Living for the Revolution Black Feminist Organizations, 1968–1980
Product details
Biographical note
Kimberly Springer is a lecturer in American Studies at Kings College, University of London. She is the editor of Still Lifting, Still Climbing: African American Women’s Contemporary Activism.
Living for the Revolution Black Feminist Organizations, 1968–1980
“<i>Living for the Revolution</i> is a fabulous book with rich data and fine analysis. To date, nothing has been written that fills this particular historical vacuum. African American women’s participation in the feminist movement has only been told from the point of view of white feminists or in bits and pieces by others.”-Belinda Robnett, author of <i>How Long? How Long? African-American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights</i> “<i>Living for the Revolution</i> will force scholars working on either the women’s movement or black liberation to change their standard narrative.”-Robin D. G. Kelley, author of <i>Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination</i> “Springer’s discussion of the activities of the next generation . . . helps keep hope alive and the political fires burning. But the difficulties facing formal black feminist organizing need close scrutiny of new organization are ever to spring up and thrive. We must understand the whys and how s of their predecessors’ demise as well as of their growth and legacy. This book makes an exhilarating contribution to this process.” - Tricia Rose (Women's Review of Books) “The arrival of Kimberly Springer's <i>Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980 </i>invites scholars to include gender and women activists in their discussions of the African-American political landscape between the Second Reconstruction and the Reagan revolution. Though speaking more explicitly to feminist historiography and organizational theory, Springer's study of five prominent Black feminist organizations signals a turn in our academic approach to the liberation struggle.” - Elizabeth Hinton (Souls)
The organizations that Springer examines were the first to explicitly use feminist theory to further the work of previous black women’s organizations. As she describes, they emerged in response to marginalization in the civil rights and women’s movements, stereotyping in popular culture, and misrepresentation in public policy. Springer compares the organizations’ ideologies, goals, activities, memberships, leadership styles, finances, and communication strategies. Reflecting on the conflicts, lack of resources, and burnout that led to the demise of these groups, she considers the future of black feminist organizing, particularly at the national level. Living for the Revolution is an essential reference: it provides the history of a movement that influenced black feminist theory and civil rights activism for decades to come.
Acknowledgments ix
1. The Soul of Women's Lib 1
2. No longer Divided against Ourselves 45
3. Barbecue and Bake Sales Won't Fund a Movement 65
4. Black Women's Issues as Feminist Issues 88
5. Black Feminist Identities in Contestation 113
6. War-Weary Warriors 139
Conclusion 168
Epilogue 173
Appendix A: Interviews by Organization 181
Appendix B: Interview Questions 183
Appendix C: Statements of Purpose 185
Notes 191
Index 217
“<i>Living for the Revolution</i> is a fabulous book with rich data and fine analysis. To date, nothing has been written that fills this particular historical vacuum. African American women’s participation in the feminist movement has only been told from the point of view of white feminists or in bits and pieces by others.”-Belinda Robnett, author of <i>How Long? How Long? African-American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights</i> “<i>Living for the Revolution</i> will force scholars working on either the women’s movement or black liberation to change their standard narrative.”-Robin D. G. Kelley, author of <i>Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination</i> “Springer’s discussion of the activities of the next generation . . . helps keep hope alive and the political fires burning. But the difficulties facing formal black feminist organizing need close scrutiny of new organization are ever to spring up and thrive. We must understand the whys and how s of their predecessors’ demise as well as of their growth and legacy. This book makes an exhilarating contribution to this process.” - Tricia Rose (Women's Review of Books) “The arrival of Kimberly Springer's <i>Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980 </i>invites scholars to include gender and women activists in their discussions of the African-American political landscape between the Second Reconstruction and the Reagan revolution. Though speaking more explicitly to feminist historiography and organizational theory, Springer's study of five prominent Black feminist organizations signals a turn in our academic approach to the liberation struggle.” - Elizabeth Hinton (Souls)
The organizations that Springer examines were the first to explicitly use feminist theory to further the work of previous black women’s organizations. As she describes, they emerged in response to marginalization in the civil rights and women’s movements, stereotyping in popular culture, and misrepresentation in public policy. Springer compares the organizations’ ideologies, goals, activities, memberships, leadership styles, finances, and communication strategies. Reflecting on the conflicts, lack of resources, and burnout that led to the demise of these groups, she considers the future of black feminist organizing, particularly at the national level. Living for the Revolution is an essential reference: it provides the history of a movement that influenced black feminist theory and civil rights activism for decades to come.
Acknowledgments ix
1. The Soul of Women's Lib 1
2. No longer Divided against Ourselves 45
3. Barbecue and Bake Sales Won't Fund a Movement 65
4. Black Women's Issues as Feminist Issues 88
5. Black Feminist Identities in Contestation 113
6. War-Weary Warriors 139
Conclusion 168
Epilogue 173
Appendix A: Interviews by Organization 181
Appendix B: Interview Questions 183
Appendix C: Statements of Purpose 185
Notes 191
Index 217
Product details
Biographical note
Kimberly Springer is a lecturer in American Studies at Kings College, University of London. She is the editor of Still Lifting, Still Climbing: African American Women’s Contemporary Activism.