WILPF BUSINESS MEETING
WILPF will meet Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness Ave. This meeting is open to all members.
WOMEN IN BLACK
June 3 (first Wednesday of each month) at noon at the Fresno County Courthouse. Wear black, bring a sign and stand in silence for peace; we ask that you respect the silent vigil, please.
STIR IT UP WILPF
KFCF 88.1 FM (listener-supported free speech radio for Central California)
June 24, 3 p.m. (4th Wednesday of each month). Jean Hays does outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities. You know you want to tune in!
RAGING GRANNIES
Meetings on selected Mondays at 7 p.m. Call Ellie at 559-229-9807 for details.
MARCH WITH WILPF
Pride Parade, June 6. Contact Patty Bennett at 559-225-9511 or patriciajb@aol.com.
50 YEARS OF DANGEROUS WOMEN:
PEACE EDUCATION AND ACTIVISM IN FRESNO
A large and glorious double anniversary celebration is in the making in Fresno! The Fresno Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom vigorously continues through its 50th year as a local witness and change agent for peace. International WILPF celebrates its 100th anniversary and is the longest-lasting women’s international peace organization. Our Fresno branch theme is 50 Years of Dangerous Women.
WILPF members are planning a three-week educational exhibit on Sept. 8–27 at the Balcony/Ellipse Gallery in the Madden Library at Fresno State. A grand regional reception is planned at the Ellipse during the three weeks of the exhibit’s running time. Featured topics and issues incorporate a living history of Fresno WILPF and International WILPF, past and present. Building peace curricula in local schools, support for Valley farmworkers, sanctuary for Central American war refugees, the famous WILPF lawsuit against Fresno for removing “Think Before You Register for the Draft” placards from Fresno City buses, the stirring stories of outstanding WILPF member activists, pictures and memorabilia—all these will remind old Valley residents and educate new ones about the groundwork for building a more just and peaceful world.
The Fresno County Downtown Library is also providing exhibit space for September to feature our history, including 40 years of donating Jane Addams Peace Award Children’s Books to Fresno County readers.
Attention will be focused on current WILPF activities and programs, strong advocates for peace and peace education. WILPF Fresno works to promote and sustain a habitable environment and to protect water as a resource common to all. WILPF provides a monthly witness as Women in Black, a worldwide network of women committed to peace with justice and opposed to militarism and violence. WILPF members work to create a better life for Fresno’s homeless and disenfranchised citizens through the Dakota Eco-Garden and other projects, and to advance human rights. Local WILPF members share a broad international vision and promote justice and peace in U.S. relations with Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance of progressive Latin American countries, and the Middle East Committee examines the role of U.S. policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. WILPF members lobby our representatives in an organized manner, oppose war and militarism and corporate control, and educate the public. The Raging Grannies are tireless song activists.
We are obtaining tremendous support. The library staff at Fresno State are providing invaluable enthusiastic assistance, as well as central space on the university campus. The Journalism and Media Department at Fresno State is preparing an oral history of Fresno WILPF also encompassing present and past activism. Many are coming forward to participate in the Oral History Project. The Fresno Center for Nonviolence has offered to be the coordinating recipient of our fund-raising, so your donations are tax-deductible.
DEAR COMMUNITY ALLIANCE READERS, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO TELL OUR STORY
We ask you to step forth and be the dangerous person that you are! We do indeed need your tremendous support. We’re projecting expenses of roughly $10,000. The Ellipse Gallery has exacting specifications, requiring professional presentation of our historical and educational material. We also need your time: Volunteer for one of our six committees. Research and provide historical materials and stories. Help us renew Fresno’s vision and desire for the making of peace.
The six working committees include 1) Reception (for the Ellipse Gallery at the Madden Library), 2) Publicity, 3) Fund-Raising, 4) Research and Display (researching the historical topics and digging out the right images to convey visual and auditory meaning), 5) Oral History Project and 6) Downtown Library Exhibit.
Please contribute—and volunteer—generously! Your contributions are tax-deductible when checks are made out to the Fresno Center for Nonviolence (1584 N. Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93728). Please note the purpose on the check: “WILPF 50th Anniversary Educational Exhibits.” To volunteer, contact Sandra Iyall at sliyall@earthlink.net or 559-222-6429.
—Murphy
The WILPF page is compiled and edited by Leni Villagomez Reeves. Contact her at lenivreeves@gmail.com.
