Local Activist Celebrated by Community: Marv Davidov

by Bob Lamb, Mel Duncan, and Polly Mann, WAMM

Marv Davidov has been engaged in a lifelong struggle for peace and justice. Now he is engaged in a struggle with severe health and financial problems.

From the 1950s through the present, Davidov has supported his civil rights and antiwar activism on minimal income. In Marv's activist career there were no 401(k) plans, stock options, severance packages, or even a minimum-wage guarantee. All the same, he spent the 1950s protesting against U.S. and Soviet nuclear atmospheric testing.

In the 1960s he joined the freedom rides and other civil rights struggles, as well as the Canada-to-Cuba peace walk. He was active in antiwar and draft resistance organizing, and founded the Honeywell Project.

For Marv, the 1970s saw anti-Vietnam War actions, while the Honeywell Project focused opposition against the production of cluster bombs and other weapons. In the next decade, Marv and the Honeywell Project added pressure against antipersonnel weapons.

More recently, Marv was involved in the formation of the Midwest Institute for Social Transformation (MIST), an alternative education project whose goal is social change through a radical education that includes civil disobedience at places like Alliant Techsystems, in opposition to their production of land mines.

Now Marv is in engaged in what is perhaps the most difficult struggle of his life: recovering from prostate surgery while coping with diabetes, a broken ankle, apprehension in combating cancer, and financial hardship.

Noam Chomsky reflected the reality of Marv's life when he stated: "Marv's dedication and courage have been demonstrated in a way that has led to the creation of a community of committed people, whose ongoing activities have been an inspiration to others."

Now the community has the opportunity to express appreciation for Marv's activism by participating in a celebration of his life and a fundraiser on Thursday, October 19, 2000. For more information, please see the sidebar on this page.