Activist visits UPIKE for Peace Week
0Written by Darius Greene
On Wednesday, Sept. 21, UPIKE welcomed David Hartsough, a peace activist, to speak to the campus community. Hartsough once met Dr. Martin Luther King in Montgomery, Ala., and said it was the experience that changed his life. He also spoke about meeting President Kennedy in 1962. “It was a blessing just for Mr. Kennedy to take his time out and talk to me and my friends,” he said. Hartsought went to Howard University in 1959, but spent most weekends of his sophomore year in prison for standing up for equal rights. In 1961, he went to Berlin for college. Howard is a Historically Black College, and Hartsough is a white male. His purpose for going to Howard was to make a difference in the world and to do it in a nonviolent way. Hartsough is a Quaker, and many of them travel around the world for peace. In almost every state, country or city he went, he was close to getting arrested. He and the other Quakers were never afraid to get arrested for standing up for what they believe. At one point, he watched his friend get run over by a van for trying to stop the United States from sending bombs to other places. But, they never gave up. Hartsough was asked some questions. He offered other nonviolent methods other than protesting. “Read MLK’s books… and talk about issues that concern you,” he said. Hartsough spoke about the motivation he receives from his family. “Partially, my father for being in the war, getting to know people across the world. If it’s your own family being killed, you would try to save their lives. This whole earth is family to me. The best feeling in the world is making a change,” he said. When asked about any future protest plans, Hartsough simply said, “End war forever and bring world peace.”