4th annual Peace Party is true to original purpose of Mother's Day

The first Mother's Day, proclaimed in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, was a passionate demand for disarmament and peace, according to Kathy Baker, spokesperson for the 4th annual Mother's Day Peace Party. The event will be Sunday, May 11, from 2 to 4 p.m, at the India Cultural Garden in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park.

"Unfortunately, Mother's Day, has become significantly diverted from this objective, and is today an overly commercialized celebration, usually featuring gifts of candy and flowers and taking mom out to dinner," Baker said. 

But Howe's proclamation, which she read publicly that day, stated in part: "Let them [mothers] solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after their own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God."

Special guest speaker is Peggy Zone Fisher, president and CEO of the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio, a human relations organization dedicated to eliminating bias, bigotry and racism. Founded in 1927 as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Diversity Center is a member of the National Federation for Just Communities, a network of 20 like-minded organizations across the country. Zone Fisher is married to Lee Fisher, former Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.

Event honoree is Joan Southgate, founder of Restore Cleveland Hope, a grassroots organization that organized to save the Cozad-Bates House, the last remaining pre-Civil War structure in University Circle, which was a part of the Underground Railroad.

Following the format of previous Peace Parties, the event is free and open to the public and entire families are invited to participate in a peaceful afternoon among friends. Free light refreshments, entertainment, free family photos at the Gandhi statue, an art table for children to make Mother's Day cards, and folding  peace cranes highlight the event.

The fourth annual Peace Party is sponsored by Cleveland Peace Action, Federation of India Community Associates, Women Speak Out For Peace and Justice, and Asian Services in Action, Inc. For more information, contact Kathy Baker at 216-383-1684.