We Remember Concepcion Picciotto

Last month, just a few days after ending her peace vigil encampment behind the White House, Concepcion Picciotto passed away. She was about 80 years of age and was suffering from declining health. She had occupied her encampment for more than 30 years, likely the longest political protest in American history. To continue her vigil over the years, Ms. Picciotto, played a cat-and-mouse game with the United States Park Police, which prohibits demonstrators from sleeping on its property or leaving a protest site unattended. When she left to rest, volunteers would relieve her.

Ms Picciotto’s encampment was on a red brick sidewalk under a plastic tarp and was a familiar sight to those who passed by regularly. She denounced nuclear weapons. Her hand-lettered signs declared “Read My Lips, No New Wars” and “Live by the Bomb, Die by the Bomb.” Her protest ran through five presidencies.

“Not a single president ever walked across the street from the White House to meet her or to recognize her quest for peace and justice,” Ralph Nader, an admirer of hers, noted. Another admirer was Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives. “During Picciotto’s more than 30 years of vigilance for nuclear proliferation and peace, many of her goals were achieved,” Ms. Norton, a Democrat, said in a statement, citing “a measured reduction” in atomic weapon proliferation, including the Obama administration’s recent accord with Iran.

Joyce Rothermel is a member of the TMC Anti-War Committee.

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