peace symbols

the origin and the ideas behind the symbols


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THE PEACE SYMBOL

the anti-nuclear emblem or the peace sign is one of the
most widely known symbols in the world.
it was invented on the request of lord bertrand russel,
head of the british ‘campaign for nuclear disarmament’
or CDN and sponsor of mass marches and sit-downs
in london. the graphic symbol was designed by
gerald holtom, a member of the CND movement,
as the badge of the ’direct action committee against
nuclear war’, for the first demonstration against
aldermaston (a british research center for the development
of nuclear weapons) in 1958. holtom, a professional designer
and a graduate of the london royal college of arts, had
originally considered using the christian cross symbol
within a circle as the motif for the march, but various priests
he had approached with the suggestion were not happy
at the idea of using the cross on a protest march.

from a design point of view, it is interesting to note that
the original sketches are preserved at the school of
peace studies, at the bradford university.
they show a symbol that stood for ‘the death of man
and the unborn child’ and that symbol was designed
from the naval code of semaphore - the code letters
for N and D (nuclear disarmament).
N is two flags, arms downstretched at a forty-five degree
angle, and D is two flags, one arm straight up and one
straight down. the ends of the ‘arms’ and ‘legs’ thicken
and splay out noticeably as they approach the circumference.
the circle itself was thick - the thickening itself has two versions:
in one, all the straight strokes are thickened;
in the other, only those in the lower half of the circle.
it is said, that the reason for the symbol being upside
down (D over N) is that semaphore is a military code and
upside down symbolizes ‘anti-military’.

the symbol was quickly adopted in the US when a friend of
martin luther king jr., bayard rustin began using it during
civil rights marches. the power of this symbol is emphasized
by the fact that various far-right and fundamentalist american
groups, during the 1970s, seriously considered forbidding it
(they have spread the idea of satanic associations and
condemned it as a communist sign). in south africa, under the
apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it.
also anti-vietnam war protesters picked it up, and it was called
’the footprint of the great american chicken’ by many american
soldiers during the vietnam war era.

deliberately never copyrighted, the symbol is still recognized
in great britain as the logo for nuclear disarmament,
but is known worldwide for peace and non-violence.
no one has to pay or to seek permission before they use it.
as a symbol of freedom, it is free for all.
this of course sometimes leads to its use,
or misuse, in circumstances that CND and the peace
movement find distasteful. it is also often exploited for
commercial, advertising or generally fashion purposes.
‘we can’t stop this happening and have no intention of
copyrighting it. all we can do is to ask commercial users if they
would like to make a donation. any money received is used for
CND’s peace education and information work.’
says the campaign for nuclear disarmament.

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DOVES OF PEACE
one of the most recognised symbols of peace is the dove.
its origins are from the story of noah and the ark.
when the rains that flooded the earth stopped pouring
down, noah sent out various birds to see if they would
bring back any sign of land to his boat.
he was anxious to begin life again on dry pasturage.
one dove eventually returned carrying an olive branch.
after world war II pablo picasso, was responsible for
the decisive use of the dove of peace : his lithograph
designed for the international peace congress in paris,
1949, features the white ancestor of a new family of
doves. since then, graphic artists have produced an
endless series of doves of peace in different shapes.

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THE PEACE CRANE
within asia the white crane is the bird of peace.
originally it was the sort of peace that comes with
prosperity and friendship, such that war is not even
considered. the crane took on even greater significance
as a peace symbol within japan right after the bombings
of hiroshima and nagasaki. in 1955 an eleven year old
japanese girl named sadako sasaki was diagnosed
with leukemia from exposure to nuclear radiation.
she heard that if she folded a thousand paper cranes,
she would be granted a wish. so she began folding one
crane after another, wishing for a well body within a world
of peace. sadly, she died within the year, but her story went
out to the people of the world.
an organisation has been founded in memory of
sadako whose purpose is to unite children in the effort
for peace - ‘the world peace project for children’.







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THE HAND-GESTURE PEACE SIGN
is thought to have begun in europe during world war II
when a V for victory - and not to be confused with the
catholic gesture of benediction - was painted on walls
as a symbol of freedom from occupying forces.
the sign was widely used by peace movements in the
1960s and 1970s as a symbol of victory for peace and truth.
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THE RAINBOW FLAG
in basel, switzerland, at the international co-operative
congress of world co-op, ICA leaders made plans for the
very first international ‘co-operators' day’ in essen, germany
which was held in july 1923.
they wanted to identify and define the growing co-operative
movement's common values and ideals to help unite
co-ops around the world by developing an international
co-op symbol to celebrate the movement's ideas of
international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality,
and world peace.
it is said that the meaning of the 7 colors of the rainbow flag is:
RED stands for courage.
ORANGE offers the vision of possibilities.
YELLOW represents the challenge that GREEN has kindled.
GREEN represents growth, a challenge to co-operators to
strive for growth of membership and of understanding of the
aims and values of co-operation.
SKY BLUE suggests far horizons, the need to provide education
and help to unfortunate people and to strive towards global unity.
DARK BLUE suggests pessimism, reminding us of less
fortunate people in the world who are in need of the benefits
from co-operation.
VIOLET is the color of warmth, beauty and friendship.

in the 1980ies, the san francisco artist, gilbert baker,
designed such a flag as a symbol for gay pride.
the internationally recognised banner is usually flown during
gay and lesbian marches and is displayed outside gay-friendly
bars and clubs, most commonly with the red stripe
on top, as the colors appear in a natural rainbow.