History Blog
WAR IS OVER. If you want it.
The title of this blog serves as a tribute to John Lennon and Yoko Ono who posted that message on a billboard in Times Square, December 1969. April 30, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee is marking the occasion with a webinar co-sponsored by…Music Fuels Movements for Social Change
When Pete Seeger said, “The right song at the right moment can change history” he spoke a truth that resonates with peace and justice activists across time and space. No matter our age, where we live, or which action we take for peace and social justice, songs bring us together and give us strength, courage,…WRL Supports GI Resisters
Active military considering their options can look to the War Resisters League and other organizations for examples of GI resistance as well as practical guides. WRL’s new Resources for GI Rights and Resistance (PDF download) includes stories of GI resisters, videos featuring WRL members, articles, book reviews, and a book published by War Resisters’ International. Check…
WRL Goes to the Movies
Popular films aren’t usually known for promoting peace. There’s a lot of focus on big action sequences in the wide release movies that studios hope will become summer blockbusters, especially when superheroes are involved. In 1987 and 2007, two WRL Peace Calendars sought to highlight movies that promote peace and justice.WRL’s interest in movies isn’t…Home Is Where WRL Is: A History of WRL’s Offices: The Peace Pentagon and Beyond (Part II)
After leaving 5 Beekman Street with a very light load—courtesy of the FBI theft—WRL and its peace group mates moved to 339 Lafayette Street at the western edge of the East Village. (For the story of WRL’s pre-Lafayette Street homes, see Home Is Where WRL Is: A History of WRL’s Offices, Part I: From a…Home Is Where WRL Is: A History of WRL’s Office Spaces: From a Living Room to a Loft (Part I)
In our 100 year history, the WRL national office, surprisingly, has had only a few locations in New York City. Each was unique in its own way.WRL was first located in Jessie Wallace Hughan’s apartment. The founder of WRL, she brought into the fold activists from a variety of progressive organizations. Soon there were too…
War Is a Crime Against Humanity: Stop the Violence Immediately in Israel-Palestine
WRI exec statement: on the Israel-Hamas ceasefireJanuary 20, 2025 – As a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel comes into force, we can only begin to imagine the relief of all those who were being bombed yesterday, but are not being bombed today.All wars are crimes against humanity. The last fifteen months of relentless, genocidal war have illustrated…Learn About Our Radical Past Through Larry Gara’s Radical Quizzes
Between 1989 and 2002, Larry Gara produced four “radical quizzes” for WRL’s Nonviolent Activist to encourage everyone to learn about our radical past. The first, “A Radical Quiz,” was published in the September 1989 issue. Gara, a professor at Wilmington College in Ohio, a WWII resister, and a long-time WRL member, wrote an introduction for…WRL’s Debate to Hire Bayard Rustin
Not much time goes by in political discourse without some mention of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place 61 years ago this week. It was the largest gathering for civil rights of its time, with an estimated 250,000 people attending. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his “I Have a Dream”…WRL’s Anarchist-Socialist Softball Games
When I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, the War Resisters League would have their National Committee meetings hosted by a different local group every summer. Always a WRL local affiliate, it meant that we got to go somewhere else around the country. As a kid, these meetings ended up feeling like vacations….
Share