Marion Bromley née Coddington (October 10, 1912 – January 21, 1996) was a pioneer of the modern American tax resistance movement and a civil rights activist.

Tax resistance

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In 1948 Bromley left the staff of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (where she had been A.J. Muste's secretary) to avoid the withholding of taxes on her paycheck. Bromley helped found the group Peacemakers later that year, and concentrated her focus on the organization of war tax resistance by that group.[1]

Over the years her refusal to pay her taxes has appeared in the news.[2]

The first war tax resistance "how to" guide, Handbook on Nonpayment of War Taxes, was published by Marion and Ernest Bromley in 1963.[citation needed]

Bromley participated in the first meeting of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee in 1982.

In the 1970s the Internal Revenue Service tried[3] and failed[4] to seize their home for non-payment of taxes. In 1977 the War Resisters League gave the Bromleys its annual Peace Award.[5]

Desegregation activism

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She participated in the campaign to desegregate the Coney Island amusement park in 1952. She was with a black couple in a car that attempted to gain access to the park but was attacked by an anti-desegregationist mob (the occupants of the car were charged with disorderly conduct).[citation needed]

Personal life

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She married Ernest Bromley in 1948.

References

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  1. ^ Moores, Lew (January 24, 1996). "Obituary for Marion Bromley (Aged 83)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 14. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Long, Naomi (March 30, 1949). "Fighting for peace". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 6. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  3. ^ Mong, Bob (May 29, 1975). "Bromley world meets IRS world". The Cincinnati Post. p. 3. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Bunting, Ken (September 1, 1975). "Bromleys win battle for their farmhouse with IRS reversal". The Cincinnati Post. p. 1. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "Marion Bromley and Ernest Bromley Papers (DG 214), Swarthmore College Peace Collection". www.swarthmore.edu. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
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