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Jackie Hudson in 2010

Sister Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Hudson, O.P. (November 19, 1934 – August 3, 2011) was an American Dominican nun and anti-nuclear activist. She spent the first 29 years of her working career as a music teacher. After her retirement from education, she dedicated her life to anti-war activism, during the course of which her actions led her to be arrested several times. In 2011, after a decline in her health in prison, Hudson died from multiple myeloma at the age of 76.

Early life and education

Born in Saginaw, Michigan,[1] she was the youngest of two children.[2] Her parents were very religious due to the fact that her father attended the seminary for a time. Hudson was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and attended Catholic schools for her entire education. At the age of 18, in 1952, she decided to join the Dominican Order.[3] Under orders from her abbess, she attended VanderCook College of Music, concentrating in music and religious education.[4] This led to a nearly three decade career as a music teacher at a string of Roman Catholic junior high schools in Michigan,[3] where she taught piano and band as well as vocal music.[2][5]

Activism

After her retirement in the early 1980s, she started to study the effects of nuclear bombs and radiation on the environment and people; because of what she found, she subsequently focused her ministry on peace and protesting nuclear proliferation.[3][6] In 1983, she protested the introduction of nuclear cruise missiles to Michigan.[7] In 1990, she was arrested and imprisoned for 6 months for illegally accessing a bunker on Wurtsmith Air Force Base and painting "Christ lives, Disarm" on the side of it.[8] Hudson had a strong belief that she was doing the right thing and living out her faith, and stated that "[Jesus] put life before the law."[9]

In 2000, Hudson and two other nuns, sisters Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte, snuck onto Peterson Air Force Base and sprinkled blood on a fighter plane. The group was arrested and held in a federal prison until the charges were dropped because there was no lasting damage was done to the airplane.[7] Gilbert claimed that the base was part of the "Star Wars" defense system and the government did not want to draw unnecessary attention to the area. In 2002, the same group of nuns gained access to a Minuteman III missile silo in Colorado.[10] Wearing white hazmat suits emblazoned with "Citizen Weapon Inspection Team," they pounded on the missile, drew a cross in their own blood and prayed for peace.[11][12] At their pre-trial hearing, the nuns, dressed in full habits, engaged in silent protest by only answering the judge with a nod.[13] When their trial came about, the presiding judge, Robert E. Blackburn, granted an in limine motion to the prosecutor preventing the nuns from arguing that their actions were legal under international law and the Nuremberg defense. The group was sentenced to between 31 and 40 months for obstructing national defense and damaging government property. The sister's appeal was rejected in 2005 by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.[10]

In 2010, Hudson and 13 others illegally entered the grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.[14] She was incarcerated in a Georgia prison pending her sentence, but was allowed to go home in June 2011 due to a serious decline in her health.[6]

Death and legacy

Hudson died on August 3, 2011, at age 76, at the Harrison Medical Center near her home in Poulsbo, Washington. She had suffered from pneumonia,[6] but the cause of death was multiple myeloma.[3] For 58 years, until her death, she was a member of the Dominican Order.[5] In November 2011, Dorli Rainey, an Occupy Seattle protester cited Hudson as her inspiration "to keep fighting the good fight, even in the winter years of her life."[15]

Notes

  1. ^ Ablao 2011, p. 1
  2. ^ a b Strabala 2006, p. 83
  3. ^ a b c d Gilmore 2011
  4. ^ Fox 2011
  5. ^ a b "Sister Jacqueline Marie Hudson" 2011
  6. ^ a b c Honey 2011
  7. ^ a b Strabala 2006, p. 84
  8. ^ Phan 2011
  9. ^ Nepstad 2008, p. 72
  10. ^ a b Head 2011, pp. 143
  11. ^ Strabala 2006, pp. 84–86
  12. ^ Guzder 2011, pp. 148
  13. ^ Berrigan 2005, pp. 31
  14. ^ Ayotte 2011, p. 6
  15. ^ Falsani 2011

References and bibliography

  • Ablao, Sue (2011). "Jackie Hudson Obituary, Ground Zero Volume 16 Issue 4" (PDF). Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action. Retrieved April 12, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Ayotte, Nancy (2011). "Michigan Peace Team's Newsletter, Volume 17 Issue 3" (PDF). Michigan Peace Team. Retrieved April 7, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Berrigan, Daniel (2005). Genesis: Fair Beginnings, Then Foul. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742531925. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Falsani, Cathleen (2011). "The Unlikely Voice of a Generation: Dorli Rainey is "Maude" to the Occupy Movement's "Harold"". Sojourners. Retrieved 22 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Fox, Thomas C (2011). "Peace activist Jackie Hudson dies at age 76". The National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved April 6, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Guzder, Deena (2011). Divine Rebels: American Christian Activists for Social Justice. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1569762643. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Head, Michael (2011). Crimes Against The State. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9780754678199. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Nepstad, Sharon Erickson (2008). Religion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521717671. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Gilmore, Susan (2011). "Jackie Hudson, nun and activist for nuclear disarmament, 76". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 6, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Phan, Amy (2011). "Jackie Hudson, nun who believed in nuclear disarmament, dies at age 76". The Kitsap Sun. Retrieved April 6, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • "Sister Jacqueline Marie Hudson". Grand Rapids Press. 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Strabala, William (2006). WMD, Nukes and Nuns. Algora Publishing. pp. 83–90. ISBN 978-0875864471. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Honey, Charley (2011). "Dominican nun, Sister Jackie Hudson, known for anti-war protest activities mourned". The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved April 6, 2012. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

  • Coday, Dennis (2006). "Nuns' food drive rebuffed". National Catholic Reporte. 43 (7). ISSN 0027-8939. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Coffey, Kathy (3003). "Wily as serpents and simple as doves". U.S. Catholic. 68 (10): 50. ISSN 0041-7548. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Jones, Melissa (2003). "Witnesses for peace put God before government". National Catholic Reporter. 39 (40): 34–35. ISSN 0027-8939. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Nieves, Evelyn (2003). "Protesting nuns have not repented: They face lengthy jail terms but they're willing to pay the price". Washington Post. p. E4. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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