Curtis Reliford - Santa Cruz Peace Train

Curtis Reliford is one of Santa Cruz, California’s very visible social change activists. Curtis has driven his peace train truck to local protests, rallies and celebrations for years. He is constantly collecting donations of food, clothes, building materials and other supplies which he then has delivered to people in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, to indigenous activists fighting for autonomy at Standing Rock, and to Navajo and Hopi people living on native land in Arizona and New Mexico.

Recently Curtis Reliford was parked on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz and posted some small signs next to the bike path with words like "love" and "peace" and "compassion." Suddenly a man walked up and grabbed the signs and threw them at Curtis, hitting him in the leg. Though he wasn’t wounded badly, Curtis says that this kind of thing happens frequently and that he feels it’s motivated by racial prejudice.

This interview is by John Malkin and was originally broadcast on "Transformation Highway" on KZSC 88.1 FM / kzsc.org on October 15, 2020.

For more information about Curtis Reliford and his peace train, check out: https://www.santacruzpeacetrain.com/