Toward Peace
We, citizens of Riverside, California in mass meeting here assembled in Fairmount Park, September 20, 1914 … commend and pledge our cooperation to the world peace movement
(Riverside Press, September 21, 1914)
About the Toward Peace project
Frank Miller, the founder of the Mission Inn in Riverside, is most well known as an entrepreneurial hotelman and unabashed Southern California booster. In the years before the U.S. entered the First World War, Miller was an active member of a broad-based national coalition lobbying for the United States to stay out of the war and to play an active role in negotiating an end to European hostilities. By the end of his life (he died in 1935) Miller was celebrated and memorialized as a peace advocate – the Peace and Friendship Tower on Mt. Rubidoux having been dedicated to him by the residents of Riverside.
The Mission Inn Foundation’s multi-faceted project, Toward Peace, will explore Miller’s peace activism in fuller historical and contemporary contexts – inviting our community to learn more about, and think more deeply on Miller’s peace activism and our local history. Together, we will also contemplate the legacies this community heritage may provide as we navigate our roles and responsibilities as world citizens in challenging times.
Toward Peace activities began in August 2020 with “Securing the Vote: The History of Women’s Suffrage in the IE and across the Nation” a zoom webinar commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote and the connections between the Suffrage movement and peace movements in the years before World War I. Future Toward Peace activities – will take place over several months continuing into Autumn 2021.
TOWARD PEACE WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT FROM CALIFORNIA HUMANITIES, A NON-PROFIT PARTNER OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES. VISIT CALHUM.ORG.
Additional support provided by Judith Auth, Sally and Chuck Beaty, Kathy Wright and Dwight Tate, Walter Parks
Adult Programs:
Oct 14 - Peace and Friendship: Frank Miller’s Internationalism with Theresa Hanley
Humanities Hour in partnership with Riverside Public Library, Inlandia, and Riverside Art Museum. Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020.
Oct 18 - The Economics of War, Depression and Pandemics with Roger Ransom
As we struggle through the Covid-19 global event, Professor Ransom will explore the history of previous generations’ responses to such large-scale global events – and discuss the roles and uses of history itself in understanding such events.
Oct 21: Votes for Women; March for Peace
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and exploring the connections between suffrage and the pre-World War peace movements.
Riverside and the World: History and Memory of Peace and War
This Speakers’ Series will feature seven historians from Riverside and beyond in a series of six presentations exploring the peace activism of Mission Inn founder, Frank A. Miller and the historical contexts of Miller’s efforts.
March 3: Keynote Address: Why World War I Still Matters to America
Jennifer Keene, Professor of History
Dean, Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Chapman University
March 10: Dedicated to Peace; Flirting with Feminism: Frank A. Miller of Mission Inn and Women Peace Advocates
Theresa Hanley, Independent Researcher and Toward Peace Project Director
Mona Siegel, Professor of History, California State University, Sacramento and author of Peace on Our Terms: The Global Battle for Women’s Rights After the First World War
March 17: Internationalism, Imperialism and Collecting Tragedy at the Mission Inn
Dr. Emily McEwen, Historic Resource Consultant
March 24: World War I Memorials and the Dissipation of Memory
Dr. Mark Levitch, National Gallery of Art and Principle Investigator of the World War I Memorial Project
Frank A. Miller and the Building of the Soldiers Memorial and Municipal Auditorium, 1928-1929
Dr. Vince Moses, Independent Scholar and Curator
March 31: Peace and Equality a Century in the Making: A Conversation with Mona L. Siegel author of Peace on Our Terms: The Global Battle for Women’s Rights After the First World War
Join Dr. Kenya Davis Hayes, Professor of History at California Baptist University for this conversation with historian and author, Mona Siegel.
April 7: Riverside and the World – A Conversation among our Speakers
Dr. Kenya Davis-Hayes, Professor of History at California Baptist University moderates discussion among the speakers in Riverside and the World
What Is Peace: Exploring the History of Peace Activism
A Film and Discussion Series in association with Toward Peace
(Presented Via Zoom webinar)
Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. -- The Fellowship for Reconciliation – A Centennial Film
Discussion led by Nicolette Rohr, Associate Faculty, Riverside Community College; Lecturer in History, University of California, Riverside
Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. – Investigation of a Flame: A Documentary Portrait of the Catonsville Nine (A film by Lynne Sachs)
Discussion led by Michael Rounds, Professor of History, San Bernardino Valley College; Instructor in History, Chaffey College
Presentation via Zoom webinar is free webinar but registration required
The Mission Inn Foundation, in partnership with the Inland Communities Fellowship of Reconciliation, is pleased to present this film and discussion series as part of its project, Toward Peace – exploring the history of Mission Inn founder, Frank Miller, and his peace activism in the World War I era. Toward Peace: Frank Miller in the World, on exhibition in the Mission Inn Museum gallery from September 18, 2021 through April 3, 2022 takes a deeper look at the history of Miller’s peace activism within the context of his times. With these film and discussion programs, Toward Peace expands our exploration of the history of peace activism looking at how generations after Miller viewed peace.
About the programs:
September 25, 2021: Fellowship for Reconciliation Centennial film.
In August 1914, a group of Christian pacifists established the Fellowship of Reconciliation in opposition to the outbreak of the First World War in Europe. A year later, 68 American pacifists, including social reformer Jane Addams, a friend of Frank Miller, joined together to found FOR – USA. For over 100 years, members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation have worked to promote non-violent solutions to conflicts throughout the world. Co-presented with the Inland Communities – Fellowship of Reconciliation, this centennial film chronicles the organization’s work and in doing so, the changing nature of ideas of peace and peace activism. Nicolette Rohr, Lecturer in History at Riverside Community College and the University of California, Riverside, will introduce the film and lead our discussion afterwards.
October 2, 2021: Investigation of a Flame – A Documentary Portrait of the Catonsville Nine
This film takes a look back to the contentious days of the Vietnam War era recounting the story of the Catonsville Nine, a group of peace activists who stole draft records and set them on fire with homemade napalm. Through interviews with the peace activists, those working at the draft board, the district attorney who prosecuted the activists and a member of the jury, the film presents the personal perspectives of the individuals involved. The film explores such enduring concepts as conscientious objection, the role of dissent in American political discourse and concepts of civil disobedience. Michael Rounds, Professor of History at San Bernardino Valley College and Instructor in History at Chaffey College will introduce the film and lead the discussion following.
What is Peace Film and Discussion programs are presented free of charge and will be by Zoom Webinar. Registration is required. To register for the webinar, clink this link and follow the instructions:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8316300130173/WN_K5EyDvVZRE6Uc2SIgRSvOQ
For more information or for help registering call: 951-781-8241 email: or see the Mission Inn Foundation’s website: https://missioninnmuseum.org/
Toward Peace, a multi-activity project of the Mission Inn Foundation includes a series of public programs and an interpretive exhibition, Toward Peace: Frank Miller in the World on view September 18, 2021 through April 3, 2022, exploring Miller’s peace history and its legacy for us today as individuals and as communities.
Toward Peace was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit calhum.org.
Toward Peace is supported by local sponsors: Judith Auth, Sally and Chuck Beaty, Kathy Wright and Dwight Tate, and Walter Parks
Family Programs:
Mission Inn Foundation and Inlandia Institute launch series of interactive stories and puppetry workshops for families and children of all ages.
Karen Rae Kraut has been blending story, song and creative movement in schools, libraries, museums and theatres from California to East Tennessee since 1990.
Nicole Cloeren is the founder of Puppets a la Carte, where she uses puppets and techniques of improvisation to create a space of surprise and wonder in which we can all learn from one another.
The programs are free but registration is required.
Upcoming Dates:
Sept 19 - "Fifi Cherche La Duck"
Dec 10 - "King Solomon and the Hoopoo Bird"
Feb 20 - "The Magic Garden”
May 22 - "Good Advice”
Interpretive Exhibition:
Towards Peace: Frank Miller in the World: This exhibition is now on display in the Mission Inn Museum's Main Street Gallery.
What Is Peace? Riverside Considers an Enduring Question – a series of events exploring contermporary relevance of our community legacy
This series of public events will consist of focused conversations, discussions and community forums centered on:
Riverside’s Walk of Peace. Dates tbd- statues of notable peace figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez and Korean independence leader Dosan Ahn Chang-ho.
Community Forum/Conversation: (tbd) -- format still to be determined depending on physical gathering possibilities, this Community Forum/Conversation will involve participants in exploring the role of our community in the world today.
Concluding Event celebrating the Peace and Friendship Tower (tbd)
Toward Peace Gallery Guide
Explore the personalities behind the Toward Peace Exhibition.