On April 28, 1915 a unique group of women, led by Jane Addams, met in an International Congress in The Hague, Netherlands to protest World War I then raging in Europe. Some 1,300 women from warring and neutral nations assembled to work out a plan to end the war and lay the foundation for a permanent peace. The organizers of the Congress were prominent women in the International Suffrage Alliance who saw the connection between their struggle for equal rights and the struggle for peace. Grace DeGraff, a Portland teacher, served as a delegate along with Jane Addams at the Women’s International Peace Congress in the Hague in 1915.

Out of this meeting the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom was born. WILPF’s first International President was Jane Addams, founder of Hull House in Chicago and the first U.S. woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The Portland Branch of WILPF has a history dating back to 1920 with Grace DeGraff as one of Portland WILPF’s earliest members.

In 1915 on the ship returning to the U.S. from the Hague, Grace along with other teachers, prepared a document which bears repeating today. "To the Teachers of the World" they wrote:

”In your hands more than any other lies the future of the world. You must choose whether you will train the rising generation in the militaristic spirit that has engulfed Europe in death, desolation and misery or whether you will use your every endeavor to counteract the legacy of hate that will be bequeathed to the children and will teach them that only in the time of peace is the progress of the world possible. . ."

The Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom has been working since 1915 to unite women worldwide who oppose oppression and exploitation. WILPF stands for equality of all people in a world free of racism, sexism and homophobia; the building of a constructive peace through world disarmament; and the changing of government priorities to meet human needs.

WILPF has sections in 37 countries coordinated by an international office in Geneva. WILPF supports the work of the United Nations and has NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) status.