The Raging Grannies (or just "Raging Grannies") are

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

organizations in many cities and towns in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and other countries. The first group started in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, in 198687. They are

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

activists, all women old enough to be

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...

s, who dress up in clothes that mock

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

of older

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

, and sing songs at

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

s. They typically write the lyrics themselves, putting their political messages to the tunes of well-known songs. They were allegedly spied upon by a unit of the

California National Guard The California National Guard (Cal Guard) is part of the National Guard (United States), National Guard of the United States, a dual federal–state military reserve force in the state of California. It has three components: the California Army ...

after it organized a

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

anti-war rally. Their activism includes peace and environmental causes. There are two books about them: ''Off Our Rockers'', by Alison Acker and Betty Brightwell, and ''The Raging Grannies: Wild Hats, Cheeky Songs and Witty Actions for a Better World''.

History

The first group started in

, over the winter of 198687. They originally called themselves "NERT—Nuclear Emergency Response Team". The members believed the presence of US Navy nuclear-powered ships' presence in Victoria Harbour posed potential health and environmental risks to the city.

Notable events

In May 2005, a California chapter of the Raging Grannies was allegedly spied upon by a unit of the

after it organized a

anti-war rally. California State Senator Joe Dunn launched an investigation and the intelligence unit was subsequently shut down. In July 2005, five members of the group were charged with

trespassing Trespass to land, also called trespass to realty or trespass to real property, or sometimes simply trespass, is a common law tort or a crime that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally (or, in Australia, ...

after they attempted to enlist at a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

recruiting center in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. A spokesperson for the group said they wanted to enlist and be sent to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

so that their children and grandchildren could come home. A group also went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where they were arrested for allegedly blocking access to a recruitment center in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

; on April 28, 2006, they were acquitted of all charges. The Action League of the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

Area Peninsula, as the group is known in the Bay Area, was the subject of the 2009 video documentary ''Raging Grannies''. The Raging Grannies were also part of the " March against Monsanto" protest on May 25, 2013, to protest against

genetically modified food Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using various methods of genetic engineering. G ...

s. The original Grannies were honoured on their 30th anniversary with a display at the

Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...

in Winnipeg, MB. In June 2020, the Raging Grannies protested to show their support for the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and in

San Bruno San Bruno () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to San Francisco Internat ...

and

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. The Raging Grannies have also been very active in the 2022 abortion rights protests across the United States.

Works about the Raging Grannies

At least two films, ''Granny Power'' and ''Two Raging Grannies'', and multiple academic articles, talk about the Raging Grannies. They state and show how they challenge stereotypical conceptions about activism and aging (the grannies did not grow more conservative as they aged, for example). There are two books about them: Off Our Rockers, by Alison Acker and Betty Brightwell, and The Raging Grannies: Wild Hats, Cheeky Songs, and Witty Actions for a Better World, by Carole Roy.

References

External links

The Raging Grannies' International Website

Raging Grannies' Songs Website
{{authority control Anti–Iraq War groups Peace organizations Seniors' organizations Women's organizations based in Canada Political advocacy groups in Canada Political advocacy groups in the United States Social justice organizations

History

Notable events

Works about the Raging Grannies

See also

Further reading

References

External links