Dangerous Women: Fresno’s Oldest Peace Group Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The Fresno Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) will present an inspirational review of local and national history from a peace-building perspective. Through the month of September, exhibits at Fresno State’s Madden Library and the Central (downtown) Branch of the Fresno County Public Library will celebrate WILPF’s 100th anniversary and 50 years of its Fresno Branch. The theme for the celebrations is Dangerous Women: 50 Years in Fresno, 100 Years Internationally.

Madden Library at Fresno State:

A welcoming reception in the Madden Library will be held on Friday, September 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Parking on campus is free after 4 p.m. that day.

The Pete P. Peters Ellipse Balcony (Library 3rd floor, north) will feature the WILPF exhibit from September 4 through 27. The Ellipse Balcony is open all hours the Library is open. Docents will be available the evening of the reception and periodically throughout the duration of the exhibit.

The WILPF exhibit will feature women who have stood up for peace, including Jane Addams, first U.S. woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first International President of WILPF. Local events will also be highlighted, including WILPF-Fresno’s lawsuit in the ’80s against the City of Fresno for removal of anti-draft placards from city buses, as well as one teacher’s award-winning experiences in teaching peace to local school children. Phase One of a joint oral history project of WILPF and Fresno State’s Department of Mass Communications and Journalism will be unveiled.

Fresno County Public Library Central Branch, 2420 Mariposa St., Fresno:

A reception will be held on Saturday, September 12, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Saroyan Gallery. Parking at the Library is free on Saturday. The public is invited to visit with award-winning local author Margarita Engle, a two-time Jane Addams Peace Association award-winner for books published in 2009 and 2015. Refreshments will be served. All ages are welcome and there will be interactive, guided activities for children.

The WILPF exhibit in the Saroyan Gallery will include a focus on the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards, which are made annually. WILPF-Fresno donates the award-winning books to the Public Library.