Jamaica Plain People
Historical Society Celebrating 150th Birthday of JP’s Only Nobel Peace Prize Winner
|
This Saturday the Jamaica Plain Historical Society is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Emily Greene Balch, JP's only Nobel Peace Prize winner. January 8th will also be designated Emily Greene Balch Day in Jamaica Plain from a declaration and proclamation by City Councilor Matt O'Malley. Emily Greene Balch was born on January 8th, 1867 in Jamaica Plain. Balch's grandparents moved to JP in the 1820's and for more than 100 years and four generations, the Balch family were leading members of the First Church of Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist, said Balch biographer, Dr. Kristen Gwinn-Becker. In 1946, Balch became the second American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her visionary work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Balch credited the church's Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole as a key inspiration in her work for peace and social justice, said Gwinn-Becker.