As Leftist and progressive organizers going into this election cycle, we knew our best chances to continue making gains against oppression would not be under a Trump administration. This is why many, like LUCHA in Arizona, PA Stands Up, New Florida Majority, and Working Families Party, worked to get out the vote for the Biden campaign…
October 30th, 2020 Dear Friends, Earlier this month we shared with you our Editorial Committee’s letter on 2020 Elections and Antiwar politics. We’re pleased to share this piece in response from Joey Ayoub, a Lebanese academic based in Zurich who writes extensively on anti-authoritarian struggles worldwide. He writes: Biden is problematic, but he can be pushed to the left…
It’s undeniable: the violent police crackdowns against Black Lives Matter protests throughout the United States in summer 2020 have decreased public support for police and increased criticism of their role in American society. Images and video of heavily armed and armored police tear gassing, pepper spraying, and assaulting demonstrators have vividly called into question the…
Dear friends, organizational partners, allies, and community members: We’re here to share with our broader community some insight to what WRL has been focusing on internally, and to apologize to our community members and comrades who have been harmed after participating in a WRL action. For background, we recently held an action in Trump country….
October 27th, 2020 Trump has repeatedly said he will not peacefully transfer power and there is legitimate fear that the election may be stolen. If Trump makes good on this promise, then make no mistake: we are headed towards a coup. The President has also called on white supremacists to “protect the vote,” threatened to call out troops…
September 29th, 2020 Ahead of tonight’s U.S. presidential debate, we are thinking of the root causes of war, chiefly: racism, sexism, and all forms of exploitation. While we don’t know exactly what will come up in tonight’s debate, here are some things to watch out for: Taxes. We shouldn’t be merely calling for Trump…
October 22, 2020 It is 11 days until election day and tonight is the last debate between the two people who are essentially running to be Commander in Chief of the United States Military. Based off of what we know what topics the moderator will cover, here is what you should watch out for in tonight’s…
On October 19, 1923, New York City educator and queer activist* Jessie Wallace Hughan wrote in her diary: “Tracy [Mygatt] to dinner—had hair done—organized real War Resisters League.” That was 97 years ago today. At WRL resisting war has always meant addressing the root causes of violence by forging relationships and building movements that empower…
October 12th, 2020 In honor of Indigenous People’s Day we are amplifying visionary, Indigenous-led leadership today from our friends at the NDN Collective, who are launching the LANDBACK Campaign. LANDBACK is a movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get Indigenous lands back into Indigenous hands — and…
October 6th, 2020 At least 150 people have been killed so far from the fighting between Turkey-backed Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh and Karabagh) which began last week on September 27th when Azeri forces shelled the area. This conflict, with roots in Russian-drawn borders, Soviet-era imperialism and propped up by the modern…
October 3rd, 2020 Friends, I’m excited to share with you the first call for submissions from War Resisters League’s newest committee, the Editorial Committee. We are comprised of writers and organizers based across the Americas with ties to Black, Indigenous, MENA, Latin American, and white communities of resistance. Every month, we meet to discuss pressing issues…
We are happy to be emailing with great news: all five activists are home and we’ve successfully fundraised the total bond amount to reimburse those who stepped up to help get our folks to safety. We’re blown away by your support. 167 people came together and through large and small gifts, got us to our…
On Monday August 17th five WRL members blockaded the entrance to Combined Systems International — the largest tear gas manufacturer in the U.S. Our group successfully deterred a shipment from entering Combined Systems Inc. and had many meaningful conversations with neighbors and folks driving by. All five members of the blockade were arrested and kept overnight at…
Monday, August 17th, 2020 Right now, 5 activists are blockading the entrance of Combined Systems Inc. with giant tear gas cans and gas masks, refusing to move. These five are with a group of 40 activists from cities across the U.S. who are onsite in Jamestown, PA with the goal of shutting down operations at Combined…
August 6, 2020 August 6th and August 9th this week mark the 75th year since the United States used nuclear weapons on civilians living in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed over 200,000 people. To this day, survivors are #stillhere and fighting for the abolition of nuclear weapons. As we remember the incredible violence of…
July 20, 2020 We are filled with gratitude for the wisdom and leadership of Rep. John Lewis and Rev. CT Vivian, two people who dedicated their lives to racial justice in the United States and made incredible contributions towards collective freedom, nonviolent struggle, and Black liberation. Both Lewis and Vivian were active in the 1960’s civil rights movement…
In a continued effort to crush the Black Lives Matter movement, Trump sent Federal agents to the streets of Portland to “quell” the weeks of rallies to defund the police. Civilians in Portland, a majority-white city, have reported cases of unmarked vans “snatching” protestors off the streets and tear gassing civilians (even while a federal…
War Resisters League is creating a space for accessible antiwar analysis that pushes forward the viewpoints of people struggling for justice around the world in a way that creates more and new opportunities for solidarity. Building on the War Resisters League’s long history as a home for open and honest debate and much-needed analysis of…
July 10, 2020 At the same time that we are facing tremendous horrors, we are experiencing the powerful accumulation of years of abolitionist organizing led by Black feminists. The future we want feels so much more possible than it ever has. The state has been doing everything in its power to keep that from becoming…
From 2012 to 2014, War Resisters League ran the Facing Tear Gas campaign aimed at exposing the tear gas industry: who’s making it, who’s buying it, and where it’s used. Tear Gas, unsurprisingly, was found to be a common tool for state oppression from the United States to Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, and elsewhere. Now in 2020,…
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