Hiroshima, August 6 – 1945
Human shadows were burnt into sidewalks and walls in the first nuclear war.
The Shadow Project – 2006
61 years later, we chalk shadows on the streets of Portland, so that the blinding light of nuclear war is never seen again.
Hiroshima Day marks the anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th, 1945. Over 200,000 people were killed by those two bombs. Since then, nuclear weapons have posed the single greatest threat to the survival of our species.
I’ll be attending with my two kids and will return with photographs from the event.
The Administration has plans for increasing U.S. nuclear weapons programs and so we urgently need to remind Oregonians and our lawmakers of the horrific consequences of nuclear weapons. We cannot let the memory of Hiroshima fade and allow our leaders to make this grave mistake again.
The Shadow Project is political art, by the people, for the world. People all over the world will make chalk shadows on the streets of our cities, remembering the human shadows burnt into the streets of Hiroshima by nuclear bombs. We do this the week before Hiroshima Day, August 6th, with the hope of preventing nuclear shadows from ever being cast again.
Come to a Chalking the Sidewalk Session: materials, permits, techniques, and others to chalk with.
August 6 – Japanese-American Plaza – 4:30 pm – NW Couch & Naito. The half hour training will be followed by chalking shadows near the training site.
“The Shadow Project began in 1982 and was organized as an International Shadow Project from Portland in 1985 in 426 cities worldwide. The Cold War may be over, but with the lapse of treaties and nuclear oversight, and research to build new atomic bombs, the threat of nuclear disaster is closer than most people think. Recently our fears have been focused on terrorism, but the old terrors have not gone away.” For information on the Shadow Project – www.ShadowProjectHome.org
Program:
Joel Iwanaga, Channel 6 News, emcee Reverend Alcena Boozer, president of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Polo Ronault Catalani, civil rights attorney and columnist for The Asian Reporter Chisao Hata, dancer/choreographer Dr. Martin Donohoe, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility Reverend Jack Takayanagi, United Church of Christ. Music by Toki Taiko drums and Aurora Chorus.
Co-Sponsors: Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Japanese American Citizens League, Portland Branch of WILPF – Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Hiroshima Club,
American Friends Service Committee, Code Pink Portland, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Friends of Sabeel – North America, the Military and Draft Counseling Project, Oregon Buddhist Temple, Oregon PeaceWorks, Rural Organizing Project, WAND – Women’s Action for New Directions, Wasco County Citizens for Human Dignity, Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, Veterans for Peace Chapter 72, Church of Scientology of Portland, Multnomah Friends Meeting, Soka Gakkai International (SGI)-USA
that’s an interesting way of making your point. I just re-read Hiroshima the other day. It’s a chilling book.
There’s been different events since Friday. Yesterday at the VFP 72 Peace Memorial there was an event there at 2 pm followed by the Eyes Wide Open.
this weekend was super busy with so many peace events to attend, most c0-sponsored by my two favorite groups…
I think tonight will be a positive way to address both my children’s fears of Nuclear Wars. It will also empower them to feel that they came, they will witness amazing speakers… and who knows what they’ll take with them for life.
My daughter, her only “public education” of Hiroshima is that “it stopped a war”. She once raised her hand in class to ask about all the children and was hushed. That wasn’t on the test. So today is very very special to my daughter. It’s the one she wanted to attend.
My daughter watched a documentary on the Discovery Channel on Hiroshima today. I was surprised she chose to watch it, but needless to say, she was horrified. She learned a lot and it gave us much to talk about.
One of the things that shocked her the most was the shadows of people on the sidewalk.
Sounds like a good project.
They won’t tell your daughter that the President of the United States told the American people that Hiroshima was selected because it was a military target, which was a lie in every way.
They won’t tell her that among the children in Hiroshima were American children, the children of families in California interned in camps, who were sent back to Hiroshima because it had no military bases and so was safe from bombing.
They won’t tell her that for years the U.S. government denied the deaths and illnesses that lingered for years, caused by radiation.
They may not tell her, but you do. The shadows of Hiroshima still darken our present, and her future.
Good work.
I would like others to think about a US policy that targets civilian populations. Hiroshima was not a military target; it had not even been bombed as many other cities had. One reason it was targeted was because it was a “clean” city and the effects of the atomic bomb could be documented.
Weapons of MASS Destruction. Used by USA. On a “clean city” so we could get a better understanding of the death and toll…
The Zen teacher, Jan Chozen Bays, who founded our (somewhat) local Zen monastery is a pediatrician/priest who specialized in treated victims of child abuse. She was born the day Hiroshima was bombed and says it was the biggest factor in guiding her life towards the pursuit of easing suffering of other beings. She and a group of students and friends made a pilgrimage to Hiroshima and nagasaki last year, taking the prayers and best wishes of hundreds of Americans with them . You can check out their project if you google “Jizos for peace”.
Thanks for this, Janet.