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Summary Of The Combahee River Collective

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The Combahee River Collective Statement: A Summary, Including Today’s Relevance The Combahee River Collective, founded in Boston in 1974, was organized by black feminists, many of whom identified themselves as lesbians, who believed it was their duty and right to define their own politics among society. For years, black women alone had been oppressed, but for a black lesbian, the oppression was even greater. The Collective made it their mission to combat racial, sexual and class oppression as it related to the domination of patriarchy within their current society. This essay will summarize the history, the Collective’s Statement and how their practices are related to today’s feminist issues. A Brief History 2nd wave feminism motivated …show more content…

While these topics were just as important to black women, they felt as though they were being excluded within the movement. Black woman felt as though white women were racially discriminative of them, therefore The National Black Feminist Organization was formed. The NBFO focused on the biases of society concerning racism, sexism, and classism as it related to black women, but one aspect had been missing: lesbianism. Many of the women involved considered themselves to be lesbians and they felt as though the NBFO didn’t incorporate issues relating to black lesbian feminism. They began to feel resistance among their own members within the NBFO, in turn, leading to the birth of The Combahee River …show more content…

By researching and discussing the relationships between sexism, racism and economics during their many meetings and retreats, they succeeded in bringing awareness on a social level. An excerpt from the Collective’s avowal states, "As black feminists and lesbians we know that we have a very definite revolutionary task to perform and we are ready for the lifetime of work and struggles before us." This speaks volumes about the intentions and beliefs of these women, as well as their determination to make this a worldwide social movement. It is noteworthy to include that the Collective gives credit to the efforts put forth by their black women ancestors, such as Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. Without brave women activists like these, awareness of racial and sexual identities may not have the powerful presence it does today. The Collective’s Statement served as a fervent mission to demolishing all oppressive practices and helped to forge movements within our current society. Today’s

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