Peace Day: A Chicago Institution
Chicago pioneered the celebration of Peace Day and serves as a model for cities throughout the world. Three years before the United Nations established the International Day of Peace, Chicago designated an official Peace Day on September 7, 1978. Chicago is the only major city in the world with a 35+ year history of peacebuilding through annual Peace Day events, and is an official United Nations Peace Messenger city. The Peace School, the founding organization of Peace Day in Chicago, is a U.N. Peace Messenger organization.
Peace Day has been officially celebrated in Chicago every year since 1978 through the work of The Peace School, a non-profit educational organization. All of Chicago’s mayors have supported Peace Day since its inception.
During the 1980s, The Peace School worked continuously to include other cities and states in the celebration by asking mayors and governors to join Chicago in proclaiming Peace Day. By the late 1980s, proclamations had been issued by governors in all 50 states and mayors in over 540 U.S. cities.
In 2008 the Chicago Build the Peace Committee was formed to continue planning and expanding Peace Day activities. The Committee has assembled a committed group of Honorary Co-Chairs to support its mission of building a Culture of Peace in the City of Chicago.
Daley Plaza, in the heart of downtown Chicago, has been the venue for many of Chicago‘s annual Peace Day celebrations. Other venues have included the Kluczynski Federal Plaza, the Harold Washington Library Center Auditorium and the Chicago Cultural Center. In 2008, Peace Day was commemorated in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion of Millennium Park at the opening of the 10th annual Chicago World Music Festival. Also in 2008, Peace Day was officially commemorated for the first time by Chicago Public Schools.
Peace Day in Chicago was born from the vision of The Peace School’s founder, MyungSu Y.S. Kim (1927-1999). His idea: to set aside one day each year for people of all ages, backgrounds, faiths and cultures to join in focusing their wishes, thoughts or prayers on peace for the entire planet. At the start, the establishment of Peace Day in Chicago was viewed as the first step toward making Chicago a Model City of Peace. We invite all Chicagoans to join this effort to mainstream a Culture of Peace in Chicago.
To learn more about The Peace School visit www.peaceschool.org.