Eloise Cranke of Des Moines served as Regional Director of AFSC's Central Region from 1994 until her retirement in 2001. On February 22, 2019, the Des Moines Branch of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) honored Eloise along with State Rep. Marti Anderson, and union leader Cathy Glasson with its "Strong Feisty Women Powering Change" award. (Click for video and photos.) Eloise's comments are below.
It is a great honor, and I’m deeply humbled to receive this award from WILPF. I think I was first introduced to WILPF by strong feisty women like Lucy Krause, Sherry Hutchison, Maggie Rawland, Jean Basinger, Jane Magers and many others.
For most of my adult life, working for peace has been a passion. When I moved to Des Moines in 1990 and began to look for ways to be involved in peace work, I soon discovered WILPF. And what an amazing organization for peace it is! Whether it was the Vietnam War protests, Hiroshima/Nagasaki Observances, tax day events, the SOA or the Iraq War, WILPF was there, leading the way and speaking out for peace. And, of course, that work continues today, with strong feisty women both here in Des Moines and truly around the world.
The theme for this evening is “powering change.” There are so many issues and behaviors crying out for radical change! Last month WILPF was a co-sponsor of an event calling attention to places and ways our children are being killed. Certainly change is needed along our border where immigrant families seeking asylum are suffering, and in the cases of children, some have even died.
We need to change our policy of supporting Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen so children there no longer die of starvation. (Finally we have a little movement in that direction in the House, but we still need to contact our Senators.)
What about teenagers in this country stopped, and in some tragic cases killed because of racial profiling?
And how long will we continue to support the Israeli government as it drags young children out of their beds in the middle of the night, taking them to military prisons, with no access to parents or even attorneys?
Then there’s the critical issue of climate change, threatening the very existence of our planet if radical change does not come soon. (Have you contacted your legislators about the Green New Deal?)
Meantime, with a president threatening to build even more nuclear weapons, the nuclear clock ticks relentlessly on toward the zero hour warning us that we must change our policies and work seriously for nuclear disarmament. The list where change is needed goes on and on. And all of these things are interrelated in the work for justice and peace.
What does it take to power change? It takes seeking out alternative news sources and becoming informed, attending endless meetings, writing and calling legislators, challenging the status quo and working in coalition with other like-minded groups. It takes dedication, courage, persistence and tireless hard work, traits abundantly found in the women of WILPF. And I am happy and grateful to be counted in their number.
Sometimes it’s hard to be hopeful in a world such as ours, full of war, injustice and violence. But WILPF is an organization that gives me hope. When I see WILPF members locally, nationally and around the world faithfully working for peace, I believe that peace is possible. So thanks again for this very humbling honor, and thanks to this Branch of WILPF, the Raging Grannies and all of you who continue the work. You give me hope for the future!
Thank you!