| History of women’s peace group highlighted in exhibit Back in 1961, long before protesters took to the streets over the Vietnam War, an organization called Women Strike For Peace was founded to protest war and to work for peace. The specific focus of the group at the times was the nuclear arms race, but it would soon broaden its efforts to include opposition to the Vietnam War. In 2001, the American University Library received a donation of the records of the organization’s Washington, D.C., legislative office. The collection covers the period 1961 to 2000 and includes materials from the Washington affiliate of the national organization. Other materials from this national organization are part of the special collections at Swarthmore College. For the first time, some representative items of Women Strike for Peace, normally held in the Special Collections area of the library, are available for viewing in the library’s exhibit area on the first floor. The exhibit features some of the posters, brochures, and other materials related to the organization, including a copy of a “Declaration of Independence from Nuclear Tyranny.” A chronology of significant events in the organization’s history accompanies the exhibit and indicates how the organization’s mission broadened over time. For instance, the Women’s Strike for Peace was the first recorded group to demonstrate against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Another feature of the exhibit is a workstation with desktop links to related Internet sites. With leadership from Ignacio Moreno and Patricia West, the library exhibits team worked with Susan McElrath, special collections librarian and university archivist, to create the exhibit, which will continue through the spring semester. For more information about the collection or the exhibit, contact Archives and Special Collections at 885-3256 or visit the Web site at
www.library.american.edu/about/archives/finding_aids/women.html. |
