For decades he’s been ‘such an exceptional peacemaker’ in the Whatcom community
When Western Washington University professor and longtime champion of nonviolence and civic engagement Vernon Damani Johnson learned that he was receiving the Rosemary and Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award from the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, he called it a “reprieve.”
A reprieve from the stresses surrounding COVID-19 we’ve all felt the past six months.
A reprieve from trying to learn how to overcome technological challenges so that he could continue to teach young minds in online courses this fall at WWU.
A reprieve from the feelings from seeing another African American man, George Floyd, killed “in such a ghastly way” on the streets of Minneapolis by a white police officer.
“With what has been going on in our country, I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach — you wonder if we will be able to sort these things out and allow ourselves to go forward as some sort of unified society,” Johnson told The Bellingham Herald. “I worry about that a lot.
“Hearing about the award was really very welcome. It is so nice when you realize people do realize and appreciate what you do. The award was a real nice reprieve from everything else that is going on.”
Johnson will receive the award from the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19.
The presentation of the award and Johnson’s acceptance speech will be streamed on the center’s Facebook page, its newsletter page and its YouTube page. The ceremony will be replayed at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, in advance of a keynote dialogue between Walidah Imarisha and Aaron Dixon, according to the center’s release on the award.
Those interested in watching the event are asked to sign up at whatcomPJC.org/idp2020. Registration is free, but donations to the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center are encouraged, the release stated.
In addition to working in the Western’s Political Science Department since 1986, Johnson is co-founder of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, an organization that on its website states the goal of promoting and protecting the rights of the human family through:
▪ “Educating the community about acceptance, honoring diversity and identifying commonalities.
▪ “Organizing unified, non-violent action response to those who condone human rights abuses.
▪ “Providing support and referral for victims of bias crimes and/or other interested parties.
▪ “Monitoring malicious harassment, community and governmental responses.
▪ “Supporting human rights legislation.”
In addition to the task force, Johnson has served on the board of the Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity, worked as a member of WWU’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force and is the director for the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education, according to the release.
He also speaks frequently about Black Lives Matter and anti-racist movements and has focused his research on comparative settler colonial stakes in the global system, according to the release. He’s also taken special interest in the role of global citizens in community development in Africa.
Previously, Johnson served on the advisory committee to Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Presidential Campaign in 1988 and served on the steering committee of the Washington State Rainbow Coalition from 1988-92, according to his WWU bio. He’s received the 1997 Diversity Achievement Award at WWU and the WWU Philip E. Sharpe Community Engagement Award.
Recently, Johnson said he’s been heavily involved Whatcom County’s community listening sessions to address systemic racism, racial injustice and inequality experienced by people of color and working with area leaders on what law enforcement reform in Bellingham and Whatcom County might look like.
“We are pleased to present the award to such an exceptional peacemaker in our community,” the release stated.
Johnson said he hopes to thank the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center for all its contributions to the community and highlight some of the work and groups that came before it was created in 2005.
“I want to thank the center for being around and being such a powerful resource for folks,” Johnson told The Herald. “Whatcom County is very fortunate to have a progressive organization that is able to take on issues in visible ways and for creating a certain climate that is attractive to many people.”
The Peacemaker Lifetime Award has been present at the International Day of Peace since 2005. Previous winners include Howard Harris (2005), Al and Dotty Dale (2006), Nick Mele (2007), Doris Ferm (2008), Bill Distler and James Gillies (2009), Margie White (2010), Peter and Mary van der Veen (2011), Shirley Osterhaus(2012), Ellen Murphy (2013), Barbara Rofkar (2014), Jamie K. Donaldson (2015), Darrell Hillaire (2016), Rosalinda Guillén (2017), Beth Brownfield (2018) and Kerry Johnson (2019).
Previously called the Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award, Harris’ wife, Rosemary, will be added to the award for the first time this year, according to the release. Rosemary Harris helped begin the Bellingham Peace Vigil in 1966 alongside her husband and fellow Quaker Colleen Dickson, and that silent vigil for peace has become a weekly event and is now the longest continuously running peace vigil in the world.
“I live with a strong woman. My mother, who is 96 and is still with us, is another strong woman,” Johnson said of accepting the first award with Rosemary Harris’ name attached. “I think amongst everything else that is going on, we learn to be more egalitarian and equitable in acknowledging who is responsible for some of the accomplishments in society. To recognize Rosemary is a tremendous honor.”
