For 110 years, WILPF has been shaped by the wisdom and dedication of its members. Each brings something unique and essential—energy, skills, experience, and their own distinctive approach to advancing peace and justice in their communities. Together, these individual contributions weave the vibrant tapestry of WILPF’s legacy. This month, Judith McDaniel shares her story of activism with WILPF.
1. Name: Judith McDaniel, Ph.D., J.D.
2. City and state: Tucson, AZ
3. WILPF member since: mid 1970s
4. WILPF value most alive in my activism (values: courageous truth-telling, sisterhood & solidarity, community organizing, credible voices, inclusive feminism): All of these values are part of my personal ethic, which informs the work I do. If I had to choose one, it would have to be a focus on inclusive feminism. What does that mean to me? I remember speaking at a rally supporting Mary Daly, author of Beyond God the Father, at Boston College. She had been denied promotion because of her feminism. To me, the most important statement came from eminent theologian Nelle Morton: “After thirty years as a token academic woman and speaking out for the oppressed all over the world, I am finally here to speak for myself. And then I will speak for Mary Daly.” I value a feminism that includes us all and allows each of us to speak for ourselves and for others.
5. Top issue I’m focused on right now and why: Solidarity with vulnerable or marginalized people has been my activist focus for many years. Anti-war activism has been important to me since the first march on the Pentagon in 1967, when Dr. Spock was arrested, but my primary work was with the Sanctuary Movement, beginning in the 1980s. I couldn’t stay safe and comfortable while others were in danger. Today, that focus has come around again as we struggle to support our neighbors, sometimes family members, in our struggles with ICE and Border Patrol. We are finding ways to stand up to the shocking human rights violations we see around us every day.
6. My favorite memory connected to WILPF: I planned and participated in the Women’s Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice in upstate New York in 1983. WILPF was one of the national co-founders of the encampment. I was on the march from the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca, NY, to the encampment when we were stopped in Waterloo. Fifty-five marchers, including Grace Paley and Barbara Deming, were arrested.
7. One thing that brings me joy or inspiration to act for peace in these times: I have been a writer most of my life—poetry, novels, and essays. But since Donald Trump’s second election, I have been writing a weekly Substack blog, “Déjà vu.” It does not give me joy to wrap my mind around new atrocities and constitutional violations every week, but it does give me great satisfaction to have found a way to use my skills and knowledge for the causes I believe in. I am also writing a memoir about my activism over the past 60 years. The memoir is titled Do Everything, a reference to the last words of Planned Parenthood activist Cecile Richards. At the end of her life, reflecting on her lifelong activism, she said: “It’s not hard to imagine future generations one day asking: ‘When there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do?’ The only acceptable answer is: ‘Everything we could.’”
