100th Anniversary History Projects
We have an active WRL 100th History Committee working on a number of projects and we invite your participation.
• Oral History interviews – We are inviting members and friends to record your WRL stories through the practice of oral histories. We are organizing a number of oral history training opportunities, so let us know if you are interested in recording your own story and interviewing others.
• Traveling Exhibits – Traveling set of banners featuring highlights of WRL’s history. Let us know if you are interested in hosting an exhibit and we will send more information.
• Exhibit of historical WRL posters at the Don Judd Gallery in NYC in Fall 2023 in collaboration with the Judd family, descendents of WRL founder Jessie Wallace Hughan’s family.
• Centenary artwork - new screen-printed poster
• Regional events – Plans are being made by folks who have been involved in the regional offices at WRL West, Southeast, and New England.
• Direct Action - in the long and storied tradition of WRL, folks in NYC are discussing a possible nonviolent action in the fall of 2023 and we encourage others around the country to do the same.
• Compiling a bibliography of WRL histories and creating short biographies to highlight the people whose stories have gone untold.
• If you are in the metropolitan area, join our anniversary planning group in New York City; for more information send an email to nycwrl [at] nycwarresisters.org (subject: 100th%20Anniversary%20planning) .
• New England WRL is hosting the June visit of the Golden Rule, the boat that attempted to sail to nuclear test zones in the 1950s with support from WRL. Veterans for Peace is sailing it again for a nuclear-free world. For more info email joanne [at] warresisters.org (subject: Golden%20Rule) .
• “Mandy Carter: Scientist of Activism” The impressive work of Mandy Carter and her time on the staffs of War Resisters League/West, San Francisco (1969-1977), WRL/Los Angeles (1978-1980), and WRL/Southeast, Durham, NC (1982-1988) on exhibit at the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture at Duke University in Durham June 12-December 31, 2023.
If you are interested in any of these 100th Anniversary projects or have ideas about others, please contact us at wrl100history [at] warresisters.org. The committee’s task is to help coordinate projects being done by smaller groups.