North Carolinians Take on the Military

"Every resident of the US seems expansively, inextricably caught up in a web of growing militarization of our own society." -WRL national office staff, 1987

North Carolina emphasized its commitment to the US military. Many North Carolinians were part of military families. WRL Southeast co-founder Steve Sumerford's father was in the military, and Steve's family lived for three years at the Fort Bragg US Army base. When Ronald Reagan became president in 1980, North Carolina had the fourth largest military payroll in the country. Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC was the largest active military base in the world. Organizing against the military in North Carolina was a bold act.

The 1980s were also the last decade of the Cold War, and the Cold War under Reagan was defined by US military intervention abroad and a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Many Americans believed the country was on the brink of nuclear war. WRL Southeast organizers led actions and campaigns against escalating US violence and militarism.

Map of the US mainland, with outlines of the states, titled "Nuclear America." The map's legend lists icons for "Nuclear Weapons Facilities," "Nuclear Power Reactors," "Miscellaneous Facilities," and "Nuclear Targets." The map reflects nuclear sites throughout the country, with concentrations in the northeast, south, midwest, and in California.

War Resisters League anti-nuclear campaign poster featuring locations related to nuclear weapons and nuclear power in the US, as well as potential target areas of a nuclear attack, ca. 1980.

Black and white photograph of a group of white people and one Black person--WRL Southeast's Mandy Carter--seated outside crosslegged on the ground in a tight grouping. One person is the front is smiling and the others look stoic. One person is raising their arm in the air and flashing a peace sign. A line of police are visible in the background, standing with police dogs.

Members of the American delegation to the German-led protests against the US/NATO deployment of nuclear missiles in West Germany, 1983. WRL Southeast staff organizer, Mandy Carter (front row, on right) sits in with fellow delegation members at the gates of the US Bitburg military base. Their group had just been sprayed with a water cannon.

Flier with a title in bold, handwritten marker titled, "6 minutes to Nuclear Holocaust," featuring a print of a drawing in ink or marker of an image of a human skull with teeth at the upper center of an analog clock. The skull is holding a missile in its teeth, pointed at the number "6" on the clock. Along the side of the image in handwritten text is the artist's name: Peg Averill. Text describing an anti-nuclear action is below the image.

War Resisters League poster by artist Peg Averill calling for action to stop the deployment of nuclear missiles in Europe, 1983. By January of 1984, the “doomsday clock” of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists had advanced to three minutes until midnight (nuclear war).

"'79, that year was just unreal. It was the worst year. '79, here's what happens: Reagan gets elected, not till November, the Iran hostage thing is going on. The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, Carter brings back the draft somewhere in '79 or '80."

Listen to WRL Southeast co-founder Steve Sumerford on his experience of local, national, and global outrages taking place during 1979.

News clipping taped to a sheet of worn, weathered paper. The title of the news article reads, "Soviets Arrest Chapel Hill Man," a story noted as based in Moscow and covered by the Associated Press. The cut-out clipping taped under the article text is a photograph on news print featuring a group of white-presenting people standing in a line on the lawn in front of the White House, surrounded by police. Underneath the photograph, a caption reads, "The Line-Up On the White House Lawn / They're against Nuclear Power and Decided to Show It." Next to the news clippings, in handwritten ink, reads, "Durham Herald," indicating the newspaper it appeared in.

Local Durham newspaper article on WRL Southeast staff organizer Steve Sumerford’s arrest in Moscow’s Red Square during a War Resisters League-organized “banner drop” in support of ending the nuclear arms race in both the US and USSR. A sister action took place simultaneously in Washington, D.C., 1978.

Color photograph of a group of white men and one white woman standing in a group, facing toward the camera. A white woman-presenting person is standing behind them, taking a photograph with a film camera.

WRL Southeast office co-founder Steve Sumerford (on left) with a group of American WRL members (and their translator, third from left) who participated in a banner drop action in Moscow's Red Square for nuclear disarmament, 1978.

“Because missiles do not respect international boundaries in their violation of human rights, we too must cross international boundaries in order to force governments and their militaries to respect human life.” -US peace activist delegation, September 6, 1983

Handwritten information sheet on a white index card, written in black ink.

WRL Southeast staff organizer Mandy Carter led jail support for women from the Savannah River Plant Women’s Peace Encampment arrested for blockading a nuclear weapons production facility. This action was part of national days of action to prevent the US escalation of the nuclear arms race in Europe, 1983.

“We are women who choose not to give our names to the authorities. We choose to withhold our names from the global oppression done in the names of the American people.” -“Blockade the Bomb Plant” Action Statement, Savannah River Plant Women’s Peace Encampment, 1983

Yellowed print of a photograph on newsprint. The photograph depicts a group of women-presenting people walking in the center of a road with a line of women-presenting people facing them and clapping. The people at the front of the group of walkers is a group of five women-presenting people holding a large fabric banner featuring two large women's symbols on either side of a large image of the outlines of the east coast US states, from North Carolina north to New York. Along the edges of each women's symbol, respectively, reads, "Women's Peace Walk" and "Durham - Seneca." In the space inside the "circle" of each symbol appears to be an image of a peace dove. The women holding the banner all appear to be white, aside from Mandy Carter, who is African American. The remaining women-presenting people on the walk, as well as those cheering in the crowd along the street and taking pictures of the walkers, also present as white or light-skinned.

The Durham to Seneca Peace Walk, organized by WRL Southeast, arrives in Seneca, New York, where the Seneca Women’s Peace Encampment was organizing blockades of the Seneca Army Depot, the largest site of nuclear weapons storage in the US, 1983.

A petition filled with signatures of men and women's names and addresses, most of them based in Durham, North Carolina. The petition is titled, "A Statement of Affirmation and Draft Resistance"

Some WRL members, like WRL Southeast staff organizer Steve Sumerford, got involved as young men through draft resistance to the Vietnam War. President Jimmy Carter's 1980 reinstatement of selective service registration sparked a second wave of draft resistance. Men like these named here pledged noncompliance with the draft and prepared to face the consequences. Some also organized with the Resistance, a national draft resistance organization.

WRL Southeast was one of a few local resource centers for people considering draft resistance. WRL members trained as draft counselors to help young men evaluate the risks of joining the military and find community in refusing the draft.

“We serve notice to this administration that we will not stand by and watch this country wage war against Central America—not with our lives! Not with our money!” -Mandy Carter, WRL Southeast staff organizer

Mailer coupon titled in bold, red handwritten marker: Ft. Bragg Action, Saturday, March 26, 1-3pm - Fayetteville. Below is text asking recipients to commit to joining the action, committing to civil disobedience, and volunteering time (including legal support) and money. Blank spaces on the form indicate where recipients can mark their choices. Additional spaces ask for Name, Date, "Group/church affiliation, if any," Address, and Phone ("day" and "night" numbers)

Mailing coupon recruiting participation in a 1988 protest and civil disobedience action at Fort Bragg army base, organized by WRL Southeast. Earlier that month, President Ronald Reagan had ordered 3,200 US troops, most of them from Fort Bragg, to Honduras in support of right-wing Nicaraguan contras.