She sings at meetings. She’s been arrested at a protest. Now she’s Tacoma peace laureate
A longtime environmental activist in Tacoma has been selected as the 2020 Greater Tacoma Peace Prize (GTPP) Laureate.
Marilyn Kimmerling, 72, was chosen for her advocacy in workers rights, minority rights, human rights and climate justice, according to GTPP board members.
“In today’s world, the need for community activists is never-ending, and Marilyn continues to show up to build local and global community that is humane, compassionate and just,” a GTPP announcement stated.
Kimmerling has lived in the Tacoma area since the 1970s and has had a long history in Tacoma-area activism. She worked for 25 years at Comprehensive Mental Health Center of Tacoma/Pierce County as a children and family mental health counselor and is one of the founding members of the Tacoma chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. She’s also board president at Tacoma Radio and is active with the Raging Grannies, an activist organization that sometimes sing songs at protests.
One of Kimmerling’s more notable acts occurred in 2017 when she and five other activists chained themselves to drilling equipment outside of the LNG facility construction area to protest its creation.
Kimmerling was arrested for trespassing and obstructing an officer but was later acquitted by a jury.
“Believing that the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage/ refinery presented a regional environmental and health threat, and having exhausted other means of opposition (for example, attending and speaking at numerous public meetings), and motivated by compassion and conviction, Marilyn and five others engaged in acts of civil disobedience, knowing they risked arrest,” stated the GTPP board. “The risk was outweighed, they believed, by the plant’s potential danger and the treaty violation involved in its construction. They were indeed arrested, tried by jury, and exonerated on all counts.”
Today, Kimmerling still uses her voice for climate justice and other issues.
“People have said in the past, you should pick one thing and get involved in that — and I can’t do that because I see everything as connected,” Kimmerling told The News Tribune by phone this week.
If you’ve been to a Tacoma City Council meeting, you may have heard Kimmerling sing.
Last year, she opposed liquefied natural gas plan on Tacoma’s Tideflats to the tunes of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and “Stop in the Name of Love” by The Supremes.
“Right now people are recognizing that the climate crisis is huge,” Kimmerling said.
Kimmerling was nominated by Tacoma resident Nancy Farrell.
“She decided over four years ago that I was going to get the prize, and every year she would turn that nomination in,” Kimmerling said.
The Greater Tacoma Peace Prize is an award that recognizes, honors and encourages peace-building by members of the community and promoted peace locally, nationally and internationally.
