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Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament
The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament was a 1986 protest march that crossed the length of the United States to raise awareness of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for complete, verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. The Great Peace March consisted of hundreds of people, mostly but not exclusively Americans, who left Los Angeles, California on March 1, 1986. Despite financial difficulties which drove the march's organizers into bankruptcy shortly after it began, the marchers themselves took control of the event and continued onward. They successfully completed the full route of 3,700 mi (6,000 km) and arrived in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 1986.
The Great Peace March was conceived by Los Angeles businessman David Mixner, who formed People Reaching Out for Peace (PRO-Peace), a non-profit organization, to fund the trek. Mixner, an experienced political consultant, began planning for the event in 1984 after his work for the Gary Hart presidential campaign ended in failure, and announced his plans for the march at the Los Angeles Press Club in April 1985.
PRO-Peace hoped to attract corporate sponsors to provide funding for the march, akin to other major charity events of the mid-1980s like Live Aid, Farm Aid, and Hands Across America. However, the issue of nuclear disarmament proved to be too politically controversial for most of the companies PRO-Peace approached, and fundraising fell well below expectations.
Beginning in early February, marchers gathered in a park in Reseda, California to await the beginning of the journey. The march was supposed to begin with a star-studded benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on March 1, but this plan had to be scaled down after PRO-Peace struggled to convince major artists to appear for free. The Coliseum still served as the starting point of the march on that date, but the send-off ceremonies were moved a few miles down the road to City Hall, where Mayor Tom Bradley and numerous Hollywood actors wished the marchers well and Melissa Manchester, Holly Near, and Mr. Mister performed on a temporary stage. The 1,200 marchers – about a quarter of the 5,000 that PRO-Peace had hoped to attract – then proceeded to their first overnight campsite on the California State University, Los Angeles campus.
Despite large and well-publicized contributions from celebrities including Barbra Streisand, who gave the march half the proceeds from her rendition of "Somewhere", and Paul Newman, PRO-Peace had raised less than $4 million by the time the march began. It was estimated that the march's total expenses would be about $21 million, nearly half of which would be needed just to feed the marchers along the way. Caltrans required event organizers to purchase an insurance policy covering at least $5 million in damages before the marchers would be allowed to travel along state highways, but PRO-Peace was unable to afford this much insurance coverage. With logistical problems cropping up and uncertainty as to whether they would even be allowed to cross the Cajon Pass out of San Bernardino, over 200 participants dropped out of the march in the first two days, before it had even left the Los Angeles suburbs.
After March 3, however, the group of marchers remained stable at a population of roughly 975 or 980. Although it was impossible to exit San Bernardino to the north without using state roadways, the insurance problem was avoided by having buses transport the marchers much of the way to Hesperia. Six marchers were allowed to follow the entire route on foot to complete the symbolic link.
On March 10, the marchers arrived at a campsite eight miles south of Barstow, planning to hold a peace rally at Barstow Community College the next morning and then proceed through the city and further into the desert. However, the college refused to host the rally without liability insurance, while cold and heavy rains incapacitated several marchers and made further progress impossible. With serious concerns about the safety of marchers in the Mojave Desert and PRO-Peace almost $500,000 in debt, the march remained stalled outside of Barstow for several days.
As supplies ran low, several hundred people left the march. On March 14, Mixner announced to the remaining marchers that PRO-Peace would fold due to its growing debt. The next day, marchers established a new non-profit organization, The Great Peace March for Nuclear Disarmament Inc., which took control of as much of PRO-Peace's facilities and equipment as possible, while other equipment was seized and repossessed by creditors. The roughly 500 participants that remained then walked 10 miles to a BMX track on the north side of Barstow, which already had its own liability insurance, ensuring that the marchers would not have to pay that cost themselves. The group began raising funds to continue onward, and in the meantime offered acts of community service to the city of Barstow. The 300 marchers that remained after two weeks in Barstow left the city on March 28 to proceed through the desert toward Las Vegas. Along the way, they democratically elected a "city council" and a board of directors for the new organization.
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Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament
The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament was a 1986 protest march that crossed the length of the United States to raise awareness of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for complete, verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. The Great Peace March consisted of hundreds of people, mostly but not exclusively Americans, who left Los Angeles, California on March 1, 1986. Despite financial difficulties which drove the march's organizers into bankruptcy shortly after it began, the marchers themselves took control of the event and continued onward. They successfully completed the full route of 3,700 mi (6,000 km) and arrived in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 1986.
The Great Peace March was conceived by Los Angeles businessman David Mixner, who formed People Reaching Out for Peace (PRO-Peace), a non-profit organization, to fund the trek. Mixner, an experienced political consultant, began planning for the event in 1984 after his work for the Gary Hart presidential campaign ended in failure, and announced his plans for the march at the Los Angeles Press Club in April 1985.
PRO-Peace hoped to attract corporate sponsors to provide funding for the march, akin to other major charity events of the mid-1980s like Live Aid, Farm Aid, and Hands Across America. However, the issue of nuclear disarmament proved to be too politically controversial for most of the companies PRO-Peace approached, and fundraising fell well below expectations.
Beginning in early February, marchers gathered in a park in Reseda, California to await the beginning of the journey. The march was supposed to begin with a star-studded benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on March 1, but this plan had to be scaled down after PRO-Peace struggled to convince major artists to appear for free. The Coliseum still served as the starting point of the march on that date, but the send-off ceremonies were moved a few miles down the road to City Hall, where Mayor Tom Bradley and numerous Hollywood actors wished the marchers well and Melissa Manchester, Holly Near, and Mr. Mister performed on a temporary stage. The 1,200 marchers – about a quarter of the 5,000 that PRO-Peace had hoped to attract – then proceeded to their first overnight campsite on the California State University, Los Angeles campus.
Despite large and well-publicized contributions from celebrities including Barbra Streisand, who gave the march half the proceeds from her rendition of "Somewhere", and Paul Newman, PRO-Peace had raised less than $4 million by the time the march began. It was estimated that the march's total expenses would be about $21 million, nearly half of which would be needed just to feed the marchers along the way. Caltrans required event organizers to purchase an insurance policy covering at least $5 million in damages before the marchers would be allowed to travel along state highways, but PRO-Peace was unable to afford this much insurance coverage. With logistical problems cropping up and uncertainty as to whether they would even be allowed to cross the Cajon Pass out of San Bernardino, over 200 participants dropped out of the march in the first two days, before it had even left the Los Angeles suburbs.
After March 3, however, the group of marchers remained stable at a population of roughly 975 or 980. Although it was impossible to exit San Bernardino to the north without using state roadways, the insurance problem was avoided by having buses transport the marchers much of the way to Hesperia. Six marchers were allowed to follow the entire route on foot to complete the symbolic link.
On March 10, the marchers arrived at a campsite eight miles south of Barstow, planning to hold a peace rally at Barstow Community College the next morning and then proceed through the city and further into the desert. However, the college refused to host the rally without liability insurance, while cold and heavy rains incapacitated several marchers and made further progress impossible. With serious concerns about the safety of marchers in the Mojave Desert and PRO-Peace almost $500,000 in debt, the march remained stalled outside of Barstow for several days.
As supplies ran low, several hundred people left the march. On March 14, Mixner announced to the remaining marchers that PRO-Peace would fold due to its growing debt. The next day, marchers established a new non-profit organization, The Great Peace March for Nuclear Disarmament Inc., which took control of as much of PRO-Peace's facilities and equipment as possible, while other equipment was seized and repossessed by creditors. The roughly 500 participants that remained then walked 10 miles to a BMX track on the north side of Barstow, which already had its own liability insurance, ensuring that the marchers would not have to pay that cost themselves. The group began raising funds to continue onward, and in the meantime offered acts of community service to the city of Barstow. The 300 marchers that remained after two weeks in Barstow left the city on March 28 to proceed through the desert toward Las Vegas. Along the way, they democratically elected a "city council" and a board of directors for the new organization.