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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Woman who kept vigil in front of White House for 30-plus years dies

WASHINGTON — She was a D.C. institution seen by millions, whether many people knew her name or not.

Concepcion Picciotto, who kept a vigil for nuclear peace across from the White House for almost 35 years, died on Monday, according to officials at the N Street Village, a shelter for homeless and low-income women, where she lived.

She was thought to be 80.

Picciotto told The Washington Post in 2013 that she did it “to stop the world from being destroyed.” Her signs included “LIVE BY THE BOMB, DIE BY THE BOMB” and “BAN ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR HAVE A NICE DOOMSDAY.”

She began her vigil June 3, 1981, when she joined William Thomas, who had already been sitting in silent protest. The Post reports that she had been an embassy secretary and at the time was working as a nanny for an area family.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

May she finally find the peace she was looking for!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Obama!

Anonymous said...

Homeless? Sounds less like a protest and more likely she had no better place to be.

Anonymous said...

Wow, harsh. It sound like this magnificent woman had more peace than most posters here.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."
~Ghandi

Anonymous said...

Only one line saying that park police siezed her belongings and kicked her off her post she held for 35 years.... in 2013....under Obama....yes I do mean Nobel Peace prize winner Obama.