Igal Roodenko
| Igal Roodenko | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
February 8, 1917 New York City |
| Died | April 28, 1991 (aged 74) New York City |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Known for |
War Resisters League; Committee for Nonviolent Revolution; Journey of Reconciliation |
Igal Roodenko (February 8, 1917 – April 28, 1991) was an American civil rights activist, and pacifist.
Roodenko graduated from Townsend Harris High School in Manhattan, New York. He attended Cornell University from 1934 to 1938, where he received a degree in horticulture. Roodenko was a gay man, and a printer by trade.
He was an active member of the War Resisters League (WRL), and was a conscientious objector to military service in World War II. Roodenko was on the executive committee of the WRL from 1947 to 1977, and was the league's chairman from 1968 to 1972. Early in the war, he was sent to a camp in Montezuma County, Colorado to perform Civilian Public Service in lieu of military service. Roodenko's principles led him to refuse to work, which in turn led to his arrest, conviction, and imprisonment at the Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone. He sued the United States government, challenging the constitutionality of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. On 22 December 1944, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit found against Roodenko, and the United States Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari on 26 March 1945. He and conscientious objectors in six other federal prisons began a hunger strike on 11 May 1946 to draw attention to the plight of war resistors. Roodenko was not released from prison until January 1947.
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