Media
Press Release:
Jes Richardson Launches
“Purple for Peace”
Movement to Unite Americans Through Nonviolence – One Purple Armband at a Time
Marin County, CA – Jes Richardson, longtime peace activist and community organizer, has launched a bold new initiative: “Purple for Peace.” Through this movement, Jes hands out purple armbands at rallies and demonstrations, inviting participants to pledge nonviolence and bridge divides between “Reds” and “Blues.”
Jes has dedicated decades of his life to activism and promoting social justice. From the 1970s, when he volunteered with the United Farm Workers and spent nights in jail for advocating boycotts, to creating the popular Blue Heron Inn in Duncan Mills in 1979, Jes has consistently used creativity, courage, and community engagement to inspire change.
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In the Media
Anti-war rally in the shadow of Gandhi
Featured in the SF Gate
The Gandhi Peace Brigade from the Redwoods Retirement Community in Mill Valley assembles at the busy intersection of Camino Alto and Miller Avenue for a weekly protest against the Iraq war.
Towering over and inspiring the group is a nearly 10-foot papier-mâché puppet of Mahatma Gandhi that was constructed by Jes Richardson and students from San Marin High School in Novato.
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San Rafael man on unusual mission to bring Gandhi to Democratic National Convention
ABC7 Bay Area
PHILDELPHIA (KGO) — A San Rafael man is on an unusual mission while at the Democratic National Convention.
Jes Richardson arrived in Philadelphia this week in a GandhiMobile to spread a message of peace. It took him five days to get there. He also made a giant Gandhi Puppet.
ABC7 Morning News anchor Reggie Aqui is covering the DNC and Ran Richardson.
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Marin peace activists deploy fabled Gandhi effigy to Democratic convention
By Janis Mara, Marin Independent Journal
Mohandas Gandhi traveled to many places advocating for peace, and now he’s making an appearance at the Democratic National Convention.
A 10-foot-tall Gandhi Puppet created by San Rafael peace activist Jes Richardson is at the convention in Philadelphia “to support the Bernie movement,” Richardson said.
Speaking from what he calls “the GandhiMobile” in Kansas on Thursday en route to the convention, Richardson said, “We are not trying to get (Sanders) nominated. We are showing support for his platform.”
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Palestinians, Israelis Work Together for Peace in “Holy Land: Common Ground”
By Elaine Pasquini, Washington Report
…I wanted to inspire people to do something—to be able to say I did all I could to make a difference,” said Gandhi Peace Brigade founder Jes Richardson, as he held a 9-foot papier-maché puppet resembling Mahatma Gandhi. Speaking to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Aug. 20 during the weekly “Seniors for Peace” anti-war demonstration in front of the Redwoods Retirement Community in Mill Valley, Richardson recounted his recent six-week cross-country motor trip to register people to vote and to speak about peace.
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Mahatma Gandhi in the 21st century
By Birad Rajaram Yajnik
“The world recognized Gandhi a long time ago and continues to find him. …We need to ensure the children of our world do not forget this power of peace and truth.”
This is what I said at the UN, now meet Jes Richardson, a man who best emulates the words….He is a teacher living in the Bay Area, California. He built the ten foot tall Gandhi Puppet in 2003, with the help of some high school students, to protest the occupation of Iraq and to show support for the Mill Valley Seniors for Peace and their weekly demonstrations.
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