Josephine Butler Nuclear Free Future AwardJoin the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area as it gives former DC City Councilmember Hilda Mason the Third Annual Josephine Butler Nuclear Free Future Award.
Butler, co-founder of the committee, was dedicated to the struggle for peace, justice and nuclear abolition. She was an activist for labor, public health, human rights, social justice, the environment and peace. She was unique in the history of our community, and it is in her honor and to preserve her legacy that the Josephine Butler Nuclear Free Future Award was inaugurated.
Mason, called the matriarch of the DC statehood movement, exemplifies the spirit and substance of Butler’s memory. She was always a progressive voice for justice and peace on the City Council. When virtually every other politician opposed it, Mason was a strong proponent of Initiative 37 (Proposition One) for nuclear disarmament and economic conversion: “Do we continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons we can only hope will never be used, or do we use that fabulous wealth to build more schools - homes - hospitals - and promote more meaningful careers for our young people?”
Because of dedicated people like Mason, Initiative 37 passed resoundingly and has been regularly introduced in Congress by DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Come celebrate on Friday, June 27, at the Josephine Butler Parks Center, 2437 15th St. NW:
* 7:30 p.m. Performance by Luci Murphy and Richard Miller
* 8 p.m. Tribute to Josephine Butler
* 8:10 p.m. Introduction of Hilda Mason by the Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton
* 8:20 p.m. Presentation of the award by Michele Tingling-Clemmons
* 8:25 p.m. Remarks by Hilda Mason
* 8:30 p.m. Performance by Luci Murphy and Richard Miller
Admission is $10 and refreshments will be provided.
