Final Reflection: Multiracial Solidarity in the 1970s

This semester was very rewarding for me and I learned a lot in this class. I am happy that I changed the scope of my project to research feminism in the 1970s and how women of color added to the discourse. What interested me most in doing this map is how the strategy of an organization can be revealed by mapping the protests and demonstrations conducted, which is reflective of the organization’s agenda.
The women of the Young Lords Party organized for community health and education, which is why they focused their meetings, protests, and demonstrations to the Bronx, mostly at Lincoln Hospital. They had a specific local agenda to revolutionize healthcare given at Lincoln Hospital, which they were successful at doing. The alliances that YLP made with local hospitals was key in health reform locally and influencing the change of the power dynamic of the doctor-patient relationship.
For CESA and CARASA, it was about effecting policy change, which is reflected in the locations of their protests and demonstrations as well, which were often at government buildings or where lawmakers/Congressmen were speaking. Their fight was specifically tied to national policy.
Limitations:
Time. The topic I chose to explore is a big one and, with more time, I would have had the opportunity to find more information about specific women of color who added to the discourse during the 1970s.
Interviews. “Giving voice” would mean actually having the opportunity to hear the voices and opinions of these women instead of just bios or YouTube clips. Many of these women are still living, and if I had the time, I would have reached out to them for interviews.
Archives. The most data I found at the archives were of white allies in these organizations. Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias had a very limited collection at Hunter College, but it did get me thinking about what we leave behind, what we hold on to, and how the digital humanities and digital records will help contextualize history. What is the best way to preserve “voice” and the perspective of marginalized voices? How would one go about giving their records to an archive? Is this something that should be discussed more openly about what is worth recording, keeping? Still, this made it clear the importance of multiracial/diverse organizations and coalition building as well as the importance of bringing people together, but also the hard work of creating a unified voice and agenda.
Other Women of Color. Asian-American women are often left out of these conversations of marginalized voices of color. For the purposes of my research, I focused on Latinas and African-Americans, but I know that Asian-Americans also added to the debate in New York in their own way.
Cases of Injustice. Finding specific cases for reproductive injustice in New York proved difficult. Given more time, I believe I could have found more.
Takeaways:

  • Women of color helped coin the term “reproductive freedom” and “reproductive justice” because the debate wasn’t just about the right to abort, but also the right to produce. These particular organizations also added the discussion of sterilization, eugenics, and poverty to the discourse. It took women of color to give rise to new thoughts around reproductive freedom and justice. The right to have children and raise them in an environment of economic empowerment and community support.
  • The importance of allies and working with one another in solidarity across race, ethnicity, and nationality. All of these organizations thrived in part because of the diversity within them.
  • Who can benefit from this map? Potentially reproductive rights organizations like Sistersong, a prominent feminist organization based in Atlanta and other organizations like it that are concerned with reproductive justice, fellow students and researchers as well as those writing about the history of abortion politics in New York.
  • The importance of adding marginalized voices to dominant histories.
  • Importance of media in social justice work.
  • Shannon Mattern is a great professor! I’ll be in touch.

One thought on “Final Reflection: Multiracial Solidarity in the 1970s

  1. Thanks, Carmel! It’s great to hear your address both the contemporary and historical insights, or applications, this project offered: it helped you understand the importance of collaboration, of incorporating marginalized voices, and of using media effectively in social justice. But it also made you wonder how histories are written: whose voices are included in the archive, and how can we begin to incorporate more of those silent voices? Great questions.

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