Put a Peace Pole in Charlottesville

Set aside 1 square foot of space in a prominent public place, on the Downtown Mall or in a park, where a peace pole can be erected.

A peace pole is a popular means of expressing a desire for peace around the world, including in the United States, where peace poles are found in public plazas and parks in many locations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_pole

Peace poles are glaringly absent from Virginia: http://www.peacesites.org/sites/map

A peace pole can be purchased for $200 with “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written on four sides in four chosen languages: http://stores.bigwaterhosting.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=peacepoles&Category_Code=peace_poles

Charlottesville's monuments to wars, including the Native American genocide, the defense of slavery, and the slaughter of 3.8 million Vietnamese, dominate public space. Removing them would be ideal.

An easier method of quickly displaying our city's support for peace would be to create a peace pole. Charlottesville's city council has spoken up repeatedly over the years for peace, for reduced military spending, for transition to peaceful industries, and for a halt to particular wars. But a visitor to Charlottesville cannot observe any of that anywhere on the landscape.

Charlottesville has four sister cities, and signs indicating them are visible in Charlottesville. But the motto of Sister Cities International, “Peace Through People,” is nowhere to be found. There is no location set aside to celebrate these relationships, as there could be in combination with a peace pole.

Please send this petition to everyone you know in Charlottesville, Va.: http://bit.ly/cvillepeacepole

We will deliver the petition to Charlottesville City Council on a date to be set in future.