Bookmark: "Personal Politics" by Sara Evans

Title: Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left
Author: Sara (M.) Evans
ISBN: 0-394-74228-1 (Vintage, 1980) (I read the 1979 Knopf edition: 0-394-41911-1)

In this book Evans preserves much of the history and dynamics within civil rights organizations in the late 1950s and '60s. As you may or may not know, there is a historical relationship between civil rights movements and feminism, and Evans documents the history of organizations like the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the growing feminist movement to illustrate this.

In the 1960s women became increasingly aware that they were marginalized within supposedly progressive organizations, and when they tried to introduce this concern, were frequently treated with little or no respect by other members (although some men were sympathetic). Does this ring any bells? And there were plenty of women within these organizations and others, such as the anti-draft movement, who had no feminist awareness and as a result were resistant to these concerns:

"Betty Chewning probably represented the majority of women at the conference. Caught up in the outrage about the war and empathizing with their male friends, they perceived 'women's issues' as secondary, selfish, divisive, and threatening. Nevertheless, the problems of women in the anti-draft movement were so obvious that they continued to provoke comment. In March 1967 Francine Silbar wrote an angry analysis of the role of women in draft resistance for New Left Notes..."

I didn't know many of the names that Evans mentions, so while I appreciate the author's preservation of them, if you're thirsting for more information you are required to conduct further research on your own. Some, like Jo Freeman and Kathie Sarachild, I was familiar with, but I came across many unsung heros.

Also, Evans' writing tends to be a little dry in parts, but that's the only complaint I have. I would highly recommend this text for anyone researching the origins of "second-wave" feminism or the history of civil rights organizations.

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