River Mill rally.
HUNTSVILLE – A peaceful gathering for local and global sustainability made its way to Huntsville’s downtown park on Tuesday.
A peace rally was held May 1 in River Mill Park. Although the timing coincided with the Occupy movement’s May Day protests, peace rally organizer Peggy Peterson said the two were not connected.
Peterson said the group of about nine people was in the park for peace and balance both in the community and abroad.
“There are a lot of people in the world who risk their lives to gather in a public space like this for peace,” she said. “We have to think about them. I feel like I’m here on their behalf in some way because we are one and soon we have to start to act like one.”
The rally was organized through social media. Peterson said when participants arrived at the park they were greeted by a police presence and a town bylaw officer, but no one seemed to be disturbing the peace.
The rally was an effort to create awareness in the community about issues such as environmental and economic sustainability.
“This whole thing from beginning to end is about education,” said Peterson. “We know how we can do this (sustainability) better, we just have to get the collective consciousness of the town.”
Concerns about jobs, trees, green space and clean water are not only local issues but global ones as well, she said, and Huntsville residents can make a difference.
Participants seemed to be part of the rally for different reasons. As they communicated their concerns about peace, equality, income disparity, multinationals and unrelenting capitalism, fellow ralliers listened and shared their thoughts.