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MAY 2018 CALENDAR OF EVENTSHello Friends,
Help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the nonviolent civil disobedience action of the Catonsville 9 in 1968 against the Vietnam War.
There are several excellent activities planned for the Commemoration, including:
1. May 4 and May 5, 2018–SYMPOSIUM and COMMEMORATION
May 4 SYMPOSIUM will be from 3:00-10:00 PM at the SHRIVER PEACE CENTER
at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in Catonsville, Maryland.
Presenters include: Frank Cordaro. Former Ambassador Ann Wright,
Kathy Kelly, Frida Berrigan and Margarita Bradford (of the
Catonsville 9)
May 5 COMMEMORATION will be from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM. Most of the activities
will be held at the CATONSVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The church is
located at 1400 Frederick Avenue in Catonsville, Maryland 21228.
Amy Goodman will be keynote speaker.
2. May 6 PRAYER SERVICE at 6:30 PM at the SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH
with Frida Berrigan and songs by the Charm City Labor Chorus
3. PERFORMANCES of the play by Daniel Berrigan “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine”
at SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH on May 17, 18, 19, and 21.
4. EXHIBITION at the University of Maryland Baltimore County Library located at 1000 Hilltop Circle in Catonsville, Maryland 21250 from APRIL 23-MAY 24.
5. DOCUMENTARY FILMS at different locations and dates.
6. PROTEST at the NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY on May 6 at 12:00 PM.
For a complete schedule, please check the website catonsville9.org
On the Home Page, click onto 50th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMMORATION
for details.
Thank you!
Tony
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The Catonsville Nine were nine Catholic activists who burned draft files to protest the Vietnam War. On May 17, 1968, they went to the draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, took 378 draft files, brought them to the parking lot in wire baskets, dumped them out, poured over them home-made napalm (an incendiary used extensively by the US military in Vietnam), and set them on fire. Then they sang, prayed, spoke with reporters and waited to be arrested by the Baltimore County police.
“Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children, the angering of the orderlies in the front parlor of the charnel house. We could not, so help us God, do otherwise.”
The Catonsville Nine were tried in federal court in Baltimore in October 1968. Large demonstrations occurred outside the Federal Courthouse on Calvert Street during the trial. The nine were found guilty of destruction of U.S. property and were sentenced to a total of 18 years’ jail.
The Catonsville Nine inspired many other anti-draft and anti-military actions in the 1960s and 1970s, including the D.C. 9, Silver Spring 3, Chicago 8, Harrisburg 7 and Camden 28. It is unknown how many persons were not drafted because of these actions.
As of 2009 the movement had morphed into a continuing movement with an emphasis on nuclear weapons including the so-called “Plowshares” actions.
Source [2017-18 CATONSVILLE9.ORG[
Maryland United for Peace and Justice 