The Traprock Blog
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- GCC students to receive Traprock-Nelson scholarshipsby Traprock Web ManagerFor over a decade the Franklin County based Traprock Center has awarded scholarships to students from Greenfield Community College who demonstrate a commitment to peace and social justice. The scholarship program founded by Professor Abbie Jenks to honor the late area activists Wally and Juanita Nelson, is now the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice/Wally and… Read more: GCC students to receive Traprock-Nelson scholarships
- Black History Speech by Nate Woodardby Traprock Web ManagerAs spoken at No Kings 3, March 28, 2026 When we talk about Black history, too often we speak about it like it’s over.Like it’s something finished. Something behind us. We talk about slavery. We talk about segregation. We talk about marches and victories.We mention the Civil Rights Movement and we tell ourselves that progress… Read more: Black History Speech by Nate Woodard
- From Global to Local: The Equal Rights Amendment is within our reachby Traprock Web ManagerPat Hynes “When the Founding Fathers proclaimed that “all men are created equal,” it was preceded by “we hold these truths to be self-evident.” If they were truths and self-evident, why were the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence from the moneyed class exclusively (physicians, lawyers, merchants, and plantations owners); many were slave-holders.… Read more: From Global to Local: The Equal Rights Amendment is within our reach
- Looking Ahead in 2026by Traprock Web ManagerThe Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, founded in 1978 as the Traprock Peace Center, has a long history of working for peace, nonviolence, and economic and social justice in the Hampshire/Franklin County area. Traprock works in community with both local and national efforts to end violence against Earth, her people, and all living beings.… Read more: Looking Ahead in 2026
- Paki Wieland: A life in protest and peaceby Traprock Web Managerby Scott Merzbach March 13, 2026 Paki Wieland, 82, died early Thursday morning in Conway. The longtime Pioneer Valley resident, shown here in front of the RV she and others drove to North Dakota to support pipeline protesters, was known for her activism across many decades. She once said, “I think it’s really important for people… Read more: Paki Wieland: A life in protest and peace
- From Global to Local: Francesca Albanese — A noble womanby Traprock Web Managerby H. Patricia Hynes February 25, 2026 Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and two Gaza Doctors, Dr. Hassam Abu Safiya and Dr. Sara Al-Saqqa, have been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. Nearly 300 qualified proposers from 33 countries signed the petition, including countries from the West and the Global… Read more: From Global to Local: Francesca Albanese — A noble woman
- My Turn: International Women’ s Day benefits all peopleby Traprock Web Managerby Rev. Sarah Pirtle February 17, 2026 “Standing on the Shoulders for International Women’s Day” provides an opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day here in Franklin County. The event takes place Saturday afternoon March 7 at Greenfield Community College from 1–3 pm. Combining stories, music, and conversation, an ensemble of women spanning ages 15 to 76… Read more: My Turn: International Women’ s Day benefits all people
- From Global to Local: The question of well-being in an unjust societyby Traprock Web ManagerBy H. Patricia Hynes Health inequalities remain as intransigently rooted and malevolent today as in previous decades. Why? Professor of Public Health Arline T. Geronimus, who has studied this discrimination for decades, responds as lucidly and convincingly as any public health researcher in the United States in her new book, Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life… Read more: From Global to Local: The question of well-being in an unjust society
- From Global to Local: Vietnam 50 Years Later, Part 1by Traprock Web Manager“This year 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Vietnam from the “American War.” The war officially ended in 1973 but the remaining Americans fled South Vietnam in chaotic air and sea lifts two years later as North Vietnam forces invaded to unite their country. Vietnam then became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam… Read more: From Global to Local: Vietnam 50 Years Later, Part 1
- From Global to Local: The deadly sins of patriarchyby Traprock Web ManagerPat Hynes, Greenfield Recorder, October 3, 2025 https://recorder.com/2025/10/02/from-global-to-local-the-deadly-sins-of-patriarchy/ “How much are women and girls–half of humanity–valued? When men violate us for sex in prostitution. When nearly 1 in 3 of us worldwide are violated physically or sexually in our lifetime. When, despite having equal intellectual abilities and more developed social and emotional intelligence, we lack… Read more: From Global to Local: The deadly sins of patriarchy