Obama’s visit draws Kalamazoo peace rally

(Ben Coleman/ Western Herald) Peace activists lined Stadium Drive anticipating President Obama's arrival to Kalamazoo

By Ben Coleman
Western Herald

The quick beat of drums filled the air as a group of peace activists lined Stadium Drive Monday, June 7, while waiting for President Obama to arrive for Kalamazoo Central High School’s graduation ceremony.

The group, made up of members of a coalition of Michigan organizations advocating peace, held signs thanking the president for steps he has taken in office and urging him to take more action with issues such as the crisis in the Middle East and public education.

“For the city, this is definitely an historic event,” Todd Bannon, co-director of Great Lakes Peace Jam, said. “It shows the power of public education and our uniqueness of the Kalamazoo Promise and the fact that Obama chose to come here shows Kalamazoo is a progressive community.”

Tobi Hanna-Davies is a member of the Kalamazoo Non-violent Opponents of War.  Hanna-Davies said she appreciates what Obama has done in office but recognizes that more still needs to be done to promote peace.

She said she believes he is working hard to make those changes but needs the support of U.S. citizens and the cooperation of other branches of government.

“We are celebrating,” Hanna-Davies said.

“We are showing our young people it is right to send a message to our leaders. It’s a very American thing to do.”

Members of the group discouraged calling their meeting a protest, insisting they were sending a positive message to the President by thanking him and congratulating Kalamazoo Central High School graduates.

Throughout the rally, Hanna-Davies was one of three members of the group controlling “Peace Mama,” a 10-foot-tall puppet originally created by a women’s peace group called Code Pink.

As Marine One circled over the group, before landing at Kalamazoo College’s baseball field, Peace Mama waved and blew kisses to the barrage of helicopters overhead as the crowd cheered and waved signs.

A rising cheer followed by a collective sigh came out of the crowd as the president’s motorcade progressed down Stadium Drive and turned, short of the meeting ground, down West Michigan Avenue.

Western Michigan University student Jessica Church is a student mentor with the Great Lakes Peace Jam, a group that includes and looks to Nobel Laureates for leadership and education.

“It was a bummer that he turned the wrong way,” Church said, “but it was nice to show him support.”

“We are hoping he saw our signs from the air,” Bannon said.

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Posted by kleonard on Jun 8 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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