The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, Inc. (also referred to as The Great Peace March, GPM, and the March) was a cross-country event in 1986 aimed at raising awareness to the growing danger of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for complete, verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. The GPM consisted of hundreds of people, mostly but not exclusively Americans, who convened in Los Angeles, California, USA, in February 1986 to walk from L.A. to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. The group left Los Angeles on March 1, 1986 and arrived in Washington, D.C. on November 15, 1986, a journey of about 3,700 miles, nine months, and many campsites.
The March was conceived by Los Angeles businessman David Mixner, who formed People Reaching Out for Peace (PRO-Peace), a non-profit organization. Due to bankruptcy, PRO-Peace folded while the March was in Barstow, California. A few weeks of round-the-clock meetings followed to assess resources, reorganize, and to form a grassroots, self-governed organization. Once reorganized, the March continued its eastward trek.
Peace marches before and after
In 1976 the War Resisters League took part in organizing "The Continental Walk for Nuclear Disarmament and Social Justice" which also left from Los Angeles and arrived in Washington, simultaneously with several "branch" routes.
"Pleading for Peace, Archaeologists Studying Camp Where Anti-nuclear Activists Staged Protests." Article about the Nevada Test Site.
"Analysis of Mother's Day Action 1987" (Once there, click on magnifier image to bring up text. Scroll up a bit to get to the beginning of the subject.)
"American Soviet Walk: Taking Steps to End the Nuclear Arms Race," by Fred Segal and Fred E. Basten.
"OurMove.org" offers a detailed, annotated photographic account of the American Soviet Peace Walk, which took place on the 450 kilometer stretch between St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and Moscow, Russia, in the summer of 1987. Ourmove.org is based on a 1988 book by Fred Segal & Fred E. Basten, "American Soviet Walk: Taking Steps to End the Nuclear Arms Race," published by the United World of the Universe Foundation.
Article with quite a bit about the Soviet-American walk, "Saying No To Power Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker," by William Mandel.
At least one part-time participant of the Great Peace March, Kevin James Shay, participated in a previous two-year march called Walk of the People – A Pilgrimage for Life that went across the U.S. and Europe in 1984–85. Shay walked with the Great Peace March for its first week in California.
