Messages of peace, love and unity echoed through Hinds Plaza last Sunday, as attendees remembered how history was changed forever the moment American forces dropped the only two nuclear weapons ever used in an attack more than 70 years ago.
Hosted by the Coalition for Peace Action, the evening was predominantly used as a time to mark the 73rd anniversary of the World War II nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where upwards of 15,000 and 75,000 people were instantly killed, respectively.
At 7:16 p.m., which corresponds with the moment at 8:16 a.m. JST when the bomb dubbed “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, attendees held a moment of silence.
Following that somber display, the Solidarity Singers of the New Jersey State Industrial Union Council performed before Nobel Peace Prize nominee David Steinberg gave a poetry reading.
And while a major focus was on the two Japanese cities and their shared nuclear devastation, the evening of remembrance also featured presentations on a variety of topics, from abolishing nuclear weapons to the importance on non-violence in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and beyond.
The featured keynote speaker for the evening was Dr. Alex Wellerstein, a specialist in the history of nuclear weapons at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, where his work focuses on the history of nuclear technology, government secrecy and Cold War science.
He is currently working on a project entitled “Reinventing Civil Defense,” with the goal of making the threat of nuclear weapons “personal” again, particularly for the younger generation.
In his talk, Wellerstein touched on topics of 1950s civil defense mechanisms, such as “duck and cover,” which was aimed at school children to hide under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack.
“Being under your desk is not going to save you from an atomic bomb landing on your school but it will save you from glass breaking and going into you,” he said. “Could you save lives? Yes. Can you save all lives? No. The government has never been able to acknowledge the fact that, even in it’s best case scenario, you still have millions dead.”
Wellerstein’s newest project, he said, is hoping to look at things from a public health angle rather than formal education.
“Our goal is, how would you make [young] people understand that nuclear threats are actually a part of their lives?” he asked. “The answer isn’t going around giving lectures to young people, that’s not an effective way to reach any young people.”
He said that those older than 35 typically sneeze into their hands, while the younger generation sneezes into their elbow in an effort to not spread germs. They can’t see the germs, but they know they’re there. He said that this is similar to how those in 1950 were afraid of nuclear weapons, despite not having any direct contact with them.
“It’s not theoretical, it’s not math, it’s not science, it’s that stuff that you know exists, even though you haven’t been taught it. How do we do that with nuclear weapons again?” he asked the crowd.
By going into high schools, Wellerstein said, he discovered that young people are thinking about other things than nuclear weapons — such an income inequality and social justice — and through national polls, he said one in four Americans are unaware of which country dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.
“What we’re trying to do is [get] around what I think is a major stumbling block for people who want to change nuclear policy for the better,” he said. “Which is, for most people in this country, they don’t feel they live in a world in which nuclear threats are real anymore.”
By making the threat of atomic bombs personal as it was in the 1950s, Wellerstein said, it could build a new understanding of nuclear weapons for a younger generation
The topic shifted from surviving nuclear warfare to embracing ideals of peace and love with a presentation from Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York.
Along with two other members of his team, Newsome outlined how BLM is currently marching from New York to Washington, D.C. for the one-year anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, at which Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and the supposed “alt-Right” clashed with far-left counter-protesters, resulting in one death and numerous injuries.
Rev. Bob Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, said the rally was a “shameful day in the history of this country.”
“How the President of the United States can say there were good people on both sides is way beyond me. That is an utterly ridiculous statement,” he said. “One side killed unarmed human beings, and the other side did not do that. So there is no moral equivalence there.”
Newsome and his team passed through Princeton on August 5, and their march will end at the Martin Luther King statue in D.C. on August 12. While in town, he shared what he and his fellow BLM New York members faced at last year’s Unite the Right rally.
“A group of us packed into a car that literally broke down three times on the way from New York,” he said. “It was like something was saying, ‘No, don’t go, stay away.’ But we stayed the course. Why? Because we had to face hate.”
While the group intended on staying non-violent, Newsome said, things changed when he was pelted in the face with a rock. With a BLM New York poster in one hand and a bullhorn in the other, Newsome said he blocked the rocks, blood trickling down his face.
“This little white woman appeared out of nowhere, I swear God sent her, and she said, ‘son, you can do so much more with your words than anything you pick up out here,’” he said.
A month later, he and other members BLM New York attended the Patriot Rally for Donald Trump supporters, where they were invited on stage to speak.
It was there where Newsome decided to “choose love” and made an effort to let the thousands of Trump supporters understand their mission.
While BLM Global denounced BLM New York afterwards and members left the local chapter, Newsome continued to spread and unite others in love and positivity.
“We started out with 10 or 12 [marchers] but now it’s down to three,” he said. “We three were on the front lines in Charlottesville getting pelted, getting pepper sprayed. We’ve been through the fire, so we’re trying to lead people in love on August 12. I just ask people to join us, because it’s hard.”
Moore applauded Newsome’s mission and “holy” message, saying that love is the most powerful thing that can “transform” an enemy relationship into one of respect, whether that be at a political rally or between countries in a nuclear war.
He added that, with the global abolition of nuclear weapons, everyone can “survive and thrive,” leaving no opportunity for an attack the size of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or larger, to happen in the future.
“As we remember the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we need to recommit ourselves to a world without nuclear weapons as the only way we can be sure they they will never be used again by North Korea, by the United States, by Russia and by anyone,” he said. “No matter whether you’re a person of faith or not, I believe that love can conquer. And that’s what we’re all about.”