On September 25, 1978, thousands of people attended the "No Nukes" concert.
Story by Geoff Currier
T
A day of music, friendship, and hope.
he No Nukes Festival was held on Martha’s Vineyard 45 years ago, and there are still plenty of people on the Island who not only attended the festival, but look back on it as one of the highpoints of their youth. How do I know? Because when I ask someone, “Did you go to the No Nukes concert?”, they generally pause what they’re doing, look me in the eye — and break into a big grin. 30
You have to understand the Vineyard in the ’70s. Young people in their 20s and 30s were coming to the Island in droves, drawn to the laid-back lifestyle, a sense offreedom, and a shared social consciousness. In 1973, President Richard Nixon initiated Project Independence, which sought to build 1,000 nuclear power plants by 2000. The Clamshell Alliance was created in 1976 to make sure that Nixon wouldn’t have his way. In May 1977, over 2,000 Clamshell Alliance nonviolent protesters occupied the
Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant construction site in Seabrook, N.H. Close to 1,500 of these activists were arrested and held in jails and National Guard armories for up to two weeks, after refusing to pay bail. A large contingent of Vineyarders were at the protest, including Jay Walsh, a UMass student who would go on to play a critical role in starting the Martha’s Vineyard No Nukes Concert. The primary organizer of the No Nukes Concert is a familiar face on the Vineyard today, John Abrams, the CEO and co-own-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COURTESY JOHN ABRAMS
Looking back at the No Nukes Festival
