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Ailanthus: A Nonviolent Witness for Peace Collected Records

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Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us] 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081-1399

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
CDG-A.Ailanthus
Repository:
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Extent:
2.75 linear ft. (1 document box of printed materials; 6 rolled items)
Language Note:
Materials are in English.
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: Swarthmore College Peace Collection, CDG-A., Ailanthus collection..
Date:
1960-2008 (inclusive)
Abstract:
The collection consists primarily of printed material; includes flyers, notes from meetings, newspaper clippings, photographs, banners, legal briefs, publicity materials, and reference files. Also includes a memoir by Robert W. Hillegass about the making of the play "Handy Dandy" by William Gibson which draws heavily on Ailanthus courtroom experience and spirituality.

Ailanthus, a nonviolent witness for peace; active between 1979 and ca. 1990 in the Cambridge (Mass.) area; a nonviolent peace community, grounded in Christian nonviolence, Gandhi's model of nonviolent resistance, and the witness of James Douglass, radical Catholic theologian/peace activist; Ailanthus membership was composed mainly of Quakers and Roman Catholics; met at Boston's Catholic Worker House; conducted weekly nonviolent peace vigils at the Draper Laboratory in Cambridge where first-strike weapons such as Cruise, MX Trident, and "Star Wars" technology were developed.

People
Organization
Subject

Publisher
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Access Restrictions

Access: open for research without restrictions.

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. Printed Materials.
Box 1

Archival Resource Key. Anti-war banner, "Swords Into Plowshares", circa 1960-1980.
Box [offsite SCPC-7464]
Scope and Contents

Banner with marker-drawn pictures of rockets on one side of the text and bushels of wheat/grain on the other side. Text reads: "Swords into Plowshares."

Physical Description

45 x 21 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. "Swords Into Plowshares" [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Anti-war banner, "Swords Into Plowshares", circa 1960-1980.
Box [offsite SCPC-7465]
Scope and Contents

White cloth with black screen-printed text and images. Framing the text on one side are weapons, and hammers on the other side. Text reads: "Swords into Plowshares."

Physical Description

42 x 33 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. "Swords Into Plowshares" banner [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Banner, "Draper Weapons Laboratory", circa 1980-2008.
Box [offsite SCPC-7466]
Scope and Contents

Cloth banner with painted-on text. Painted to the left of the text is black bullseye with green branches sewn onto its edges. The back of the banner has the same text and images. Text reads: "Draper Weapons Laboratory"

Physical Description

117 x 29 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. Draper Weapons Laboratory, banner [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Banner, "Are These Russians Our Enemies?", circa 1980.
Scope and Contents

Cloth banner with blue felt letters sewn on in a stencil design. Text reads: "Are These Russians Our Enemies?"

Physical Description

60 x 45 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. Are These Russians Our Enemies? [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Banner, "Food" with "Bomb-making" crossed out, circa 1980-1990.
Box [offsite SCPC-7467]
Scope and Contents

A felt banner with text made of sewn-on patterned cloth. The second phrase, which reads "Bomb Making," has black cloth lines sewn on to cross the words out.

Physical Description

28.5 x 27 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. Food not war, banner [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Banner, "Trident" (crossed out), circa 1960-1980.
Box [offsite SCPC-7468]
Scope and Contents

A banner, possibly made out of burlap, with red letters sewn on in a stencil design. The text sits in the middle of a giant circle crossed out in the middle with black paint.

Physical Description

39 x 33 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. Trident (crossed out), banner [digitized]
Archival Resource Key. Banner protesting Trident nuclear deterrent missiles, circa 1960-1980.
Box [offsite SCPC-7469]
Scope and Contents

A banner, possibly made out of burlap. Black letters sewn on with red thread in a stencil design. Text reads: "TRIDENT II = AMERICAN AUSCHWITZ."

Physical Description

48 x 31 inches

Materials Viewable Online
  1. Trident II = American Auschwitz, banner [digitized]

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