Think Outside the Bomb National Tour Stops in GR May 18

Think Outside the Bomb National Tour
Art, Speakers and Live Music

• Bad Heart Bull
• The Woodtones
• The Interruptions
• Victor McManemy

7 p.m. Tuesday May 18
The DAAC, 115 S. Division, Grand Rapids

Co-sponsored by The Bloom Collective, Pax Christi Grand Rapids, The Institute for Global Education and the Aquinas College Social Action Committee.

The Think Outside the Bomb national tour makes a one-time stop at the Division Avenue Arts Collective (DAAC) on Tuesday, May 18. The touring group comes here as they make their way from New York City, where they called for the abolition of nuclear weapons during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review. The tour’s final stop will be  Los Alamos, New Mexico, the birthplace of the atomic bomb.

“Nuclear weapons lie at the intersection of so much that is important to my generation: energy, the environment, and global security — and this tour is going to bring it all together,” said tour participant, Whitney Walberg, “I’m really looking forward to talking with local groups, and building a strong national coalition that will mobilize hundreds of young people from communities across the country to raise their voices in the global call to end the perpetuation of the destruction of nuclear weapons and energy.”

The event features an art exhibition, speakers from the national movement and local peace community, and live music: Bad Heart Bull (Chicago), The Woodtones (Grand Rapids, bluegrass), The Interruptions (Grand Rapids, Jazz) and Victor McManemy (Northern Michigan activist-songwriter).

A national network of youth activists and organizers, Think Outside the Bomb seeks to create a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear power. According to Rebecca Riley, a tour organizer, “Think Outside the Bomb hopes to build community and working knowledge through our national tour, by offering critical information on the state of the US Nuclear Industrial Complex”.

2010 is a crucial year for working against nuclear weapons because of the renegotiation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), increased awareness raised by Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, and plans to restore the bomb-making capabilities of Los Alamos.

After "Trinity," the first atomic bomb test near Los Alamos, test director Kenneth Bainbridge said, "Now we are all sons of bitches."

The Think Outside the Bomb national tour will make stops in 40 cities across the country before taking part in Disarmamentt Summer with New Mexico Youth Organizer Trainings, June 2 – 5, in Chimayo, New Mexico; Permaculture Encampment, July 30 – August 9, on Pueblo land outside of Los Alamos; and a 65th Anniversary commemoration of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, August 1- 9, in Los Alamos.