Taking a Stand to Silence Violence

After 30 minutes it was over, and the women walked to the Orchard, a nearby restaurant. Over salads and tempura, they discussed upcoming events, such as a traveling exhibit of military boots to commemorate U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. They reflected on the importance of pushing for peace in a world that seems awash in violence.

"Sometimes I feel like, 'What difference does it make that I go out and stand on a Wednesday and Friday,' and I know it doesn't make a difference," said Mary Costello, 67, a retired teacher in Frederick. "But the alternative is to do nothing."

Women in Black began in 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada against Israeli occupation, when a group of about 15 Jewish women began holding weekly vigils at busy intersections in Jerusalem.

But the group traces its roots to earlier peace movements with feminist overtones, such as the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, who demanded answers from Argentina's military about victims of its rule from 1976 to 1983.

Today, there are Mujeres de Negro in Spain, Femmes en Noir in France, Frauen in Schwarz in Germany. In the United States, Women in Black have organized in 39 states -- including Maryland and Virginia -- plus Puerto Rico and the District. In Maryland, in addition to Frederick, groups are active in Baltimore and Westminster.

"I just feel it's being in the right place. I have a friend who walked for civil rights in Selma, and he said that that was the only time in his life he felt like he was in the right place at the right time," said Eleanor Milligan, 77, a retired schoolteacher who lives in Knoxville, about 20 miles southwest of Frederick.

Frederick's group, whose rolls include about 145 names, conducts vigils twice monthly at Memorial Park and the intersection of Market and Patrick streets, known as Square Corner. Last Wednesday, the group marked the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

There are no chapters, no dues, no bylaws, no officers. The group's loose structure itself is intended to suggest an alternative to masculine norms of hierarchy and top-down control, Norouzi said. Many members have become good friends. When one got married, her bridal party included Women in Black members.

"We try to listen to all voices. If you talk to any one of us, you haven't talked to Women in Black, because it's all of us," she said. "It's a kind of a sisterhood."

Frederick's Women in Black, like so many other things, has its origins in Sept. 11, 2001. Amid so much death and hatred, Norouzi wanted to find a way to connect with people in other lands.

"9/11 did that to me. It politicized me in a lot of ways. It broke my heart," Norouzi said.

Even the war in Afghanistan did not seem justified, she said.