This special focus peaceful sidewalk vigil is part of regular Friday vigils for peace and justice issues organized by the Peninsula/Palo Alto, CA Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's branch. It honors the TPNW's entry into force, and the successful efforts of UN member states - and organizations such as WILPF, who supported the 2017 Treaty with signature petitions - that contributed to the success we celebrate on the 22nd.

Our vigil will be at the Palo Alto corner of El Camino and Embarcadero Roads, outside a large shopping mall, across from a major public high school, and at an entrance to Stanford University's grounds. WILPF members will be joined by Pacific Life Community members who will attend our vigil after their 9am vigil outside Lockheed-Martin's Sunnyvale, CA facility - a long-standing vigil.  We have invited many Santa Clara and San Mateo county, CA peace, justice, nuclear disarmament and environmental organizations to participate.   

We plan to bring our three WILPF banners: the major banner bears the message to "End the Nuclear Era"; another expresses our partnership with the Poor People's Campaign's goals, which includes our shared goals to end poverty, racism, militarism, degradation of our planet by unchecked climate change, and the "false moral narrative" of the extremists on the religious right; and the third banner which declares "Peace and Planet Before Profit." We are linking the treaty to the environmental movement because there is no more catastrophic climate event that the accidental or intentional detonation of a nuclear weapon, which could cause global "Nuclear Winter." 

We cannot estimate the number of participants because both counties are under COVID-19 "lockdown" restrictions that limit travel from home, but the vigil is a constitutionally protected "protest" (against nuclear weapons) and we are requiring masks, 6' social distancing, and providing hand sanitizer. The location, at a major intersection in Palo Alto could easily accommodate 100 or more but concerns about the pandemic will undoubtedly reduce that number of participants.

Our WILPF branch is also circulating an announcement/flyer that also lists these Jan 22 events:

• the 8 am Livermore National Lab "banner-holding" event organized by Tri-Valley Cares (for details:  www.trivalleycares.org);
• the 9am-10 am Pacific Life Community vigil at the Sunnyvale, CA Lockheed-Martin gate (for details: [email protected] or [email protected]);
• the 5pm-6pm Weekly Friday Peace Vigil in front of the San Jose MLK Library (for details: [email protected]).
• And on Jan 23rd the 3pm-4pm on San Mateo Peace Action vigil in front of the Bank of America building in San Mateo. (for details:  [email protected]. 

Please see a separate listing for the San Jose WILPF branch for a virtual program on Zoom on the Treaty on Jan 22, 7pm. Details soon to be available at at https://sanjosepeace.org/calendar/