What Message Now?

In December of 1999, I purchased a new Isuzu box truck for my business buying and selling old thingz, almost a year and 9 months before 9/11.

When 9/11 happened, I quickly painted on the back of my truck “Thou Shalt Not Kill” in big letters and underneath in smaller letters: "unless securing 60% of the world's resources for 4% of the world's people" and hurried around the country to engage with primarily womyn about the threatened war looming in our near futures.

I returned to California a few days before congress was giving Bush the right to go to war and my courageous congresswomon Barbara Lee, was the ONLY one out of over 400 congresspeople to stand up and vote NO.

Protesting this horrific vote on the steps of the SF Federal Building, I learned about CodePINK: Womyn For Peace. Realizing I had two more 14’ billboards on either side of my truck, I repainted one side of my truck “CodePINK: Womyn For Peace” and the other side “Proud To Be Another American Womon For Peace” and set off across the country again.

The sides have now morphed into other missives: one side an anti-monsanto/womyn growing peace mural given to me by an awesome local Berkeley artist Phoebe Ackley; the other side “End Violence Against Womyn And Children: #SayHerName and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womyn and Girls”.

Since 9/11, I’ve put about 498,000 miles on my truck – mostly protest action miles – and I’ve repainted the back often, depending on what’s happening in the country.

I’m ready to get back on the road but I need help deciding what message I should paint across the back this time. A message that will bring inspiration and support to those of us who are devastated by the racism and sexism overtly embraced by the majority of white amerikkkans, to keep our fight alive and vibrant while we work to protect those most impacted by those put in power.

Here are some versions of the back of my truck- not in date order: