Ilka Chase born New York, NY April 8, 1903 (d. 1978). American actress and novelist, Quaker pacifist.
"[W]e live in a lunatic world where the only way to maintain peace is to have an enormous war-making machine." (Free Admission, 1948; photo allatarpics)
Esther Chávez Cano born Chihuahua, Mexico June 2, 1933 (d. 2009). Human rights activist. Began campaign against murder of women in Juárez, 1992. Founded Casa Amiga shelter, 1999. Awarded National Human Rights Prize, 2008.
"The women of Juárez are not just Juárez's dead. They are the world's dead, for they were killed simply because they were women. Let us all cry out: 'Not one more woman assassinated, raped or even insulted!'" (2008, in Independent, Jan. 15, 2010; photo NMSU Library)
Helen Fabela Chávez born Brawley, CA January 21, 1928. Nonviolent advocate for farm workers; inspired her husband, César; arrested four times for civil disobedience; jailed 3 days for shouting "Huelga!" (photo http://bit.ly/Ahgu8K)
Erica Chenoweth born Ohio April 22, 1980. American professor of international relations; expert on civil resistance. Co-authored Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, 2011.
"Nonviolent resistance campaigns are about twice as effective as violent ones in achieving their goals. We also found that these trends hold even where most people expect nonviolent resistance to be ineffective—for instance, against dictatorships and highly repressive regimes." (Street Spirit, March 7, 2012; photo du.edu)
Mary Albee Chesley AKA Tarabehn born Nova Scotia, Canada July 30, 1891 (d. 1936). Canadian Gandhian. Served as itinerant banker to rural women; raised funds for Russian and Chinese famine relief, aid to German children; Quaker family; died of pneumonia on pilgrimage to Hindu Buddhist holy site Badri-Kedar on Tibetan frontier. Described by Gandhi “one of the noblest women had the good fortune to meet.” (Harijan, May 16, 1936).
Judy Chicago (née Cohen) born Chicago, IL July 20, 1939. Anti-war feminist and artist; contributed to LA Peace Tower against Vietnam War 1966; Holocaust Project 1993.
"I believe in art that is connected to real human feeling, that extends itself beyond the limits of the art world to embrace all people who are striving for alternatives in an increasingly dehumanized world." (1983, The Art Story Foundation; photo lewallencontemporary.com)
Lydia Maria Child (née Francis) born Medford, MA February 11, 1802 (d. 1880). Nonviolent abolitionist; transcendentalist; author; poet; editor. Co-founded the world's first nonviolent society, 1838; known as the "First Lady of the Republic."
"The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word 'love.' It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life." (The Mother's Book, 1831; photo Wikipedia)
Shirley Chisholm born Brooklyn, NY November 30, 1924. First African-American congresswoman, 1968; first African-American presidential candidate, 1972; maiden speech in House opposed the Vietnam War.
"The number-one priority of the new administration is to buy more and more weapons of war, to return to the era of the cold war, to ignore the war we must fight here—the war that is not optional." (maiden House speech, March 26, 1969; photo 1972 wiki pd)
Alice Chown born Kingston, Ontario, Canada February 3, 1866 (d. 1949). Canadian radical pacifist and suffragist. Active at Hague Peace Conference, 1915; founded Women's Peace Organization in Toronto and Women's League of Nations Association, 1930. “[She] stressed that love ought to be the creative motivating force in the world.” (Josephson, Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders, 1985, p. 167)
“[T]he evils we go out to fight with violence we shall graft upon our own nation’s life. Starting with hatred of our enemy’s cruelty, we shall end by being cruel ourselves; detesting the subservience of the German people to their state, we shall become indifferent to the subservience of our own people to our state. We shall lose our free institutions, free speech, free press, free assemblage, and have to struggle to regain them.” (http://bit.ly/Ivvc2H; photo Wikipedia)
Sandra Cisneros born Chicago, IL December 20, 1954. Poet and novelist; WILPF Sponsor, Jane Addams Peace Award.
"We make peace by being peaceful, every single day, every moment, with all the people we come in contact with. . . Peace is contagious, just like anger. If you make yourself peaceful, they will be peaceful too." (Cal State Dominguez, Sept. 11, 2007; photo schoolworkhelper.net)
Olive Ewing Clapper born Kansas City, MO February 4, 1896 (d. 1968). American peace advocate; author and lecturer. National treasurer of WILPF; promoter of strong UN; opponent of Cold War.
"If the peace issue is neglected or bungled we may as well begin to dig our cities underground." (1942, in One Lucky Woman, 1961, p. 341; photo with President Truman, care.org)
Lisa Pelletti Clark born Los Angeles, CA January 31, 1950. Interpreter and peace activist. Worked in Sarajevo during Bosnian War, 1993-95. Vice-President of Italian NGO Beati I Costruttori di Pace ("Blessed are the Peacemakers"). Opposed nuclear weapons at Aviano; led petition for nuclear-free Italy. Coordinated civil society mission for first democratic elections in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2006. Took part in peace missions to Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Albania, and Chiapas.
“I've always been on the side of those who suffer injustice, identifying with the women and men who live in the flesh the consequences of wars, violence and discrimination.” (text and photo, May 24, 2005, Affondi Noidonne)
Septima Poinsette Clark born Charleston, SC May 3, 1898 (d. 1981). "Grandmother of American civil rights movement." Nonviolent teacher at Highlander Folk School, 1954; colleague of Martin Luther King, Jr. in SCLC; pioneered Citizenship Schools.
"I am one dedicated person working for freedom." (Lisa Baumgartner, Adult Ed. Research Conf. AERC, Jan. 1996; photo blogs.cofc.edu)
Maura Clarke born Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY January 13, 1931 (assassinated by Salvador military 1980). Maryknoll sister serving the poor in the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
"[T]o search out the missing, pray with the families of prisoners, bury the dead, and work with the people in their struggle to break out of the bonds of oppression, poverty, and violence." (Telling the Stories that Matter, Dec. 2, 2013)
“Even though I am somewhat fearful of the difficult days ahead for our people of El Salvador, I feel convinced, Lord, that you want me there; that you will give me the light and strength I need.” (Dec. 1, 1980 Maryknoll Mission Archives; photo Wikipedia)
Jill Clayburgh born Manhattan, NY April 30, 1944 (d. 2010). Actress; co-founder Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND) New York 1982.
“[D]oing something about the threat of nuclear war is the only thing that really matters.” (William Palmer, Films of the Eighties, p. 181; photo IMDb)
Xernona Clayton Brady born Muskogee, OK August 30, 1930. Nonviolent Civil Rights leader with Martin Luther King, Jr.; media leader SCLC; called "Dragon-slayer" by Calvin Craig, Green Dragon of KKK whom she converted to nonviolence; founded Trumpet Awards 1993 to those "who augment the richness of this great global society by partnering with the cause of justice and equality of all." International Civil Rights Walk of Fame 2004, Atlanta.
"People must be willing to devote their lives to making the world a better place." (Florida State University Newsletter, Jan. 25, 1993; photo concord.edu)
Sarah Norcliffe Cleghorn born Norfolk, VA February 4, 1876 (d. 1959). Quaker poet; pacifist; suffragist; socialist. Co-founded Anti-Enlistment League, 1915.
His country cowered under the mailed fist
Of the great soldier nation of his day;
But did he volunteer? Not he : instead
He talked in ill-timed, ill-judged platitudes,
Urging a most unpatriotic peace.
People that had been once slapped in the face
Ought to stand still, he thought, till slapped again;
And if we were insulted, we should watch
For chances to return it with a favor.
I will say for him, milksop as he was,
He was consistent: for he let himself
Be knocked about the streets and spit upon.
And never had the manhood to hit back.
Of course he had no sense at all of honor,—
Either his country's honor, or his own,—
Contemptible poltroon! His name was Jesus.
(Poem, "The Poltroon")
Rosa Clemente born South Bronx, NY April 18, 1972; vice-presidential candidate of Green Party 2008 winning 161,797 votes; journalist, nonviolent community organizer; opposed all US wars; arrested for Black Lives Matter protests Ferguson, Los Angeles, Baton Rouge.
“Not only do you speak out—you act against power. . . That’s putting your body on the line. . . You’re putting your freedom on the line. . .” (Oct. 29, 2013, Latino Quote of the Day)
“[W]e now have to talk about creating departments of peace. And we have to also talk about withdrawing troops wherever they reside in other people’s homelands.” (Democracy Now, Oct. 3, 2008; photo 1nedrop.com)
Kate Clinton born Buffalo, NY November 9, 1947. Comedienne; gay rights leader; antiwar voice.
"We are now in two wars. My health care RX? First, quit giving the warlords free Viagra." (Huffington Post, July 29, 2009)
Marjorie Cohn born Pomona, CA November 1, 1948. Professor of international human rights. Former president, National Lawyers Guild. Editor and author, United States and Torture, 2011. Publicly opposed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Argued humanitarian intervention in Kosovo and Libya violated international law.
“[M]ilitary solutions to political and economic problems are no solution at all.” (“Killing Civilians to Protect Civilians in Syria”, Aug. 27, 2013; photo Thomas Jefferson School of Law)
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
