Established in 1977, just as the Trident nuclear weapon system was in development and the Bangor Naval Base was being built in Washington State, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (GZ) set forth this mission: Establish a Center for nonviolent action which seeks the goal of a world free from nuclear destruction and unjust division of humanity.
The Ground Zero Center works for the abolition of all nuclear weapons and specifically against the Trident nuclear ballistic missile submarine force. Ground Zero Center is located in Poulsbo, WA, directly adjacent to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, home port for 8 or the U.S. Navy's 14 Trident ballistic missile submarines. This represents the largest operation concentration of nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
Initially, GZ members leafleted the Bangor base and blocked the White Trains that brought rocket motors and thermonuclear warheads to the base. Members also attempted a waterborne blockade to interrupt the arrival of the first Trident ballistic missile submarine, the USS Ohio. Currently, in addition to leafleting and public education, GZ members host three annual nonviolent direct actions at the Bangor base - around Martin Luther King's birthday, on Mothers Day weekend, and around the time of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Over the past three years GZ has created bus ads that were displayed on Seattle Metro buses. The ads were intended to make citizens more aware of the issues surrounding nuclear weapons. The bus ad campaigns engaged tens of thousands of people in the Seattle area, and many pursued additional information about nuclear weapons and why they should work to abolish them.
GZ is currently hosting the construction of a peace pagoda on the GZ property. The pagoda is being built by the Nipponzan Miyohoji Buddhist Order. This will be the first peace pagoda in the Western United States, and will serve as a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace.
