Before us, Raging Grannies of Tucson, AZ tried to enlist in the US military and were arrested for trespassing. Media coverage of that effort inspired New York women coming together from a number of peace groups to make a stand as well.

A group of women went to the Times Square recruitment center on October 17th, 2005 to enlist. We asked to enlist in place of grandchildren who had been deployed in Iraq unnecessarily. We were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Instead of accepting an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), we decided to go to court to defend our civil right to speak out.

While planning the court case we became determined to work together to end the war in Iraq. To do this, we needed an identity and a name; we became the Granny Peace Brigade. It was as members of the newly formed Granny Peace Brigade that we were tried in NYC Criminal Court and acquitted.

In time as we gained new members we formed committees to carry out actions needed to achieve peace, including the No Bases Committee, the Counter Recruitment Committee, the Palestine/Israel Committee and the Legislative Committee. The Legislative Committee has worked in various ways on a number of issues, e.g. Phone-A-Thons, the Ms. Gizmo Tax Dollars Poll, and Drones.

We join forces with other peace and justice groups to work on issues of common interest. We have been able to make connections with some of these groups through our shared presence in the “Peace Pentagon,” a haven for the peace and justice movement created by the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute.

There is work to do. Join us — in peace always.