War protest walking through Racine

By Phyllis Sides
Journal Times

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:28 PM CDT

RACINE — On Thursday afternoon, participants in Witness Against War 2008 will stop in Racine on their way to St. Paul, Minn. Witness Against War 2008 is a 450 mile walk from Chicago to St. Paul to challenge and nonviolently resist the United States continuing war in and occupation of Iraq, according to Voices for Creative Nonviolence, its organizer. Voices for Creative Nonviolence is a Chicago-based campaign to end “U.S. military and economic war against Iraq,” according to its Web site.

The walk began Saturday in Chicago, site of the 1968 Democratic Party convention in the midst of the Vietnam War. It will end Aug. 31 in St. Paul — the day before the start of the 2008 Republican Party convention, the organizers say.

They’re stopping in Racine, Sister Ann Pratt said, because the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice has a well-recognized history of being active in crucial issues such as the war. Pratt, a Racine Dominican, said Kathy Kelly VCNV’s co-coordinator, has a long history with the Racine Dominicans.

Pratt and Sister Alice Rademacher are organizers of local events connected to the walk.

“When we got the information back in March we responded very quickly — that we’d find a place and all that kind of stuff,” Pratt said.

The walkers will be guests of the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice and the local community, said the coalition’s Dick Kinch. The community is invited to participate in a portion of the walk with a core group of 12 to 13 walkers affiliated with VCNV, Kinch said.

Rademacher said she will join the walkers for a short time Thursday after they are welcomed at the John Bryant Community Center.

“I’m not surprised by their willingness to stop in Racine,” Rademacher said. “I think it’s great. The walk is a witness to the challenge of ending the war. It’s a very nonviolent way to keep it in our minds. It’s an effective way to influence people. We will influence people one-by-one. I’ll be walking from the Bryant Center on the route through town with them to the (Belle City) senior center. Rain or shine this will happen.”

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!