In its 90th year, the radical peace movement is reinvigorating itself by going hyper-local.
By Renée Darline Roden, May 8, 2023
Simone Weil House is a century-old arts-and-crafts bungalow with cheerful red siding located in Portland, Ore. The house is on a large corner lot in the city’s historically Black, rapidly gentrifying Northeast neighborhood.
Outside, a hand-drawn chalkboard on the front porch invites strangers and friends to community dinners on Wednesday nights. In the front yard, a free fridge and clothing closet signal a commitment to mutual aid. In the backyard of the double lot, housing-insecure guests live in three tiny homes. Inside is a revolution.
Simone Weil House is part of the anarchist Catholic Worker movement. A household name among peace activists, the movement is finding rebirth in its 90th year by returning to its roots. Communities like Simone Weil House are the next chapter in the Catholic Worker’s story.
