Mandy Carter: Scientist of Activism

Carter centered nonviolence and peace in her work with War Resisters League. She served as a staff member from 1969 to 1977 in their Western Regional and Los Angeles offices, then moved to Durham to staff the Southeast Regional Office from 1982 to 1988. During her time with War Resisters League, Carter spoke on panels, traveled to military base camps in Germany, and organized a Women’s Peace Walk. Now celebrating its hundredth anniversary, War Resisters League is a pacifist organization and a leading name in the anti-war movement. The organization maintains that war is a crime against humanity and that nonviolence is necessary to create a society free from war, racism, sexism, and human exploitation.

The mission of War Resisters League aligns with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous quote about nations that spend more on military defense than on social programs. This lanyard with King’s image speaks to Carter’s efforts, along with the West Germany Green Party, at a U.S. Air Base in West Germany to protest the deployment of American missiles in Europe in 1982.

In 1983, Carter led the Women’s Peace Walk, a month-long march from Durham, North Carolina, to Seneca, New York. People were encouraged to join for a day, a week, or longer. Carter and other participants walked 15-25 miles per day to reach their destination, the Seneca Army Depot, to stop the deployment of missiles and weapons to Europe.