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Women – Civil Rights The HistoriographyBridge Leadership (see O’Connor on the blog for the reference)Robnett argues this. Race, gender, class impacted one’s position within the CRM. Women participation provided ideological foundation and mobilisation infrastructure. Bridge leaders foster ties between the social movement and the community. Formal leaders aimed to win the support of the white people/leaders. Bridge leadership was the most accessible and acceptable form of leadership for women. They worked within a ‘free space’ (not controlled by formal leaders) which was central to the development of the movement because links were made in this space. Leadership mobility depended on the organisations they joined (SCLC vs. SNCC).The ChronologyWomen in the Post-Reconstruction eraCONTEXT: Women for the most part fulfilled a traditional role in society at this point. It is worth noting that women in America did not get the vote until 1920. Black women were more likely to work than white women due to the fact that black families were more likely to live in poverty. Black women tended to work in service.1881 – Washer Women Strike (Formal leadership) Thousands of black laundresses went on strike for higher wages, respect for their work and control over how their work was organized. In summer 1881, the laundresses took on Atlanta’s business and political establishment and gained so much support they threatened to call a general strike, which would have shut the city pare to Randolph Sleeping Car Porters – he moves on to become a CR Leader1890s-1900s - Ida B. Wells (Formal leader – initiating and strategies)Fought against lynching (In 1892 Wells published a pamphlet titled Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases) Said it was to do with black economic progress. Wells-Barnett published The Red Record (1895), a 100-page pamphlet describing lynching in the United States – she said lynching had gone up since the emancipation of slaves (slaves = economic value). Iba worked with Web Du Bois on anti-lynching – leads to competition and Ida is left of the list of founders of the NAACP (argue over why). Realised that she would need to appeal to Britain and used armed force. In 1896, Wells founded the National Association of Coloured Women’s Club. Compare to Web Du Bois and his role in the NAACPWomen in the post-World War One eraCONTEXT – WORLD WAR ONE () Due to an industrial shortage (European not moving to America) – African American’s moved to the North and got industrial jobs (known as the Great Migration). Increased contact between African Americans and white Americans in the workplace and on city streets forced a new awareness of the disparity between the constitutional principle of equality and the reality of segregation and inequality. As such, the war breathed new life into the ambitions of reformers and led to newly committed activists for the civil rights movement. Black women remained by and large confined to domestic work.Black women contributed to the war effort in significant ways and formed the backbone of African-American patriotic activities. Find examples of this.The war also spurred an increase in political activism amongst black women. For the growing number of women who worked outside the home, the war created new opportunities for them to organize collectively and advocate for greater pay and equitable working conditions. Find examples of this.After the war there is a surge in white supremacy. The war radicalized many African Americans and deepened a commitment to combat white racial violence.Septima P. Clark (Bridge leader and Educator)Joined the NAACP (bridge leader) in Charleston. Also an educator. South Carolina banned educators from being involved with Civil Rights Movement. Clark was upfront in her refusal to leave the NAACP, and was thus fired from her job by the Charleston City School Board, losing her pension after 40 years employment. Got a job at Highlander Folk School. Clark is most famous for establishing "Citizenship Schools" teaching reading to adults throughout the Deep South (links to King – moved to the SCLC). Consider Rosa Parks and her time at the Highlander Folk School with Septima Clark. She also inspires Ella Baker (see O’Connor)Setting the ground work for later? Inspires other rather than taking a direct lead?1930s-1960s - Ella Baker (Bridge leader)Baker criticized, formal leadership; she promoted grassroots organisation and the ability of the oppressed to understand their worlds and advocate for themselves. In 1938 Baker began her long association with the NAACP. She traveled widely, especially in the South, recruiting members, raising money, and organizing local chapters. Moved to NYC - she soon joined the New York branch of the NAACP to work on local school desegregation and police brutality issues. She became its president in 1952. Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom - Baker was instrumental in pulling off this large scale event which became extremely successful. Her work as one of the organizers for this event demonstrated her ability to straddle organizational lines, deliberately ignoring and minimizing rivalries and battles. The conference’s first project was the Crusade for Citizenship. Baker was hired as the first staff person for the new organization. Baker worked closely with southern civil rights activists in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi and was highly respected for her organizing abilities. She helped initiate voter registration campaigns and identify other local grievances. Worked with the Student sit-ins. Helped organize events in the 1960’s and get people involved. 1950’s – Rosa Parks (an anomaly?)Refused to give up her seat in the catalyst of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Compare against Nixon and King 1950’s Jo Ann Robinson (Bridge Leader) Role in the Montgomery Bus pare against Nixon and King 1960’s - Daisy Bates (Bridge Leader) Grew up in Arkansas. Arkansas State Press. Joined the NAACP branch in Arkansas. Little Rock Crisis – Bates guided the 9 black students and planned ways for them to get into school. Look at the Robnett book on this – really good on explaining the difference of Daisy’s role.Use O’Connor to compare her role against Kings at Little Rock1960’S – Dianne Nash (Bridge leader)Leader of the Nashville sit ins. Leading founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Worked for SCLC but left due to leadership issues (quote on her relations with MLK as a leader). Involved with the Freedom Rides. Bridge leader here, getting student involved/organizing and getting King to speak.This links to Robnett’s argument closely – Nash is more successful in an organization that has a decentralized structure.1960’s - Fannie Lou Hamer (Bridge leader – formal in the Mississippi Democrat Freedom Party?)Voting Rights Activist. On August 31, 1962, Hamer traveled on a rented bus with other Bevel volunteers to Indianola, Mississippi, to register. In what would become a signature trait of Hamer as an activist, she began singing African-American spirituals, such as "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "This Little Light of Mine", to the group in order to bolster their resolve. Singing the spirituals also reflected Hamer's belief that the civil rights struggle was a deeply Christian one. That same day, after Hamer returned to the plantation, she was fired by the owner Marlow; he had warned her against trying to register to vote. Does activist work. Mississippi Democrat Freedom Party Johnson, fearful of the power of Hamer's testimony on live television, called an emergency press conference in an effort to divert press coverage. However, many television networks ran Hamer's speech unedited on their late news programs. The Credentials Committee received thousands of calls and letters in support of the Freedom Democrats. Ran for Congress but failed to win.1960’s - Dorothy Height (Bridge Leader)Specifically focused on the issues of African-American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness. In 1957, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until 1997. During the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, she organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi,” which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding.Women in the Black Power eraCONTEXT – RISE OF BLACK POWER ( Black power rose in the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s. Ideologies aimed at self-determination for people of African descent. Often believe violence is the means of achieving their aim (Black Panthers). Black Panther’s party platform promised gender equality – but this became far from the reality.1970’s - Elaine Brown (Chaired the Black Panther Party)"A woman in the Black Power movement was considered, at best, irrelevant. A woman asserting herself was a pariah. If a black woman assumed a role of leadership, she was said to be eroding black manhood, to be hindering the progress of the black race. She was an enemy of the black people.... I knew I had to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party." 1970’s - Kathleen Neal Cleaver (Black Panther Party)She moved to San Francisco in November 1967 to join the Black Panther Party. There she became the Communications Secretary for the party and worked on organizing demonstrations, creating pamphlets, holding press conferences, designing posters, and speaking at rallies and on TV. Cleaver became the communications secretary and the first female member of the Party’s decision-making body. She also served as the spokesperson and press secretary. Notably, she organized the national campaign to free the Party’s minister of defense, Huey Newton, who was jailed. Kathleen Neal Cleaver was among a small group of women that were prominent in the BPP. But, she discovered that in these gatherings, ideas offered by men were immediately implemented while the same ideas when posed by women were ignored. "The suggestion itself," Cleaver explains, "was never viewed objectively. The fact that the suggestion came from a woman gave it lesser value.They wrote articles for the Black Panther newspaper, tutored children in the Liberation schools, offered legal advice to prisoners, organized rallies, distributed flyers and pamphlets, and spoke to their local communities about solutions to economic and social problems. Is this evidence perhaps that Women worked better as bridge leaders in this era too?1970-90s –Black FeminismStolkey Carmichael takes over the SNCC and the role of women decreases. Sexism was evident in the Civil Rights Movement. Second wave feminism hits in this era. Black Feminism has similar principles to Black Power (separation of black and white feminists). It is independent of Black Nationalism. Examples of women: Florynce Kennedy, Cellestine Ware and Patricia Robinson. Look at AWARE for the 1990’s.Women in the Modern era2010’s - Black Lives Matters (New? – Crowd Leadership)Starts with a hashtag. In 2013, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi created a Black-centered political will and movement building project called #BlackLivesMatter. It was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman. As organizers who work with everyday people, BLM members see and understand significant gaps in movement spaces and leadership. In 2014, Mike Brown was murdered by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson led to their first in-person national protest in the form of a "Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride" to Ferguson, Missouri. The phrase "Black Lives Matter" can refer to a Twitter hashtage, a slogan, a social movement, or a loose confederation of groups advocating for racial justice. As a movement, Black Lives Matter is decentralized, and leaders have emphasized the importance of local organizing over national leadership. In 2013, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi formed the Black Lives Matter Network. Alicia Garza described the network as an online platform that existed to provide activists with a shared set of principles and goals. Local Black Lives Matter chapters are asked to commit to the organization's list of guiding principles, but operate without a central structure or hierarchy. Strategies: internet and social media; direct activism. ................
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