Desertpeace

Photo by Samir Twair, Dec. 9, 2006, Glendale Public Library.
Questioning Mohamed Omer, Gaza Correspondent of WRMEA

In Loving Memory of
Florence Richards
Educator, Activist, Writer
Friend of the Palestinian People
And of All Those Seeking
Peace and Justice
In Our World

Born June 2, 1924
Indianapolis, Indiana
Died December 23, 2007
Whittier, California

Memorial Service
February 2, 2008
11: 00 a.m.

Reverend Bert Newton
First Friends Church
Whittier, California

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be
called the children of God (Matthew 5:9)

Celebrating Florence,
Friends Reflect

Reverend Bert Newton, Welcome and Opening Prayer

Musical Selection:Dr. Nabil Azzam, Maestro of MESTO Orchestra performinghis composition on the violin, “The Crescent”

George Hanna, Arab-American Republican Club of Orange County (AARC)

Noor Zubeida Khan (Chairwoman, Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation)

Pat McDonnell Twair, Washington Report on ME Affairs

Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak (statement to be read)

Norman Tanber, AARC

Tareef Nashashibi, AARC

Samir Twair, Past President Arab American Press Guild

Donna Curtis, editor, WRMEA (statement to be read)

Robin McLaren, Peace and Justice Activist

Nick Dibs, Educator/Peace & Justice Activist

Mary Daniels, Peace and Justice Activist

Delinda Hanley, Exec Editor WRMEA (statement to be read)

Open to the audience for additional reflection

Closing and PrayerDr. Maher Hathout

Spokesperson of the Islamic Center of Southern California

Senior Adviser, Muslim Public Affairs Council

——————————————————————————–

By Pat McDonnell Twair

A Special Gathering
To Celebrate the Life of
Florence Richards
Who Dared to Speak Out

Few Palestinians are aware of the articulate speeches and letters Florence Richards composed in their behalf, but on Dec. 23, they lost one of their most articulated and devoted advocates when she died in her sleep in her Whittier home.

Richards, an educator, community activist and self-taught scholar on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, was born June 2, 1924 in Indianapolis, IN, and met her future husband, Charles, when both were students at Mount Vernon Junior High School in Los Angeles. They were married July 30, 1947. Charles, a mechanical engineer, was president of a Los Angeles business his father established in the late 1930s.

Florence earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University and in 1967 received a master’s degree in history from that institution. Her thesis was on the Spanish philosopher, playwright and poet Miguel de Unamuno. She subsequently taught history at Fullerton Junior College.

A staunch Republican, Richards ran for but didn’t win a seat in the California State Assembly in 1981. She was a member of the Whittier Chapter of the League of Women Voters and publicity chairman for the Whittier Art Association.

Over the past two decades, Richards wrote articles for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and The Beirut Times. In addition, she wrote opinion pieces and letters to the editor of the Whittier Daily News and Orange County Register. She also was a resource person and discussion leader on Middle East issues for the Whittier United Nations Association and Whittier’s Great Discussion Series.

Richards articulately expressed her views on U.S. foreign policy to the White House hotline, The Los Angeles Times Washington bureau, Senate and Congressional offices. Many legislative aides and reporters welcomed her views and asked for additional information on facts rarely reported in the American media.

At age 78 in 2003, Florence participated in her first political protest — against the approaching war on Iraq — on Whittier Boulevard and Painter Avenue. When a motorist shouted “Get a life”, the diminutive dynamo retorted “Read a book.”