Speeches and Music at the May 2nd rally and open letters of solidarity from around the world.  Please keep checking back as we will be adding the transcripts of the speakers over the coming days.  (Additional videos of the day’s events are available on the Footage page.)

Speeches

The May 2 Rally represented the depth and breadth of the movements for nuclear disarmament, peace and justice as well as the incredible collaboration of groups that helped to organize this weekend of action.

Mayor Tadotoshi Akiba of Hiroshima was joined on stage by 4 other bearers of the Abolition Flame which has traveled around the world.  Mayor Akiba is the president of Mayors for Peace.

Mayor Tomihisa Taue of Nagasaki is the Vice-President of Mayors for Peace.  Mayors Akiba and Taue are two of the most widely known and respected leaders in the global movement to eliminate nuclear weapons.

National Council of Churches General Secretary Michael Kinnamon told the New York rally – Nuclear weapons “must be removed from the face of the earth.” Click here for the full text of Kinnamon’s remarks. You can also read his remarks to the Interfaith Convocation.

Kimura Hisako, a Hiroshima survivor, is a Hidankyo Executive Board member and Secretary General of Miyagi Association of A-bomb Sufferers. Click here to read her words.

Nadine Padilla is Navajo and Pueblo from Bluewater Lake, NM.  She is a community organizer with the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) which works to address the uranium legacy that still plagues many communities.

Maryam Shansab is an Afghan-American graduate student in Immunology at Tufts University and a member of United for Justice with Peace, Afghanistan Task Force. Click here to read her speech.

Kristin Blum is the Campaigns Manager of the International Trade Union Confederation. The ITUC’s primary mission is the promotion and defense of workers’ rights and interests. The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 155 countries and territories and has 311 national affiliates.

Vincent Kouaoh N’Cho is the vice-governor of the district of Abidjan in Ivory Coast.  Abidjan is a member of the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities.

Andy Mara is the executive director of Nodutol, a grassroots and community development organization that seeks to empower the Korean community to address the injustices they and other people of color face here and abroad.

Pham The Minh is a second generation victim of the chemical weapon Agent Orange used by the US government in its war in Vietnam more than 35 years ago.  Like the many other 2nd and 3rd generation victims who were not even born during the war, he bears the scars of this terrible weapon of mass destruction. Click here to read his statement.

George Martin of United for Peace and Justice and the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace lead the crowd in rousing chants as they marched up 7th Ave to turn onto 42nd Street.

The proceedings were emceed by Judith LeBlanc of Peace Action, Tim Wright of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Jackie Cabasso of Western States Legal Foundation, Reiner Braun of International Network of Engineers and Scientists, Joseph Gerson of American Friends Service Committee and Emi Hirano of Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo).

Music

Rebecca Riley started it all off with a powerful acapella piece.  Rebecca is a young activist with Think Outside the Bomb.

Drummers for Peace of Japan got the crowd hopping with their magnificent, rousing drumming.   They come from cities all over Japan to perform and have been performing for over 60 years.  They believe in sharing their music with all people to further inspire all efforts for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Emma’s Revolution ushered in the march with their classic song, “Peace, Salaam, Shalom,” the song that they sang with thousands at the first peace march following the Sept. 11th attacks.

The Recipe, hailing from St. Louis, MO, performed their on point spoken word piece telling it like it is about nuclear weapons proliferation.

Stephan Said (aka Stephan Smith), sang his song “The Bell,” one of the first anti Iraq war songs to hit the airwaves. Stephan’s new album “difrnt” will be released this fall.

Letters of Solidarity

From Berlin Peace Coordination (FRIKO):

We, in the groups, the organizations and the initiatives working together within our Berlin Peace Coordination (FRIKO), extend our warmest greetings of solidarity to you on this occasion of your events centered around this year’s 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.  >> Read the complete letter (pdf).