the SF Bay area.
Sponsor: Tri-Valley CAREs
Sponsor: The Nuclear Resister
Join Greater Boston, PSR LIVE AND IN PERSON, on the evening of August 6th, Hiroshima Day, for a showing of The War Game, by Peter Watkins. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, this 45 minute film envisions an escalating war between NATO and the USSR resulting a nuclear attack on Great Britain. Originally written for the BBC, the film was deemed too provocative by the British Broadcasting Company.
After the film we’ll hear brief remarks on what you can do by Dr. Ira Helfand and take questions from the audience.
This film screening is sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action and Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Sponsor: Merrimack Valley People for Peace
Sponsor: Waltham Concerned Citizens