Alison Des Forges

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Overview

Alison Des Forges (née Liebhafsky) born Schenectady, NY August 20, 1942 (d. 2009). Human rights activist; expert on Rwanda genocide and Congo.

Quotations

“International leaders, chasing the ever-moving goal of stability, ignore crimes against humanity and tolerate obstruction of efforts to reveal the full horror of ongoing abuses in the region. By failing to demand accountability for current crimes, they undermine the credibility of justice being meted out for the genocide and by tolerating impunity for present slaughter, they perpetuate insecurity.” (Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, 1999, p. 27; photo CNN.com)

Dorothy Detzer

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Overview

Dorothy Detzer born Ft. Wayne, IN December 1, 1893 (d. 1981). WILPF National Secretary 1924-46; organized post-WW I Quaker relief to Austria and Russia; lobbied against arms makers and military training; advocated for women in international organizations.

Quotations

"Preparedness for war brings war, as it did in Germany... We, therefore, believe that we should find another method for settling international disputes other than that by the duel." (to American Legion, June 17, 1924; photo WILPF exhib, Swarth. Peace Col.)

Amanda Halstead Deyo

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Overview

Rev. Amanda Deyo (née Halstead) born Clinton, NY October 24, 1838 (d. 1917). "The Peacemaker"; raised Quaker, became Universalist pastor; national peace speaker; delegate to international peace conferences, 1889.

Quotations

 "We demand the settlement of disputes of the world by arbitration: the settlement of all national disputes shall be had through these mighty powers of the human soul." ("Woman's War for Peace", World's Congress of Rep. Women May 1893, ed. by May Sewall 1894, p. 734)

Diane di Prima

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Overview

Diane di Prima born Brooklyn, NY August 6, 1934. American anarchist and Beat Poet. Refused taxes for Vietnam War, 1966. Edited War Poems, 1968. Signed Pledge of Resistance to Bush wars, 2002.

Quotations

"[A]ll of us stop the war
at nine o’clock tomorrow, each take one soldier
see him clearly, love him, take the gun
out of his hand, lead him to a quiet spot
sit him down, sit with him as he takes a joint
of viet cong grass from his pocket."

(“Revolutionary Letter #13 c. 1968; photo analepsis.org)

Abigail Disney

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Overview

Abigail Disney born North Hollywood, CA January 24, 1960. Filmmaker; peace activist; produced Pray the Devil Back to Hell documentary about women’s peacemaking in Liberia, 2008; PBS “Women, War & Peace” 2011; founded Peace is Loud 2008 featuring women peacemakers; trip to Dem. Repub. Congo 2011 to support women peacemaking; Sri Lanka 2012 to start Sri Lankan Women’s Agenda on Peace; joined Ahava boycott 2012; crossed Korean demarcation line in appeal for peace 2015; International Advocate for Peace award 2011.

Quotations

“[W]ar is a totalizing, uncivilized experience.” (Brainy Quote)

“When men talk about war, the stories and terminology vary—it's this battle, these weapons, this terrain. But no matter where you go in the world, women use the same language to speak of war. They speak of fire, they speak of death, and they speak of starvation. . . I think if we understand better the impact of war on women and children, we might be more careful about the wars we start.” (Forbes interview, Aug. 19, 2010)

“Peace comes because people make a decision to stop fighting.” (Jesica Berns interview, Oct. 2013; photo alchetron)

Beulah Marie Dix

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Overview

Beulah Marie Dix born Kingston, MA January 24, 1876 (d. 1970). American pacifist playwright, author, and screenwriter. Wrote several antiwar plays opposing WWI: “Across the Border”, 1914, and “Moloch”, 1915. Antiwar pieces for American School Peace League: “A Pageant of Peace”, 1915, “The Enemy”, 1915,“Where War Comes”, 1916. Children’s books include The Glorious Game and Clemency.

Quotations

On “Moloch”: “[I] tried to show how endless and purposeless war really is when stripped of its imaginary glamour; how it changes men’s very natures and bequathes a legacy of hate to little children.” (May 15, 1915, Chicago Daily News in Women Staging War, Maria Beach, 2004, p. 67; photo Wikipedia)

Dorothea Dix

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Overview

Dorothea Dix born Hampden, ME April 4, 1802 (d. 1887). American prison reformer, teacher and humanitarian; advocated care of the insane; superintendent of Union nurses in Civil War.

Quotations

"In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman."

"I come to present the strong claims of suffering humanity. I come to place before the Legislature of Massachusetts the condition of the miserable, the desolate, the outcast. I come as the advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane, and idiotic men and women." (Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, Jan. 19, 1843; photo Unitarian Universalists)

Jody Dodd

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Overview

Jody Dodd born November 9, 1957. WILPF leader; War Resisters League.

Quotations

"I am outraged at the news that Bush has made an agreement to provide India with nuclear materials/technology! India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore it is in violation of International Law, the NPT and US Law for the US to do so. This action will only further to advance global proliferation and weaken the NPT." (letter to Sen. Spector, March 2, 2006; photo WRL)

Kate Donnelly

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Overview

Kate Donnelly born New Haven, CT September 29, 1952. Nonviolence trainer and teacher; publisher. Participant and chronicler of Women and Life on Earth Conference, 1979, and Women's Pentagon Action, 1980. Led War Resisters League (WRL) campaign against war toys; edited WRL Handbook for Nonviolent Action, 1989. Recipient War Resisters League Award, 2001.

Quotations

"Let's face it—without intelligent, compassionate youth, there's not much hope for our planet, never mind our 'movement.'" (quote and photo Peace Women Across the Globe)

Jean Donovan

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Overview

Jean Donovan born Westport, CT April 10, 1953. (d. 1980). Catholic lay worker beaten, raped and murdered by Salvadoran National Guard.

Quotations

“The Peace Corps left today and my heart sank low. The danger is extreme and they were right to leave. . . Now I must assess my own position, because I am not up for suicide. Several times I have decided to leave. I almost could, except for the children, the poor bruised victims of adult lunacy. Who would care for them? Whose heart would be so staunch as to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their tears and helplessness? Not mine, dear friend, not mine.” (quote and photo Wikipedia)

Mary Antoinette Doolittle

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Overview

Mary Antoinette Doolittle born New Lebanon, NY September 8, 1810 (d. 1886). Shaker Eldress and lecturer; wrote War Positively Unchristian.

Quotations

"War is incompatible with Christianity. It is not only un-christian, but is immoral, unscientific, and retards civilization." (The Shaker Manifesto, p. 3, Jan. 1879; photo historicmapworks.com)

Madeleine Z. Doty

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Overview

Madeleine Zabriskie Doty born Bayonne, NJ August 24, 1877 (d. 1963). Lawyer; World War I correspondent; pacifist co-founder of WILPF; first international secretary 1925-31; started first Junior Year Abroad in Geneva 1938; advocated prison reform after spending voluntary week in prison.

Quotations

"I set out to remake the world. I would study law, be a great woman lawyer, see justice done." (Alice Rinehart, One Woman Determined to Make a Difference, p. 21, 2001; photo asteria.fivecolleges.edu)

Alice May Douglas

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Overview

Alice May Douglas born Bath, ME June 28, 1865 (d. 1943). Peace activist; poet and children's author. As head of the Women's Christian Temperance Union's Peace and Arbitration branch, actively promoted peace education and peaceful settlement of disputes. Founder and composer of Peace Makers' Band. Published The Peacemaker and a story of Russian Mennonite exiles. Delivered paper "The Inconsistency of Military Drill" for Child Study Conference, Liege.

Quotations

"[T]wo little boys, who by reading history, had become imbued with war aspirations and were writing essays on war and making pictures to illustrate warfare, were induced to use their talents for peace, and to write for The Acorn." (WCTU Minutes, Nov. 1894, p. 441; photo Mary Livermore, American Women Fifteen Hundred Biographies, 1897, p. 156)

Helen Gahagan Douglas

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Overview

Helen Gahagan Douglas born Boonton, NJ November 25, 1900 (d. 1980). US Delegate to UN General Assembly, 1946; Calif. Representative on House Foreign Affairs; resisted Cold War and HUAC; Honorary Co-Chair of WILPF; promoted UN control of nuclear weapons; helped write Marshall Plan.

Quotations

"The air needs to be cleared of suspicion and doubt and fear. . . What we need now in the world is friends." (postwar speech to Congress, in A Full Life, p. 214; photo US govt. wiki pd)