Frida Berrigan

Frida Berrigan is a columnist for Waging Nonviolence and serves on the National Committee of the War Resisters League. She lives in New London, Connecticut with her husband Patrick and their three children, Madeline (2 months), Seamus (21 months) and Rosena (7 years).

Fifty years later, the spirit of the Catonsville Nine lives on

Those who burned hundreds of draft files to protest the Vietnam War deserve to be honored, remembered and emulated.

By Frida Berrigan

/ 25 May 2018

How do you tell the kids that Grandma is in jail for resisting nuclear weapons?

“Wait, these nuclear weapons…They are war things?” Seamus asked. “Yep, they are war things bud.” “Good for grandma.”

By Frida Berrigan

/ 19 Apr 2018

Preparing for the long haul under the Trump administration

There are hundreds of ways to stay upright and human in trying times—here’s a selection.

By Frida Berrigan

/ 27 Mar 2017

Making our movements work for kids and families

Children have always been part of people’s work for rights and social justice, so what does it take to make activism more family friendly?

By Frida Berrigan

/ 25 Nov 2016

Social movements need imagination, which is why I’m not buying my kids any more toys

Resistance means more than politics; it involves poetry, magical thinking and wonder, and begins with children having time and space to be creative.

By Frida Berrigan

/ 7 Oct 2016

How I will prepare my white son for the interactions he won't have with police

Seamus’ whiteness means that I don’t have to teach him how to prepare for humiliation. That is white privilege in a nutshell.

By Frida Berrigan

/ 24 Dec 2014

Social change in Shoprite, aisle 5

Millions of Americans use supplemental food benefits each month. Along with the stigma of holding up the supermarket checkout line comes a large helping of empathy with other people.

By Frida Berrigan

/ 18 Apr 2014