Women and War students meet famed activists
12.10.2010
Earlier this week, Bay Path College students in Assistant Professor of History Robert Surbrug’s class Women and War had the distinct pleasure of meeting famed Northampton, Mass. peace activist Frances Crowe and her collaborator and friend Paki Wieland.
Crowe, who is 91 years young, shared with students her history of activism, and how she encouraged others to stand up for the beliefs. A defense worker during World War II, she discovered her calling as a peace activist following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the following decades, she continued to promote peace, social justice and environmental causes. A participant in Women Against War and Amnesty International movements, Crowe founded the Northampton, Mass. chapter of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in the 1960s.Throughout her activist life, Crowe has been arrested, placed on trial, and imprisoned for participating in various protests. She remains an activist to this day by opposing nuclear power in New England.
Wieland also discussed her activist role in peace groups Code Pink and the Raging Grannies. A retired social worker and family therapist educator in the Department of Applied Psychology at Antioch University in Keene, N.H., she has been a dedicated anti-war and civil rights activist since the 1960s. A women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement, Code Pink enables Wieland to work to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, prevent new wars, and redirect resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. As part of the Raging Grannies, Wieland joins activists to promote peace, justice, social, and economic equality through song and humor. In addition to her activism in the U.S., Wieland has been at the Gaza-Rafah border crossing as part of an ad hoc international nonviolent coalition to break the siege and liberate the imprisoned 1.5 million population.
Crowe and Wieland are among the many featured lecturers invited to speak with Bay Path College students. Click here to learn more about upcoming events and speakers.
