Carol Melia
Born into a musical and politically active Quaker family
in Ogden, Utah, Carol Melia took her first political stand
in second grade, when she wouldn't pledge allegiance to the
flag. "They had to drag me to the principal's office," she
says, adding, "I did it with a joyful heart." A music major
at the U of Colorado, Melia has worked in psychiatric rehab
at the Laurel Hill Center since 1981. She has also raised
three kids and made a lot of music, ranging from string
quartets to vocal groups like the Church of the Naked Truth
at the Oregon Country Fair. Still an active Quaker, she has
expressed her outrage over Iraq by shouting, "Stop the war!"
at public occasions, including W's second inaugural, where
she managed to get close-up tickets. When she heard about
the Iraq Body Count Exhibit at her alma mater, Melia
arranged to have it shipped to Eugene and sponsored by UO
student groups. The lawn area surrounding her in the photo
was filled in for two weeks with 120,000 white flags, each
representing six to seven Iraqi deaths, and 3,000 red flags,
one each for US servicemen and women killed in Iraq.
happening people
photograph and story by Paul Neevel
Eugene Weekly / 15 February
2007
|
|
archive
contact