Combahee River Collective

Author Barbara Smith and other delegates attending the first (1973) regional meeting of the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) in New York City provided the groundwork for the Combahee River Collective with its efforts to build an NBFO Chapter in Boston. The NBFO was formed by Black feminists, Florynce Kennedy, Margaret Sloan-Hunter, and others, reacting to the failure of mainstream White feminist groups to respond to the racism that Black women faced in the United States. Members of the CRC, notably Barbara Smith and Demita Frazier, felt it was critical that the organization address the needs of Black lesbians, in addition to organizing on behalf of Black feminists. ==Naming==

The Collective's name was suggested by Smith, who owned a book called Harriet Tubman, Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Earl Conrad. ==Combahee River Collective Statement==

Development The Combahee River Collective Statement was developed by a "collective of Black feminists...involved in the process of defining and clarifying our politics, while...doing political work within our own group and in coalition with other progressive organizations and movements..." Members of the collective describe having a feeling of creating something which had not existed previously. Demita Frazier described the CRC's beginnings as "not a mix cake", meaning that the women involved had to create the meaning and purpose of the group "from scratch." In her 1995 essay "Doing it from Scratch: The Challenge of Black Lesbian Organizing", which borrows its title from Frazier's statement, Barbara Smith describes the early activities of the collective as "consciousness raising and political work on a multitude of issues", along with the building of "friendship networks, community and a rich Black women's culture where none had existed before." The Collective held retreats throughout the Northeast between 1977 and 1979 to discuss issues of concern to Black feminists. Author Alexis De Veaux, biographer of poet Audre Lorde, describes a goal of the retreats as to "institutionalize Black feminism" and develop "an ideological separation from white feminism", as well as to discuss "the limitations of white feminists' fixation 'on the primacy of gender as an oppression.'" The first "Black feminist retreat" was held in July 1977 in South Hadley, Massachusetts, at the home of Jean Grossholtz, a lesbian feminist activist and professor of politics at Mount Holyoke with whom Barbara Smith had remained close.This chapter also details the CRC's belief that the destruction of capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy is necessary for the liberation of oppressed peoples. The Combahee River Collective notes that Black women are often looked down upon and that many individuals have a misconception that Black women simply want greater power. However, Black women, regardless of status or ethnicity, simply want to be included and treated properly. Black feminists all shared the idea that all Black women are intrinsically important, that their independence is necessary, and that they must share equal value and recognition with others. Ultimately, the entire purpose of the important anti-discrimination movement is inclusion rather than differentiation or exclusion, and it is the only way through which Black women can effectively tackle oppression and destroy it from its core. It is an extremely difficult journey for Black women, but their desires are relatively simple, namely to be accepted and included. Black women don't want any special rights, they only want to be accepted and acknowledged at the same level as all other humans and citizens of society. Problems in Organizing Black Feminists This chapter traces the problems and failures of organizing around Black feminism. The CRC believed that the fact that they were fighting to end multiple forms of oppression simultaneously, rather than just one form of oppression, was a major source of difficulty. Because of this positioning, the CRC wrote that, "if Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression." In their Encyclopedia of Government and Politics, M. E. Hawkesworth and Maurice Kogan refer to the CRCS as "what is often seen as the definitive statement regarding the importance of identity politics, particularly for people whose identity is marked by multiple interlocking oppressions". In her essay "From the Kennedy Commission to the Combahee Collective: Black Feminist Organizing, 1960–1980", Duchess Harris credits the "polyvocal political expressions of the Black feminists in the Combahee River Collective (with) defin(ing) the nature of identity politics in the 1980s and 1990s, and challeng(ing) earlier 'essentialist' appeals and doctrines..." According to author and academic Angela Davis, this analysis drew on earlier Black Marxist and Black Nationalist movements, and was anti-racist and anti-capitalist in nature. In Roderick Ferguson's book Aberrations in Black, the Combahee River Collective Statement is cited as "rearticulating coalition to address gender, racial, and sexual dominance as part of capitalist expansion globally". Ferguson uses the articulation of simultaneity of oppressions to describe coalition building that exists outside the organizations of the nation-state. Interlocking systems of oppression The Combahee River Collective argued that various oppressions such as racism, sexism, heteronormativity, and classism are interrelated and must be addressed as a whole. They also believed that Black feminism was the logical political movement to fight against these simultaneous oppressions. According to them, as Black lesbians, their oppression could not be singularly categorized into racism, sexism or homophobia. The Combahee River Collective mentions that "We also often find it difficult to separate race from class from sex oppression because in our lives they are most often experienced simultaneously". The CRC Statement argues that one problem in organizing Black feminists is that they fight against a range of forms of oppression, unlike white feminism and the broader civil rights movement, each of which fight against one form of oppression. ==Other political work==

In the encyclopedia Lesbian Histories and Cultures, contributing editor Jaime M. Grant contextualizes the CRC's work in the political trends of the time. The collective came together at a time when many of its members were struggling to define a liberating feminist practice alongside the ascendence of a predominantly white feminist movement, and a Black nationalist vision of women deferring to Black male leadership. Grant believes the CRC was most important in the "emergence of coalition politics in the late 1970s and early 1980s...which demonstrated the key roles that progressive feminists of color can play" in bridging gaps "between diverse constituencies, while also creating new possibilities for change within deeply divided communities..." According to Becky Thompson, associate professor at Simmons University in Boston and author of A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism, the Boston Police Department and the media "attempted to dismiss the murders...based on the notion that (the women) were alleged to be prostitutes and therefore not worthy of protection or investigation." In a 1979 journal entry, Barbara Smith wrote: That winter and spring were a time of great demoralization, anger, sadness and fear for many Black women in Boston, including myself. It was also for me a time of some of the most intensive and meaningful political organizing I have ever done. The Black feminist political analysis and practice the Combahee River Collective had developed since 1974 enabled us to grasp both the sexual-political and racial-political implications of the murders and positioned us to be the link between the various communities that were outraged: Black people, especially Black women; other women of color; and white feminists, many of whom were also lesbians. Smith developed these ideas into a pamphlet on the topic, articulating the need "to look at these murders as both racist and sexist crimes" and emphasizing the need to "talk about violence against women in the Black community." In a 1994 interview with Susan Goodwillie, Smith noted that this action moved the group out into the wider Boston community. She commented that "the pamphlet had the statement, the analysis, the political analysis, and it said that it had been prepared by the Combahee River Collective. That was a big risk for us, a big leap to identify ourselves in something that we knew was going to be widely distributed." Historian Duchess Harris believes that "the Collective was most cohesive and active when the murders in Boston were occurring. Having an event to respond to and to collectively organize around gave them a cause to focus on..." Black women's liberation seeks to dismantle these intersecting systems of oppression and create a more equitable society; seeking to empower Black women to reclaim their agency and assert their rights, autonomy, and self-determination. It envisions broader social transformation that benefits not only Black women but also their communities and society as a whole and challenge societal expectations, stereotypes, and constraints that limit Black women's choices, opportunities, and overall well-being. Importance of Black feminism Black feminism is a feminist movement that focuses on Black women and their rights. The Black feminist movement addresses Black women's unique experience of discrimination and oppression. The Black feminist movement gives Black women support and a group that fights for them directly. The Black feminist movement emphasized the importance of Black women defining and representing themselves, challenging dominant narratives and stereotypes. It called for autonomy in shaping their own agendas and strategies for activism. Black feminism centered the experiences and perspectives of Black women, it emphasized the need to analyze oppression through an intersectional lens and to prioritize the liberation of all marginalized groups; the significance of identity and shared experiences in building solidarity among marginalized groups. It advocated for alliances between various oppressed communities to challenge systems of power and work towards collective liberation. ==End==

The Collective held its last network retreat in February 1980 and disbanded some time later that year. Several factors contributed into their decision, ranging from internal disagreements to challenges faced by the collective. The collective consisted of diverse voices and perspectives, and over time, disagreements arose regarding political strategies, priorities, and ideologies. These differences made it difficult for the collective to maintain a cohesive and unified front. Like many grassroots organizations, the Combahee River Collective faced financial and resource limitations. ==Collective members and participants==

The Combahee Collective was large and fluid throughout its history. Collective members and contributors include: • Cheryl Clarke • Demita Frazier • Gloria Akasha Hull • Audre Lorde • Chirlane McCray • Margo Okazawa-Rey • Barbara Smith • Beverly Smith • Helen L. Stewart ==See also==