Remembering June Eisley, Force for Nonviolent Change
June Eisley, circled on the left, marches for nonviolence and justice in Wilmington, Delaware.
by Judy Butler
June Eisley, a dynamic organizer and courageous catalyst for peace-with-justice at home and abroad based in Wilmington, Delaware, passed away on October 4, 2022.
June was a fervent believer in the power of nonviolent resistance to war and oppression. On March 20, 2003, the day the Iraq War started, June initiated nonviolent civil disobedience at the Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware. Right before being arrested, she declared,
“I choose to participate in Civil Disobedience today because it is the strongest statement I can make against the unjust, immoral, and unnecessary war my country has just declared on Iraq. The action I am taking today is my way of saying this war is not being fought in my name nor in the names of my friends who are protesting here today.
My heart weeps for the innocent Iraqi children and families who will be killed in this war, and I mourn for the American servicemen and women who will die or be injured, and for their families who will be left with grief. This war is against everything I was ever taught to believe about the goodness of my country, and it fills me with sadness.
I feel despair that my country has not evolved any further than this. War is the ultimate failure of humankind, and today, we have failed once again.
I oppose this war with every breath I take.”
Over the course of the Iraq War, June was arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience nine more times, and went to trial three times.
June was instrumental in establishing Wilmington’s Movement for a Culture of Peace (MCP) in 2014, in response to the call from Campaign Nonviolence to work for peace in our communities. June’s phenomenal organizing talent resulted in a 400-person march through communities in Wilmington plagued by violence. With June’s help, MCP became the founding organization for Nonviolent Wilmington and the annual Peace Week Delaware.
As a result of the network she established with MCP, June became an active member of the Wilmington Peacekeepers (June is featured on the right of the photo), an organization that works to empower people and reduce crime and violence in Wilmington.
Among her many causes, June was a voice for the oppressed in Palestine. She focused on educating the public about the plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories, and she engaged in street demonstrations during the Iran deal, the Gaza bombings, and to commemorate 50 years of the occupation. Her love of children was front-and-center when Palestinian children, through the work of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), were brought to the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington for surgery. She became fast friends with the children and their parents, staying in touch for years.
June was a beacon of justice, peace, and hope. She asked that all memorial contributions in her name be made to the Campaign Nonviolence program of Pace e Bene.