Malvina Reynolds (née Milder) born San Francisco, CA August 23, 1900 (d. 1978). Folksinger and activist; Socialist; organized "Playing War" against war toys 1964, "Sick World" against A-bomb 1964, "Heavy on Me" against pollution 1977; "Nestle No!" against baby formula 1978.
We must learn to live with peace
And take it as our friend,
We must learn to live with peace,
Or all the world will end
("Peace Isn't Treason." 1965; photo Wikipedia)
Ruth Mary Reynolds Willmarth born Terraville, SD February 29, 1916 (d. 1989). “The American Nationalist.” Nonviolent advocate of Puerto Rican independence. War Resisters League pacifist. Member of Gandhian Harlem Ashram, 1940s. Served as founding Executive Secretary, American League for Puerto Rico’s Independence, 1946; lobbied UN and Congress. Arrested in Puerto Rico, 1950; sentenced to six-year prison term for sedition; released on appeal after 17 months, 1954.
“What does the pacifist do when he finds himself set down in No Man’s Land, with bitter battle raging all around? Well, if he’s not a coward, he doesn’t run, but stays and faces the issue. He keeps his sense of values, and, while he condemns violence on either side, he realizes that Empire is in itself the basic violence, and that to oppress with violence is worse than to resist oppression with violence. He tries to play his own role with compassion and understanding, demonstrating in practice, not in theory, that there is a better way. Thus and only thus can he show that pacifism is not irresponsible withdrawal from conflict, but rather a saner, more constructive way of fighting.” (We Have Not Been Moved, p. 54; photo pedroapontevasquez.com)
Megan Rice born Manhattan, NY January 31, 1930. Catholic nun; taught biology in Nigeria and Ghana. Arrested over three dozen times for nonviolent civil disobedience against US nuclear weapons and the School of Americas, for which she served two 6-month terms. Broke into Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN, 2012; sentenced to 35 months prison, 2014, released and conviction overturned, 2015.
"To remain in prison for the rest of my life would be the greatest gift you could give me." (CBS News, Feb. 18, 2014; photo Huffington Post)
Adrienne Rich born Baltimore, MD May 16, 1929. Anti-war poet. Opposed wars in Vietnam Gulf and Iraq, atomic tests; published essays against racism, growing inequality and imprisonment.
"Life on the planet is born of woman. . . [R]ecent enormous anti-war and anti-imperialist gatherings on every continent have been asserting, that ‘another world is possible.’" (March 2004, intro to Three Essays to Change the World; 1980 photo Wikipedia)
Gloria Richardson (née Hayes) born Baltimore, MD May 6, 1922. Militant nonviolent civil rights leader and piano teacher. Founded Cambridge Movement, demanding immediate desegregation. Led Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC), 1963; when shot rang out, she pushed a National Guardsman’s rifle aside. Negotiated Cambridge Treaty to end segregation and riots, 1963. Arrested repeatedly for sit-ins.
“We weren’t going to stop until we got [our five demands], and if violence occurred, then we would have to accept that.” (Democracy Now, Aug. 27, 2013; photo conversations in black freedom studies)
Rozanne L. Ridgway born St. Paul, MN August 22, 1935. American career diplomat; first woman State Department Counselor 1980; Assistant Secretary of State 1985-9, lead negotiator at five Reagan-Gorbachev summits, which brought first substantive nuclear weapons reductions, marking end of Cold War.
"[T]he United States cannot prosper in a poor world. We cannot prosper in a world enmired in conflict. We cannot prosper in a world in which there is rampant denial of human rights." (Nov. 4, 1994, Vancouver, WA city website; photo nndb.com)
Sylvia Rivera born Bronx, NY July 2, 1951 (d. 2002). Puerto Rican "Rosa Parks of transgender movement"; opposed Vietnam War and US bombing of Yugoslavia and Vieques; Stonewall leader.
"Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned." (Bronski, Z Magazine, April 2002; photo huffingtonpost.com)
Jane Keeney Roberts born San Diego, CA August 27, 1941. Teacher who founded Friends of UN Population Fund 2002 when US cut funds.
"It’s up to us to send a different message about the compassion, character, and the cooperative spirit of America. The women of the world have it so tough. Can’t we reach out to ease their burden?" (Common Dreams, Aug. 4, 2004; photo AmericansforUNFPA)
Margaret Dreier Robins born Brooklyn, NY September 6, 1868 (d. 1945). International labor leader who called International Congress of Working Women 1919 DC; opposed Versailles Treaty on feminist grounds.
On women's responsibility: "War against war" (Blanche Cook, Eleanor Roosevelt, p. 540, 1991)
"[War is] the murderer of the human race. War is the destroyer of brotherhood. It is the poison in the cup of goodwill." (Vienna, Aug. 14, 1923, in Mary Dreier, Margaret Drier Robins: Her Life, Letters and Work, p. 181, 1950)
Jo Ann Robinson born Culloden, GA April 12, 1912 (d. 1992). English teacher, credited by M.L. King as one of first organizers of Montgomery bus boycott, as president of Women’s Political Council; proposed bus boycott according to Rosa Parks.
"An oppressed but brave people, whose pride and dignity rose to the occasion, conquered fear, and faced whatever perils had to be confronted. The boycott was the most beautiful memory that all of us who participated will carry to our final resting place." (Memoirs, p.11; photo encyclopdiaofalabama.org)
Anna Rochester born New York, NY March 30, 1880 (d. 1966). Marxist historian; labor reformer. Editor of pacifist magazine World Tomorrow, 1922-26; early leader of Christian Socialist Fellowship of Reconciliation. Founded women’s commune with partner Grace Hutchins, 1920.
“The generation that has experienced the horrors of war will pass, the waste of life and common wealth will be forgotten, and some new call to a great ideal will be sounded.” (Jesus Christ and the World Today, with Grace Hutchins, 1922, p. 142; photo Janet Lee, Comrades and Partners, 2000)
Linda Ronstadt born Tucson, AZ July 15, 1946. Antiwar rock singer, opposed Vietnam War and Iraq War; sang at rally against nuclear weapons Central Park 1982.
"We were lied to about the reasons for entering into war against Iraq and thousands of people have died—it’s just as immoral as racism." (Aug. 14, 2006; photo rollingstone.com)
Eleanor Roosevelt born Manhattan, NY October 11, 1884 (d. 1962). Internationalist; drafter of UN Human Rights Declaration, 1948; Chair of UN Commission on Human Rights, 1947-51; US delegate to UN, 1946, 1949-52, 1961.
"The time to prepare for world peace is during the time of peace and not during the time of war." (New York Times, Oct. 15, 1927; photo wikicommons pd)
Martha Root born Richwood, OH August 10, 1872 (d. 1939). High-ranking Baha'i leader; advocate of women's leadership for peace and international organization. Feminist, journalist, and speaker with a mission to "help to bring understanding among nations and to promote the highest ideals for enduring peace."
"We have become a neighborhood, and we must learn to live together or we perish, and the one problem which you and I as individuals and of nations must solve is this one problem of LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER!! Whether we wish it or not, we must learn it and we must bring into solid reality a world plan, otherwise we are lost." (talk in Australia, Oct. 15, 1924, in Yang, Jiling, "In Search of Martha Root, 2007. Women's Studies Theses, paper 11. p. 27, 101; photo baha’italks)
Mary Swartz Rose born Newark, OH October 31, 1874 (d. 1941). PhD; pioneering nutritionist; served League of Nations Health Organization, 1935; founded American Institute of Nutrition, 1933. (photo Jour. of Nutrition Nov. 2003, port. by Ivan Olinsky at Vanderbilt.)
Rose Schorr Rosenberg born Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary September 10, 1905 (d.?). Freedom Rider arrested Jackson MS 1961; held in notorious Parchman Prison; attorney who worked for peace with communist Cuba and China.
"'[P]eace' is a wonderful word and we should all be exerting all our energies in advancing the cause of peace." (July 1, 1963 testimony to HUAC; photo Miss. Archives)
Penny Rosenwasser born January 18, 1949. American Jewish peace activist; co-founder Jewish Voice for Peace 1996; author, folk musician; event organizer; civil disobedience at Israeli Consulate, April 2002, protesting Israeli Jenin invasion; civil disobedience at Vandenberg AFB against MX missiles 1982-84; nonviolent civil disobedience actions at nuclear plant Charlottesville and Pentagon 1979-81; recruiter, Nicaragua Third World harvest brigade, 1985-86; “Time for Peace” Women in Black march 1989.
"[M]y freedom, in terms of a secure homeland, couldn't be built on the displacement of another people." (Promised Land; photo oennyrosenwasser.com)
Martha Rosler born Brooklyn, NY August 29, 1943. Antiwar feminist artist. Created photo-montage “House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home”, 1967; antiwar images of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004.
“I was looking for a way to express, in public fashion, my opposition to a war that seemed to be brought to us in the living room, on TV, and which posited a 'here' and a 'there.'” (quote & photo Artpulse Magazine)
Coleen Rowley born New Hampton, IA December 20, 1954. Former FBI agent; peace activist. Testified before 9/11 Commission about intelligence failures, 2001. Opposed Iraq War, Afghan war, and drone usage.
“War is a lie. War is a racket. War is hell. War is waste. War is a crime. War is terrorism. War is not the answer.” (worldbeyondwar.org/quotes; photo historycommons.org)
Sara Ruddick (née Loop) born Toledo, OH February 17, 1935 (d. 2011). Anti-war feminist philosopher, author of Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace, 1989.
Women in Peace
is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of extraordinary, peacemaking women from around the world.
