Marchers champion peace on moms' day

Women of all generations and their families celebrated motherhood Sunday with a march around Capitol Lake and a call for peace and nonviolence.

About 75 people marched in the Women in Black's third annual Mother's Day Peace Walk.

"I felt really moved to come down here on Mother's Day," said Tina Simcich of Olympia. "It just hit me how difficult life must be in Iraq for mothers who are constantly worried about the safety of their children. ... It seems so right to come out and say, peace should be happening."

Women in Black, which gathers in a silent vigil in support of peace at Percival Landing every Friday, asked people to bring white flowers to the peace walk. Marchers dressed in black and carried sticks fixed with doves and white streamers that flapped in the wind.

The walk ended at the "Motherhood" statue at Percival Landing and a reading of Julie Ward Howe's "Mother's Day Proclamation," an anti-war poem written in 1870, shortly after the Civil War. The group also placed a wreath of white flowers around the statue's neck.

Opposition to war

Shelly McMurry of Olympia brought her mother, Olga McClure of Lacey. Both women said they wanted to show their opposition to the war in Iraq in a peaceful way.

"I am definitely against the war, and it's my way of demonstrating. ... There's too many other places in this world that need our help," McClure said. "I do have grandchildren, and I don't want them to be paying for this."

As a new mother, McMurry said she has a newfound compassion for the children growing up in war-torn Iraq. She said she fears they will turn to terrorism, creating a cycle of violence. The war, she said, "creates more instability and more hatred."

Mark Tips said he came in support of his partner, Sara Strobin, who has been a longtime supporter of Women in Black. "Mothers and fathers should never have to bury their children," he said.

Diane Huber is a reporter for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-357-0204 or dhuber@theolympian.com.