Peace and Justice Community Returns to Ocean Street for Annual 4th of July Rally

Today on the 4th of July, community members in Santa Cruz brought messages of peace, justice, and equality to Ocean Street as they greeted visitors entering town for the busy holiday. Every year a variety of groups working on peace and justice issues rally along Ocean Street as thousands of people make their way to the beach and the Boardwalk. Although some very serious statements were communicated by those holding signs at the rally today, the atmosphere was generally fun and festive, and the tourists showed a lot of support for what they saw as they rolled by.

Some of the topics communicated at this year's rally included support for the Highway 17 Six, ending solitary confinement in prison, ending U.S. military involvement in Syria and the Ukraine, ending sexual violence, ending the killing of children and adults by U.S drone warfare, and ending the war on Gaza.

One individual at the rally wore like a necklace a set of signs that were tied together and inscribed with the names of four sisters killed in an American drone strike in Yemen. They were members of the Ali Mohammed Nasser family. Afrah was 9 years old, Zayda was 7 years old, Hoda was 5 years old, and Sheika was 4 years old when they were all killed in the attack.

The rally was co-sponsored by the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV), People United for Peace of SC County (PUP), CodePink SC, Santa Cruz Against Drones (SCAD), Peace & Freedom Party SC, Raging Grannies SC, SC Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Veterans for Peace of SC (VFP), United Nations Association SC (UNA) , Sin Barras, Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary Confinement (SCATESC), Food Not Bombs, and Santa Cruz Resistance Against Militarization! (SCRAM!).