Immigrant of the Day: Lisa Kalvelage (Germany) RIP

Longtime peace activist Lisa Kalvelage, a German immigrant who marched against three U.S. military invasions and coordinated the San Jose Peace Center through the tumultuous Vietnam War era, died on Sunday at age 85. “The Cupertino mother of five is best remembered in a song by legendary folk singer Pete Seeger that she inspired. “My Name is Lisa Kalvelage” evolved from her 1966 act of civil disobedience, when Kalvelage and three other housewives parked themselves in front of a forklift loading shipments of napalm bombs headed from Alviso to Vietnam. Donning Sunday dresses, gloves and heels, the quartet entered the storage yard by climbing a fence, an act that would lead them to the county jail, where they were strip-searched and deloused. Seeger’s song recounts the tearful testimony Mrs. Kalvelage gave in her resulting trial on trespassing charges, a courtroom scene that riveted the globe: “Hopefully, some day my contribution to peace will help just a bit to turn the tide,” goes the song, which has also been recorded by Bruce Springsteen and Ani DiFranco. Mrs. Kalvelage was eventually convicted, but received a suspended sentence.”

For an interview with Kalvelage, click here.

KJ