Susan Crane (peace activist) explained

Susan Crane is a peace activist, a member of the California Catholic Worker movement[1] and a participant in the Plowshares movement. After decades of civil disobedience related to campaigns against nuclear war, she was sentenced to jail time in Germany in 2024.[2]

California Catholic Worker House

Crane is a longtime member of California Catholic Worker House,[3] an organization that provides support for people who are struggling with poverty and homelessness.[4] This organization continues the work of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement.

Susan Crane
Occupation:Political activist
Years Active:1990s-Present
Organization:Catholic Worker Movement, Plowshares
Known For:Pacifism

Plowshares movement

Crane has been involved in four notable direct action protests through the Plowshares Movement where she worked alongside notable peace activists such as Sr. Anne Montgomery.[5] In the mid-1990s, Crane belonged to an anti-war organization known as Jubilee Plowshares.[6]

In 1998, Crane poured her own blood on a nuclear destroyer.[7] In 2011, she was part of a group known as Disarm Now Plowshares.[8] Crane has been critical of U.S. involvement in NATO and refers to the organization as a "war making force" believing it is beyond "anybody's control."[9]

Büchel Air Force Base

Beginning in 2018, Crane and 17 other peace activists broke into Büchel Air Force Base in Germany where U.S. nuclear weapons were being stored.[10] These weapons are known as B61s.[11] This direct action was known as part of the "Büchel is everywhere" campaign.[12]

Volkel Air Base

In 2023, Crane was arrested at Volkel Air Base in The Netherlands. She was interviewed about this direct action protest by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now in August that year and was quoted as saying, "We're very concerned about the legality of the United States sending nuclear warheads to the five countries in Europe, particularly to the Netherlands and to Germany, because it's against the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty says that nuclear countries can't share, as it were, their nuclear weapons with nonnuclear countries, and nonnuclear countries can't accept these weapons. So, as far as we're concerned, the Volkel Air Base...is a crime scene..."[13] Crane was sentenced to serve 7 months in prison for this protest.[14]

Arrests & trials

Personal life

Crane has two children.[23] She also lived in Ukiah, California where she was a tax resister.[24] In 1988, she was part of a group that erected a peace pole in front of the Fort Bragg Library.[25]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Small Acts of Resistance to Nuclear Proliferation Spark Hope for a Better World – Catholic Worker Movement . 2024-05-12 . catholicworker.org.
  2. Web site: Hartsough . David . May 11, 2024 . Susan Crane to Start Prison Sentence for Protesting Nuclear Weapons .
  3. Web site: 2018-04-19 . Donor Advised Fund Supports Homeless Individuals in Redwood City . 2024-05-14 . Philanthropic Ventures Foundation . en-US.
  4. Web site: Redwood City Catholic Worker House . 2024-05-09 . Catholic Worker Movement . en-US.
  5. Web site: Tsuchida . Chelsea . 2010-12-03 . Elderly activists on trial in Tacoma . 2024-05-09 . The Trail . en-US.
  6. News: Romano . Bill . November 29, 1995 . "Peace activists ousted from court; protesters on trial for vandalizing Lockheed missiles." . Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
  7. News: May 10, 1998 . Chalk Dust . Ukiah Daily Journal.
  8. News: March 29, 2011 . Peace activists get jail time for Navy base breach . Reuters.
  9. Susan Crane Interview with David Hartsough . en . 2024-05-09 . www.youtube.com.
  10. Web site: Admin . LACW . 2018-07-21 . PEACE ACTIVISTS GAIN ENTRY TO GERMAN AIR BASE WHICH DEPLOYS U.S. NUCLEAR BOMBS . 2024-05-09 . Los Angeles Catholic Worker . en-US.
  11. Web site: 2018-07-19 . Peace Activists Gain Entry to German Air Base Which Deploys US Nuclear Bombs . 2024-05-09 . duluthreader.com . en.
  12. Web site: Nuke Free Europe: Human chain against nuclear arms in Büchel (Germany) – IPB – International Peace Bureau . 2024-05-09 . ipb.org.
  13. Web site: Activists Arrested at European Air Bases Protesting U.S. Nuclear Weapons . 2024-05-09 . Democracy Now! . en.
  14. Web site: The Long Struggle for Nuclear Disarmament: A Catholic Worker Panel – Catholic Worker Movement . 2024-05-14 . catholicworker.org.
  15. News: Akizuki . Dennis . October 9, 1993 . 2 Lab Protesters Reject Ruling, Must Go to Jail . Mercury News.
  16. News: December 21, 1993 . 5 Anti-War 'Santas' Arrested in Concord . San Francisco Chronicle.
  17. News: August 25, 1995 . Conspiracy Charges . Elko Daily Free Press.
  18. News: Anderson . Glenda . June 4, 1996 . Missile-Hammering Activist to be Released Friday . Ukiah Daily Journal.
  19. News: Meadows . K.C. . February 12, 1997 . Local Activist Arrested Again in Maine Protest . Ukiah Daily Journal.
  20. News: Anderson . George . 1998 . A Prisoner for Peace: An Interview with Stephen Kelly . America Magazine.
  21. News: April 8, 2000 . Peace Activists to Prison for 'Malicious Destruction' . America.
  22. Web site: Susan Crane Archives . 2024-05-09 . Solitary Watch . en-US.
  23. News: Teacher, Mother, Activist Battles for an End to War . Ukiah Daily Journal.
  24. Book: Riegle, Rosalie G. . Crossing the Line: Nonviolent Resisters Speak Out for Peace . 2013-01-01 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 978-1-62189-518-3 . en.
  25. News: Page . Peter . June 14, 1988 . Peace Pole Gets BOS Nod . Ukiah Daily Journal.
  26. Book: Wilcox, Fred . Disciples & Dissidents: Prison Writings of the Prince of Peace Plowshares . 2001 . Haley's . 978-1-884540-52-3 . en.

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