About Us

The United States’ oldest secular pacifist organization, the War Resisters League has been resisting war at home and war abroad since 1923. Our work for nonviolent revolution has spanned decades and been shaped by the new visions and strategies of each generation’s peacemakers.

Members of WRL agree with our pledge:

The War Resisters League affirms that all war is a crime against humanity. We are determined not to support any kind of war, international or civil, and to strive nonviolently for the removal of all causes of war, including racism, sexism and all forms of exploitation.

Through education, organizing, strategy, and direct action, the War Resisters League works to sow and grow seeds of peace and liberation in our time.

Check out our 2019 Annual Report to learn more about our work!

Our current work includes:

No SWAT Zone: A Campaign to End Police Militarization
Developed our of our Facing Tear Gas program, No SWAT Zone is a campaign resisting the many faces of police militarization. A central campaign focus is resisting the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), a Pentagon program and emergency response in communities across the United States. The campaign continues to mount pressure against events such as Urban Shield and the National Tactical Officers Association, both SWAT trainings and weapons expos. The campaign emphasizes organizing in coalition with grassroots groups in strategic cities prioritizing organizations led by people in communities that are targeted by and experience the violence of militarism and policing.

Training and Workshops, including Buy One Tank, Get Two Drones Free: The Industry & System of Police Militarization, a popular education workshop by WRL and the Ya-Ya Network, designed to connect organizations led by youth of color to our campaign against UASI.

Publishing movement resources
Education is vital for sharing the histories, vision, and ongoing strategies of revolutionary nonviolence. WRL produces workshops and publishes literature as resources to support activists and educators in their local and international organizing. We continue to publish the annual Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes, our Pie Chart Flyer used broadly in economic justice and war tax resistance work.

Recent publications include new editions of WRI’s Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns, featuring more articles and exercises, updated case studies, a glossary, and an extensive list of other resources, and an updated edition of our popular counter-recruitment pamphlet What Every Young Woman Should Know, featuring new perspectives on gender and gendered violence in the military.