What powers Interference Archive: women’s movements
December 5, 2016
This post is the first in a series during the month of December 2016, where we are reflecting on the things — issues, movements, and ideas — that give us a reason for existing here at Interference Archive. We wanted to take this time to think about what these critical elements and movements bring to us, and what we have to give to them.
Women’s movements
There is no one fight for women’s liberation in the US or internationally. Historically, much of this work has been less visible and more coalitional than what we often consider when we hear the words “social movements.” At Interference Archive, collecting this history is vital so that we can learn from and support continued organizing for women’s rights, and also so we can learn from this model of intersectional movement building.
The struggle for women’s rights gives birth to various forms of organizing, and various levels of visibility — from individually addressed ‘zines written to make one survivor of sexual assault feel less alone, to feminist statements issued by the Combahee River Collective (1982), a collective of Black Women Feminists and the intervention of the women in the Young Lords Party for 1960.
Women’s organizing has taken the form of Mothers Movements in Mexico that took to the streets in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, to Idle No More which continues to bring critical attention to the urgent and ongoing struggles in First Nations communities. Women’s social movements have challenged oppressive structures and categories that uphold unequal access to resources, violence, and racism.
— Lani Hanna
From the Archive:
The March 1971 issue of Tricontinental (number 60), published by OSPAAAL in Havana, Cuba, focused on the Young Lords. It includes the Young Lords Party Position Paper on women, which we’ve scanned for you to read here.* This thought-provoking essay reflects on the oppression of Third World women and the critical role they play in the liberation of all oppressed peoples as well as the struggle for the liberation of women.
Front and back covers of Tricontinental 60, March 1971. Published by OSPAAAL, Havana Cuba.
*Tricontinental Bulletin authorizes the total or partial reproduction of its articles and information.
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