Long-time Minnesota peace activist Marv Davidov died on January 14 at age 80.
WRL New England Staffer Joanne Sheehan wrote about Marv on the War Resisters International website:
"I don't remember when I first met Marv Davidov, sometime in the '70. I first heard of him when I learned about the Honeywell Project, which he helped start in 1968 to oppose the anti-personnel weapons made by the Minneapolis company and used against civilians in Southeast Asia. It wasn't until I got to know him and heard his stories that I realized he was one of the Freedom Riders, and was on the Quebec to Guantanamo Walk organized by the Committee for Nonviolent Action in the early '60's. He had been deeply involved since his days as a rebel in the Army in the early 1950's.
In 2003, when I first went to the November vigil to Shut Down the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia, Marv was there. Marv loved WRL, and would come by and talk to us at the WRL table during the vigils. He was very interested in the development of WRL's Stop Merchants of Death work, especially the focus on war profiteers. In 2005 he came with a proposal. He was interested in organizing a conference in Minneapolis that would bring together folks doing local campaigns against weapons manufacturers and other war profiteers. He thought that having such a gathering in the home of the Honeywell Project would be an inspiration to present day campaigns. WRL picked up on the idea and the Stopping Merchant of Death: A Strategic Conference for Grassroots Activists was held September 29 to October 1, 2006, which included a concert and a nonviolent direct action at Alliant Tech on Gandhi's birthday October 2nd,"
From the Minneapolis Star:
"Marv Davidov, an iconic figure in the Minnesota peace movement who founded and led the Honeywell Project in a decades-long campaign to halt the production of anti-personnel weapons by the Honeywell Corp., died Saturday afternoon at Walker United Health Care Center in Minneapolis… [Marv] was an immediately recognizable figure at protests, with his large mustache, blue skipper's cap, almost always wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan on it."
From Minnesota Pubic Radio:
"Marv Davidov, a long-time Minnesota peace activist, has died. He was 80.
In an interview that aired in 2007, Davidov told MPR News he attended every rally or protest in Minnesota he could. He described himself as a non-violent revolutionary who supported countless causes, from opposition to war to support for immigrant rights.
Davidov was originally from Detroit. He moved to Minnesota after high school to attend Macalester College, then joined the Freedom Riders in 1961. Davidov was arrested and imprisoned in Mississippi for 45 days.
In 1968 during the Vietnam War Davidov founded the Honeywell Project. The group opposed Honeywell's production of weapons like cluster bombs. By his count, Davidov was arrested more than 50 times."
