Dik Cool
of Syracuse Cultural Workers
Dik Cool has been a familiar face at NAEYC national conferences for years. Every year he held the booth for the Syracuse Cultural Workers opens in a new tab (SCW) in the vendors hall. CEASE and PEACE members flocked to this booth for their holiday gifts. I always remember Susan Hopkins stocking up on her holiday gifts with SCW calendars, bumper stickers, buttons and more. In one Chicago NAEYC conference we had dinner with Dik and another member of SCW staff in Chinatown just up the street from the conference. Dik always remembered us and was willing to take our humble checks!
CEASE/PEACE have only given two of our PEACE Awards to vendors or commercial interests – Donnelley Colt Progressive Resources and Syracuse Cultural Workers. Dik accepted the award and rushed back to his booth.
Dik was a draft resister during the Vietnam War and spent two years in prison as a result. After his release and while on probation, he helped found the Syracuse Peace Council, the Syracuse Peace Center and the Syracuse Cultural Workers. Many of us didn’t know that side of Dik until after we gave him the award. He was humble and committed to peace. He was also friends with another PEACE Awardee, Alice Sterling Honig, who passed away a few years ago.
Submitted by Craig Simpson, Dorchester, MA
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