Peace Road: Making History
“History is continuing to be made,” said Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Las Vegas Chair Katherine Duncan, who recently led a city tour of historic locales during the national 2021 Peace Road campaign, “Drawing Nations and People Together as Neighbors.”
On August 21, Duncan and a group of Unificationists on the city’s Pioneer Trail route stopped by the home of Helen Toland, 96, who was the first African-American woman to serve as a school principal in Clark County.
“She’s importing all these amazing African statues from Zimbabwe,” said Duncan, pointing to various figures displayed across the front lawn. Toland’s home was recognized as a historic property earlier this year. She also had a local elementary school renamed in her honor last year.
“We’re so proud of her; she continues to educate people about the importance of family and knowing our history,” said Duncan. “She maintains that one of the best ways to bring about peace is through education, and people understanding, knowing, and loving who they are.”
Peace Road, a project of UPF co-founded by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, aims to unite people of all backgrounds by transcending barriers such as race, religion, nationality, and ideology. The annual campaign, which began in early August, involves walking, biking, and driving tours for peace in cities across the US, as well as internationally in more than 125 countries.
Toland’s historic Las Vegas home is located in Bonanza Village, a custom home enclave developed in 1946 that once excluded minorities. Today Duncan says the community is well integrated, but it’s a place that sheds light on a very different time. The Peace Road group also walked the halls of Harrison Boarding House, where African-American businessmen and entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole stayed during the era of segregation.
“This tour is about honoring the past, and educating ourselves for a better future,” said one Unificationist participant.
“I really believe that all the people who came to Vegas were inspired by something, and I think that was the influence of God bringing people together to enjoy its beauty despite the harsh desert conditions,” said Misun Teah, another local Unificationist.
Lorenzi Park, Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza, Woodlawn Cemetery, Vegas Roots Community Garden, and the Veterans Memorial Center were among other destinations during the group’s two-hour tour.
In Arkansas, the Peace Road campaign continued August 28 as Pastor Bruce Biggin of Little Rock Family Church led a prayer gathering at MacArthur Park. More than 400 servicemen are honored on the black granite panels located in the park’s Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial.
“The freedoms we have today aren’t free,” said Pastor Biggin, UPF’s regional secretary general. “They were bought with the sacrifice of those who served in our Armed Forces. Their service will never be forgotten… We couldn’t have this event without our veterans who liberated Korea and UPF’s founders [natives of North Korea], and so we’re grateful for America.”
You can learn more and follow Peace Road’s journey here. The 2021 campaign in North America concludes September 19 in Canada.
