A Merger of Movements: Peace and Civil Rights Activism in Postwar Miami

This article suggests the importance of studying local peace movements in postwar America, as civil rights historians have been doing for two decades. The article also argues that peace and civil rights often reflected the same progressive impulse for social justice—thus the importance of exploring the relationships and interconnections between the two movements. This case study of peace and civil rights in postwar Miami documents the role of politically progressive Jews, especially Jewish women, in forging a social justice movement focused on peace, civil liberties, and civil rights. Mostly newcomers from northern cities, a small group of activist Jews played a major organizational role in local branches of such civil rights and peace groups as the Civil Rights Congress, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, and Women Strike for Peace. For those who chose the activist path, peace and civil rights became inseparable components of a local social justice crusade challenging racial segregation and national Cold War policies.