Peg Mullen

Overview

Margaret “Peg” Mullen (née Goodyear) born Pocahontas, IA June 11, 1917 (d. 2009). Antiwar activist and WILPF member. Mother of draftee soldier killed by friendly fire, Vietnam, 1970. Took out two half-page newspaper ads depicting 719 crosses to memorialize Iowans killed in the Vietnam War. Published autobiography Unfriendly Fire: A Mother's Memoir, 1995. Opposed Gulf, Iraq, Afghan wars.

Quotations

“We have been dying for nine long, miserable years in Vietnam in an undeclared war. . . How many more lives do you wish to sacrifice because of your SILENCE?” (ad placed in Des Moines Register, April 12, 1970)

Alaa Murabit

Overview

Alaa Murabit born Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada October 26, 1989. Libyan physician; women’s rights leader. Founding president of Voice of Libyan Women, 2011; spearheaded Noor Campaign to promote Koran’s teachings of nonviolence, 2013.

Quotations

"Many aspects of Islam—such as the importance of peace and nonviolence, particularly within the family unit—are often overlooked." (Daily Beast, July 19, 2013; photo cbc.ca)

Emily Murphy

Overview

Emily Murphy (née Emily Gowan Ferguson) born Cookstown, Ontario, Canada March 14, 1868 (d. 1933). Canadian jurist; lifelong pacifist; first woman judge in British empire. One of "Famous Five" women who won legal right of woman as a person, 1929. Opposed WWII as caused by over-population; opposed Boer War; witness to dawn of WWI.

Quotations

"There were many tear-stained faces and hearts that ached, too, for these tough-fibered sons of Mars, led like sheep to slaughter, for it will be a mere handful who come home again." (Christine Mander, Emily Murphy: Rebel, p. 51; photo Wikipedia)

Gael Murphy

Overview

Gael Murphy born Paris, France February 10, 1954. Former Foreign Service Officer, aid worker, and Peace Corps volunteer. American co-founder and international coordinator of social justice organization Code Pink. Coordinated Women's Peace Vigil, 2002; arrested for protest at Republican National Convention, 2004.

Quotations

"We are starting this campaign of ‘extralegal lobbying'—nonviolent civil disobedience—at the offices of our Representatives and Senators who refuse to publicly pledge their vote against Bush’s request for an additional $100 billion for the war." (Code Pink, Feb. 12, 2007)

"Don't go to war with Iran. . . What laws have they broken?" (New York Sun, Oct. 25, 2008; photo http://bit.ly/J2ccqW)

Pauli Murray

Overview

Pauli Murray born Baltimore, MD November 10, 1910 (d. 1985). African-American nonviolent civil rights leader; lawyer; teacher; poet; Episcopal priest.

Quotations

"I do not intend to destroy segregation by physical force. . . I hope to see it destroyed by. . . a power of the spirit. . . I intend to do my part through the power of persuasion, by spiritual resistance, by the power of my pen, and by inviting the violence upon my own body." ("An American Credo", Common Ground, Winter 1945, p. 24 cited by Anthony Pinn; photo NOW.org)

Tracy D. Mygatt

Overview

Tracy Dickinson Mygatt born Brooklyn, NY March 5, 1885 (d. 1973). Poet and playwright; absolute pacifist. Organized Anti-Enlistment League, 1915; co-founded War Resisters League, 1923; delegate for Campaign for World Government, 1941-1973.

Quotations

“[O]ust the Hitlers of the world by the very opposite of their methods—not the aping of them.” (“Lets get Going!”, c. 1939)

“We pacifists are stubborn people.  We still believe that the world can be saved.” (1939; photo zealby.com)