Since 1981, millions of tourists have seen the anti-nuclear peace vigil across from the White House. The vigil was started by William Thomas and maintained by Concepcion Picciotto, who protested there from August 1, 1981 until her death on January 25, 2016. In this silent act of protest, the longest protest in American history, Picciotto inspired countless people to stop and think about the consequences of war and a nuclear world.
President Obama, too, has made a world without nuclear weapons an aspiration of his life and his administration. To honor Picciotto's death and their shared vision for a peaceful world, President Obama should direct the National Park Service to immortalize her vigil with a peace monument in the spot where it has stood for over thirty years.