African American Activists in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1920s–1950s

Abstract

When the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) decided to open its membership to African American women in 1915, it entered a new era. Just as women changed the agenda and direction of the peace movement when they became increasingly involved in what had been an all‐male club, so too did African American women alter the path of a cause that had previously lacked racial diversity. Black women brought to the movement historical experiences shaped by multidimensional pressures and societal racism. Their experiences influenced their definition of peace and freedom, which sometimes led to intense debate between them and their white colleagues over related issues. Nevertheless, the two groups of women were able to put aside their differences long enough to move forward on certain goals. Along the way, black and white dissidents had a tremendous impact upon each other. This study examines one side of that process: specifically, how African American women's increased presence in WILPF, coupled with their heightened desire to eradicate racial injustice, compelled the white leadership to revisit its own conceptions of peace and freedom.