Women peacemakers born today

1849 Emma Lazarus born Manhattan, NY (d. 1887). Poetess who wrote sonnet for base of Statue of Liberty.

1917 Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah born Calcutta, India (d. 2000). Pakistani diplomat and author; PhD London; as delegate to UN influenced Human Rights Declaration and Genocide Convention.

1931 Riane Eisler (née Tennenbaum) born Vienna, Austria. American cultural historian; peace educator, author Educating for a Culture of Peace, 2002.
1946 Ann Wright born Durant, Oklahoma. Spoken about the role of dissent and about the need to reduce the US military presence around the world. Co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.”
1967 Lauren Booth born Islington, London. Broadcaster journalist; co-sponsor of nonviolent Free Gaza Movement; broke blockade of Gaza 2008; converted to Islam 2010; opposed Iraq War initiated by her brother-in-law, Prime Minister Tony Blair.

1992 Selena Gomez born Grand Prairie, TX. American pop singer and actress; UNICEF Ambassador mission to Ghana 2008, Chile 2011.

Women's peacemaking on this day

2003 Liberian woman forced peace at Ghana; Leymah Gbowee threatened to strip. "Okay, I'm going to make it very, very easy for you to arrest me. . . I'm going to strip naked."
2010 WILPF demanded withdrawal of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan at the National Peace Conference, Albany, NY.
2014 Irish politician Clare Daly arrested for trying to inspect US planes carrying weapons to war.
2016 Medea Benjamin interrupted Donald Trump’s presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. “We want peace and love, not hate and war.”