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Ruth K. Graves is a Quaker and high school chemistry teacher from Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1969, Graves and her husband Bruce began withholding taxes contributing to the military, before being taken to the Supreme Court by the IRS in 1975. Ruth Graves has been active in a number of organizations involved with social causes, as well as presented on public access television. The collection consists of newsletters and reports from the World Peace Tax Fund and local organizations and correspondence between the Graves and Michigan Senators, Carl Levin and Donald Riegle. Audio and video recordings of the public access show, Peace InSight and other programs about social issues are also found within the collection.

The Ruth K. Graves papers document Graves' objection to military taxation during the 1970s. The collection primarily contains reports and meeting minutes of the National Council for the World Peace Tax Fund, as well as newspaper clippings and journal articles about Ruth and her husband Bruce, Graves' involvement with the organization. Also included is personal correspondence, most notably between the Graves and Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Donald Riegle, discussing a World Peace Tax Fund. Organizational records of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Ann Arbor Friends, and other local organizations can be found within the collection.

A substantial portion of the collection includes video and audio programs from the public access series, Peace InSight, amongst other television programs covering social issues.