“We need your help. You have been following along with us throughout the Afghan refugee crisis. To date, we have welcomed over 620 to the LCS Northwest family. With so many arrivals in a short period of time, we are experiencing unanticipated needs in all three of our resettlement locations. Our community partners resources are unable to meet all of our clients’ needs.”
We have added the 2022 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Nomination forms to our website. You can submit online or via mail. Simply access the nomination information on this page:
The purpose of this project is to recognize and encourage peacemakers in the greater Tacoma area through the manufacture and installment of a “Peace Bench” — a TANGIBLE symbol of dialog and diplomacy, a place where people can meet, connect, and communicate with each other. The Peace Bench will be situated in a peaceful serene location alongside the shores of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington (the Waterwalk at Point Ruston), and it will be dedicated in honor of and in memory of internationally known peacemaker, mediator, negotiator, trainer, conflict resolution guide, and long-time Tacoma resident William F. Lincoln.
Bill Lincoln, 1940-2020
Bill Lincoln was the 2006 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate, and he had been a member of the GTPP Board of Directors from 2015 until his unexpected death in March of 2020. Bill knew that peace begins with talking; “Let’s have a chat” was one of his standard opening lines to bring people of diverse and divergent opinions together. As Nelson Mandela said, “The best weapon is to sit down and talk.” The Peace Bench pays tribute to Bill’s efforts to bring people together to talk and make peace, to find effective resolutions for conflict. Widely acclaimed as a practitioner of negotiation and mediation, Bill found himself in diverse, critical, and often highly volatile scenarios involving international, governmental, private, community, and environmental sectors.
Bill loved Tacoma and was extremely proud of the progress the city had made since he arrived in 1984. He enjoyed walks along Ruston Way, and eventually, along the new Waterwalk at Point Ruston. When guests visited, they were treated to a “Sunday Drive” with Bill, during which he inspected and espoused upon the many construction sites at the University of Washington and the Museum District, as well as Ruston Way all the way to and through Point Defiance.
Description of Project
The bench, a “cleat bench”, will be manufactured by the Port Townsend Foundry, which uses 35% recycled sand in the manufacture of a line of concrete cleat benches. (See photos of cleat benches below.) This bench style was chosen because of the symbolism of its slightly curved shape and narrow ends, drawing those who sit on it closer together and insinuating that they should sit in the middle.
Timeline
The installation and dedication of the bench will take place in the Spring of 2022.
THANK YOU! to Kiwanis Club of Tacoma and to Loren Cohen and the team at Point Ruston (McBride-Cohen Management Group) for their assistance and generosity with this project.
It is the hope of the GTPP that the Peace Bench will be identified as the place to come where one can find not only the inner peace that comes when one has a beautiful quiet place for meditation and reflection, but also the peace that comes when two people “Have a Chat” and work out a knotty problem together.
Marilyn Kimmerling, 2020 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate
Recognizing the importance of both global human rights and climate justice, the Board of Directors of the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize (GTPP) proudly announces the selection of Marilyn Kimmerling as the 2020 GTPP Laureate.
Ms. Kimmerling believes in and works for worker rights, minority rights, human rights and finding peaceful solutions to conflict. Since climate change is already resulting in mass migrations and conflicts over land and resources, her work has grown to include climate justice.
Marilyn has been a community activist since the mid 1990’s. Two organizations where she had great impact were Jobs with Justice, where she served a term as Chair, and United for Peace of Pierce County where she was one of the major organizers.
Kimmerling is one of the founding members of the Tacoma chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as a member of 350 Tacoma and an active associate-member of Veterans for Peace. In 2017, she co-founded the current Tacoma branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, and she is currently active with the Save the Wetlands Behind TCC campaign. She is the chief organizer and writer of material for the “Raging Grannies” and their myriad performances. She is President of Radio Tacoma, having worked tirelessly on the successful FCC application for an FM license, and she has continued volunteering with them for six years. [Radio Tacoma is a low-power FM public access radio station, developed to serve Tacoma with opportunities for progressive groups, union members, minority groups, and local talent that might otherwise not be heard.]
Believing that the proposed Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) storage/ refinery presented a regiona environmental and health threat, and having exhausted other means of opposition (for example, attending and speaking at numerous public meetings), and motivated by compassion and conviction, Marilyn and five others engaged in acts of civil disobedience, knowing they risked arrest. The risk was outweighed, they believed, by the plant’s potential danger and the treaty violation involved in its construction. They were indeed arrested, tried by jury, and exonerated on all counts.
In today’s world, the need for community activists is never-ending, and Marilyn continues to show up to build local and global community that is humane, compassionate, and just. On her own initiative for more than ten years, she held Soup Sundays in her home, an open house for all of Tacoma, to build community.
“Marilyn Kimmerling is the epitome of a human being working on behalf of others, and she possesses the “knowhow and do now” energy. Furthermore, she exudes a spirit of warmth and inclusiveness which is an inspiration to others. She is most worthy of the 2020 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize.”
Nancy Farrell, who nominated Ms. Kimmerling
The Greater Tacoma Peace Prize, inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize, was founded in 2005 in order to honor local peacemakers and has been formally endorsed by the Pierce County Council and the Tacoma City Council. In Norway, partners of the GTPP include the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Norwegians Worldwide (the Norse Federation), the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialog, Bjørknes College, the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, the Nobel Peace Center, and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo. Recipients of the Tacoma award are honored at a Laureate Recognition Banquet in the fall and are presented with a trip to Norway in December for the Nobel Peace Prize events.
TACOMA– It is with great sadness that the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Board of Directors announces the death of beloved Board member and 2006 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate William Fawcett Lincoln, who succumbed to complications from leukemia on March 21, 2020.
“Bill served our Board with great commitment. He leaves a legacy of incredible training acumen, conflict resolution, and passion for justice recognized by all of us, as fellow colleagues who came to know him for his negotiation skills and passion for the cause of peace.” – Thomas Heavey, GTPP Founder
Bill was a revered and treasured member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize, and was one of the early laureates (2006 – along with Polly Davis and Dawn Hooper), recognized for his work at the Conflict Resolution, Research and Resource Institute (CRI).The mission of CRI was to teach and practice the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict in the community, the nation and the world. Just a few examples of their work include the following:
William Fawcett Lincoln (1940-2020) Settling of a dispute between community, city and natural resources and wildlife representatives in the upper Kittitas County here in Washington state Collaborative negotiations, training and mediation education for the Central American region and key groups of the population in San Jose, Costa Rica Development of the Sudan-American Program for Peace (S-APP) in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sudan Council of Churches Practical experience in negotiation and facilitation on a project with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw, Poland Long-term collaboration on the subjects of conflict prevention, management and resolution with organizations like the Russian-American Program on Conflictology at the University of St. Petersburg, Russia Many years of instruction in Strategic Negotiations at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA and at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.
In 2004, Mr. Lincoln received the Annual Award of Excellence by the International Academy of Mediators. Bill has been recognized as a pioneer in mediation and negotiation theory and practice. He was a federal commissioner who helped found the United States Institute of Peace, he had extensive experience working in hot spots – Wounded Knee, Walpole Prison, with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, the URNG in Guatemala in preparation for the UN-sanctioned peace talks and with warlords in Afghanistan. Bill is a co-founder of the Russian-American Programs for Peace which started the first graduate program in conflict resolution in Russia.
Many practitioners in our region have been trained by Bill whether as members of his early mediation training programs at Antioch, or through the State of Washington Career Executive Programs or through the Pierce County Dispute Resolution Center of which he was a founder. He was also involved in training negotiators with the United Nations food safety program.
In the past five years, Bill devoted much of his time, energy, and support to the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize, while also teaching Strategic Negotiations as Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Federal Executive Institute. He was passionate about the mission of GTPP – to recognize and honor Peacemakers in the local community. First awarded in 2005 during the Centennial celebration of Norway’s independence, the award has its roots in Norwegian-American culture. Laureates of the Peace Prize are given a banquet in their honor, a medallion, a unique piece of locally made glass art, and a trip for two to Oslo, Norway to attend the festivities surrounding the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Bill lived his life deeply and with intent. Our sympathies are extended to partner, his children and extended family (to whom Bill was devoted), and all who knew and loved him. His presence, intellect, and tremendous dedication to make the world a better, kinder and more understanding place will be deeply missed.
When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, the world will know Peace. (Jimi Hendrix)
Contact
Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Thomas Heavey tom@tacomapeaceprize.org
“Negotiating a peaceful transfer of power between the Sandinistas and the National Opposition Union in Nicaragua in early 1990 was not a sit-down job. Government records had been systematically destroyed, bribes payed, and laws broken. But change was in the air, and if two sides were at the table—no matter how acrimonious the relations—then both of them had something in common.
Negotiating a pause in the 1964 Rochester race riots, to allow firefighters in to try to save the neighborhoods, wasn’t really a sit-down job either. From Afghanistan to Wounded Knee, Bill Lincoln often found himself an interesting footnote to some of the world’s most significant conflicts, and he probably liked it that way: His first lesson to potential mediators was, “Don’t make it about you.”
Yet that is where Bill found himself—the center of attention, sitting comfortably in front of a class at FEI in 2016, working through his Strategic Negotiation lesson plan and offering tales of the negotiations that almost went bad—tales that made more than a few students look around in disbelief… “
EDUCATOR WILLIE C. STEWART SELECTED AS 2019 TACOMA PEACE LAUREATE
The Greater Tacoma Peace Prize is proud to announce that Willie C.
Stewart, Sr. has been selected as the 2019 Laureate. Mr. Stewart was
selected for his long-term service and ongoing commitment to the
community and Tacoma schools, particularly in the Lincoln District and
the Hilltop. As a practitioner of racial reconciliation, he has been a
consistent calming influence in situations involving racial friction or
conflict.
A longtime public school educator, Willie became the first black
school principal in Tacoma history when he took on the role at Lincoln
High School in 1970. “He was able to diffuse many of the possible
‘riots’ on campus by engaging people in conversation that could lead to a
possible resolution or more peaceful ending,” wrote Linda Caspersen
(Lincoln Class of ’72) in a letter to the GTTP Board nominating him for
the Prize. “He had the innate ability to teach us to not look at color
as a dividing factor, but rather as a unique opportunity to appreciate
everyone as an individual and be part of a larger group.”
Mr. Stewart grew up in Texas where he picked cotton as a child,
attended high school, earned a B.A. at Texas Southern University, and
worked a series of odd jobs before eventually joining the army and
retiring as a colonel. He spent 36 years working for the Tacoma School
District as a teacher and administrator and sat on the Tacoma School
Board from 1999 to 2005 and remains heavily involved in local
organizations. He has served as the Coordinator for the Weekly Breakfast
for the Homeless since 1995. He’s also a member of the Tacoma Athletic
Commission, the Goodwill Industries Board, and the Boys & Girls
Clubs of South Puget Sound Board of Governors.
The Greater Tacoma Peace Prize recognizes and honors Peacemakers from
the Tacoma/Pierce County region. First awarded in 2005 during the
Centennial celebration of Norway’s independence, the award has its roots
in Norwegian-American culture. It’s founded on the idea that peace
begins locally.
Learn more about Willie in his video Laureate Spotlight:
For her exemplary work promoting racial reconciliation, the Board of Directors has selected Tacoma Resident Melannie Denise Cunningham as the 2018 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate.
“Melannie is a visionary, educator, community servant and consummate peace builder.”
Nominator Joanne Lisosky
Cunningham uses her years of knowledge, coalition building, and
strategic planning to host The People’s Gathering. It is an annual
conference which brings together business leaders, human resource
professionals, educators, and students to engage in frank conversations
about race. American society is moving backwards. Discussions to deny
individuals their rights are no longer behind closed doors. Cunningham
was inspired to encourage people to speak by a quotation from Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”
The People’s Gathering equips professionals with tools to use
existing policy to fight cultural stereotypes, institutional racism, and
discrimination in the workplace, instead of reinforcing them. The over
200 individuals that participate in the conference each year continue
the sometime difficult conversations about race and move the issue
forward in the greater Tacoma community.
Cunningham brings unwritten cultural knowledge back to Tacoma from
one of its fourteen Sister Cities, George, South Africa. She visits
George often. When apartheid policies were abolished, Cunningham saw a
perfect opportunity to build solidarity based on the commonalities
shared by American and South African cultures. South Africans needed to
bring communities together that are separated by race, gender and class.
U.S. communities, including Tacoma, face many of the same issues. Part
of her efforts involve her work with Women of Vision, a non-governmental
organization registered with the United Nations. Cunningham notes, “We
see ourselves in the faces of women of children that cry and feel just
like us.” Women of Vision brings together individuals from different
backgrounds to solve community problems. They empower women and girls to
make change. They improve the mind, body, and spirit. Cunningham brings
those discussions back to the Tacoma community through her service on
Tacoma Sister Cities Council and George, South Africa Committee.
Cunningham’s promotion of peace in Tacoma spans decades. In the late
1980s Cunningham organized the first citywide Martin Luther King Jr.
Celebration. In 2015 she spearheaded an effort that led to the City of
Tacoma to become the first city in the United States to accept the “Hate
Won’t Win” challenge.
As the Director of Multicultural Outreach and Engagement at Pacific Lutheran University, Cunningham serves as a mentor to hundreds of students of color that join the PLU community. There are few administrators and faculty of color at PLU to serve as role models. She explains, “It is necessary for students to experience teaching and learning from people of multicultural backgrounds.” Students often discuss problems with her, and she helps them strategically approach problems and develop solutions.
Learn more about Melanie in her video Laureate Spotlight:
Pennye Nixon thoughtfully responded to an inquiry about her work. “I
like to talk about poop.” Nixon explained that there are two precursors
to public health – clean water and sanitation – and that sanitation is
often forgotten about when assisting impoverished areas. As the Founder
and Director of Operations for Etta Projects, Nixon directs projects
that construct sanitation facilities and provide clean water in rural
Bolivian villages. These exceptional peacebuilding efforts are why the
Greater Tacoma Peace Prize (GTTP) was proud to announce the selection of
Pennye Nixon as the 2017 Laureate this evening, at the Etta Projects
13th Annual Auction.
In addition to providing clean water and sanitation, Etta Projects also trains women to become health workers in the villages. Nixon explained that the women are trained in groups and network across several villages. The training empowers women who never had a role that was valued in a village before. Health care workers provide basic care such as tending to wounds, prenatal care, and treating the common cold. They also work with clinics to ensure that individuals receive follow-up care. Nixon has seen attitudes in villages change overnight. When women are empowered, their status in the village increases.
Etta Projects began in 2003 out of a tragedy. Nixon’s daughter, Etta,
was a 16-year-old Rotary International Exchange Student. Nixon
mentioned that Bolivia was not Etta’s first choice but she embraced her
assignment anyway. Etta quickly became a favorite among locals. She
attended a wealthy high school in Bolivia but reached out to individuals
of lower classes. Nixon mentioned that Etta played soccer with a class
of people that her classmates deemed unworthy to associate with. She
also recounted a story of Etta saving a sloth from oncoming traffic in a
town square. Etta passed away tragically in a bus crash after only
three months in the country. However, her impact was so great that the
local government named a dining hall after Etta. The dining hall
provides food for the poor in the city that Etta embraced.
In 2009 Etta Projects shifted its focus from providing food to
constructing sanitation and water projects. They quickly added the
health worker training program. Nixon believes that sanitary conditions
and health care create conditions for peace. Stable communities create
conditions where individuals can progress and grow. Nixon notes, “Peace
is about contentment.” It is hard for individuals to be content when
they are fighting for their basic needs. Etta Projects recently added a
Community Transformation Center to further development in rural
villages. The center coordinates with NGOs and local officials to
continue to build infrastructure and access to resources in the
communities.
