Today and tomorrow, May 1 and 2, peace activists of all ages will join together in Washington DC to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam Peace Movement.
The gathering—Vietnam: The Power of Protest—Telling the Truth. Learning the Lessons—has been organized by the Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee in response to the Pentagon’s plans to hold its own commemoration of the war, plans that generated a false history, a chronology that denied the accomplishments and value of protest. The group seeks to create “an accurate history of both the Vietnam War and one of our country’s most important social movements.”
The organization notes, “As war continues to be a clear and present danger to our democracy, we gather to reflect and renew our commitments.”
In support of these plans, Pacifica Affiliates KCSB and WMNF have broadcast complementary programs.
On Tuesday, April 28, Radio Occupy on KCSB 91.9 FM (Santa Barbara, California) aired in its entirety a recent local lecture by Dr. Helen Caldicott.
From its website:
Dr. Helen Caldicott giving Frank K. Kelly talk at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. (Photo Credit: Rick Carter / Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)
“As part of the Annual Frank K. Kelly Lecture series sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Dr. Helen Caldicott recently addressed the issue of nuclear weapons and what can be done about them.
A Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr. Helen Caldicott is a distinguished speaker who has been recognized by the Smithsonian as ‘one of the most influential women of the 20th century’ for her tireless activism on the dangers of nuclear energy and the problem of nuclear weapons proliferation. Her local lecture took place on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California.“
A video of that lecture can be watched through the station’s website. There will also be a post-airing podcast.
Radio Occupy is an hour-long, weekly show produced at KCSB-FM, hosted by Kathy Swift, William York Hyde, Zach B., and Dr. Matt. The group “adhere(s) to the principles of a free and independent broadcast journalism dedicated to the maintenance of an informed citizenry and radical participatory democracy.” Radio Occupy airs on Tuesdays in the Spring from 7-8PM PDT.
On Thursday, April 30, KCSB’s Culture of Protest aired “Soundtrack for the Vietnam Anniversaries.”
From the station’s website:
“April 17—the first national march against the Vietnam war called by SDS in 1965.
April 30–forty years ago, the US finally conceded defeat.
This weekend in Washington, veteran anti-war activists have organized a day and a half commemorative conference, concert and walk of remembrance. I was asked to prepare a playlist of songs that reflected and inspired the antiwar movement, so this week we’ll play as many of the top 20 as we can fit in our hour. You can tune in and then let me know which ones I left out!”
Culture of Protest has been hosted by Dick Flaks for more than 32 years.
At WMNF 88.5 Community Radio (Tampa, Florida), host Robert Lorei dedicated Thursday’s Radioactivity: Live Call-in to a discussion of the war’s legacy with TD Allman, Vietnam War journalist.
From the station’s website:
“Today is the 40th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, which marked the end of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam war and the beginning of communist control of Southern Vietnam. according to recent survey estimates, between 1.5 and 3.6 million people (died) during the 20 year span of the war. We are joined by TD Allman, a Tampa-born journalist who covered the war and revealed a secret illegal war in Laos that was kept under wraps by the Nixon Administration.”
Pacifica was founded in the name of peace. In documenting its history, Pacifica’s website notes, “1969 Pacifica is the only news organization willing to break Seymour Hersh’s story of the My Lai massacre.” Pacifica affiliates today perpetuate that dedication to both peace and protest.