Cindy Sheehan Receives The Courage of Conscience Award
October 29, 2005

On a cold, snowy Saturday afternoon Cindy Sheehan arrived at The Peace Abbey for The Courage of Conscience Award presentation. She had just come from a rally in Boston where she spoke to the crowd of antiwar protesters about the recent indictment of "Scooter" Libby and the lies that led to the death of her son Casey in Iraq, as well as 2,011 other soldiers. 

Sheehan called this a "heartbreaking week" but also a week of hope knowing that more than 1,000 vigils took place protesting the loss of lives in Iraq and asking for the troops to be brought home. 

At The Peace Abbey a group of invited guests filled the conference center to welcome and congratulate Cindy Sheehan for the courageous stand she has taken to honor her son. The event began with welcoming Cindy and the announcement by Lewis Randa, director of The Peace Abbey,  that a plaque honoring George Harrison would be placed on the Peace Abbey's Pacifist Memorial in the coming months.

The crowd then had the opportunity to see a portion of the newly-released CD Concert for Bangladesh  that has just been reissued with updated comments on the importance of that event.  This was a meaningful segue into Cindy's award presentation because it emphasized the tradition of peacemaking and the importance of every person's contribution in bringing about peace in the world. 

Then the 121 prior recipients of the Courage of Conscience Award were displayed on the screen, highlighting their contributions to making this a better world.

The Courage of Conscience Award was presented by Louise Coleman, a former recipient, and Dot Walsh, Peace Abbey Program Coordinator (pictured with Cindy at left). Cindy received a standing ovation before she spoke, and again after accepting the award. 

She addressed comments that questioned her intelligence as a woman and her commitment that came from her personal loss--not as a spokesperson for any particular organization. Although there was a moment of tears, she smiled with appreciation and even gave the group a taste of her sense of humor. 

Cindy's recent book "Not One More Mother's Child" is now available.