First Published: The Call, Vol. 3, No. 6, March 1975.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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“A step forward for the Black Liberation Struggle ... ”, “I was very excited to participate in it...”, “The Black Women’s United Front can be a militant instrument in fighting the enemies of all oppressed’ people.”
Such comments reflected the sentiments of some of the participants at the founding conference of the Black Women’s United Front (BWUF) held in Detroit’s North End Family Center on January 25.
Some 650 Black men and women traveled to Detroit from 21 states across the country and represented a broad cross section of Afro-Americans – students, workers, community people, older women, young women, middle aged, welfare mothers, professionals, para-professionals as well as representatives of several revolutionary and anti-imperialist organizations. Most were anxious to begin building a broad mass based Black women’s organization whose principles of unity would be aimed at the imperialist system and in opposition to exploitation and racism.
The conference was initiated by the Congress of Afrikan People (CAP) and six other groups following the International Afrikan Women’s Conference which was held in Newark, New Jersey last July. CAP at that time called together a task force of other organizations – All Afrikan Peoples’ Revolutionary Party (AAPRP), National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO), Black Workers Congress (BWC), the Pan African Students Organization (PASO), Youth Organization of Black Unity (YOBU) and the Ethiopian Students Organization – to help in building for this conference. From the enthusiastic response to the conference call, it was quite obvious that such an organization was much needed. A welfare mother who had driven all the way from Atlanta told The Call that she attended the conference because she, “felt that there is a need for Black women to unite. Not only Black women but all Black people.”
Starting with slavery, Black women have always faced a special oppression. Today under capitalism, Black women are faced with triple oppressions – class , national and sex – and in the current crisis, this oppression is intensifying. Just a few examples are the increasing attacks on the family (from welfare’s “man-in-the-house“ rule to forced sterilizations to police brutality and murder), as well as the super- exploitation faced by Black women workers. While large numbers of Black women are the sole support of the family, they are the first laid off and the last hired. Black women need equal job opportunities, childcare, equal educational opportunities-yet none of this is a reality under the capitalist system. Rents for inadequate housing continue to rise and so do food prices. Black women have been culturally degraded by racist stereotypes and are pictured as “too backward” when in fact they are often the most militant fighters.
The welcoming speeches of the sponsoring organizations reflected the need to fight this triple oppression. Sister Sharifa of CAP gave a short welcoming address that praised the work of the organizations which made the meeting a success, Alice Nixon of National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) described welfare as a “system which capita ism is developing to oppress us ... a cycle that goes from the womb to the tomb.” She concluded her speech by calling on all Black women to unite and fight their oppression. Speakers from YOBU, PASO, BWC, and CAP all expressed their organizations’ support for the United Front. Most agreed with Tamu Galjiuvani of the BWC who said “the special oppression of Black women is linked to the crisis of imperialism.”
Amiri Baraka, Chairman of CAP, expressed the view that a United Front should be formed to both smash male supremacy and bourgeois feminism, and as a weapon against the capitalist system. “Male chauvinism is an ideology supported by capitalism just as is racism,” he said, “and only the ultimate destruction of capitalism will see this ideology destroyed ... The Black Women’s United Front seeks to draw women into the movement to destroy capitalism, not to join it.” Baraka called for the formation of a multinational communist party as a prerequisite to the overthrow of capitalism. His speech was met with an enthusiastic response by the conference.
The October League (M-L) participated actively in the conference. In “Black Women’s Liberation is Black Peoples’ Liberation,” a pamphlet which was prepared for the conference, OL stated “ ... the organization of Black women is a necessary part of the general Black liberation struggle and serves to strengthen it.” The pamphlet showed the importance of working class leadership and put forth OL’s views on the structure of BWUF.
CAP and October League put forth the main organizational proposals, which were accepted by the body after amendments from the floor. The structure adopted calls for the formation of a national steering committee whose members will include 10 per cent of the women present at the founding meeting and elected by the national assembly. The national assembly will include two representatives from each local chapter. Committees for research, prisoners, political education, labor, propaganda and legal services will be set up. Four regions are planned – Northeast, Midwest, South and West – along with local organizations. The need for working class women in particular to be active in the organization and in positions of leadership was strongly stressed in the organizational proposals.
Betty Bryant of OL called for the BWUF to take up the campaign for International Women’s pay as a means of building solidarity with Third World and other oppressed peoples. Programs are being left up to the local groups in this initial stage of organization.
The OL representatives also stressed the need for BWUF to direct its main attack against the imperialist system which is the main cause of women’s oppression generally; and national oppression today.
A sizeable number of men attended the conference and played an active role in many of the discussions. The position of the majority of people there was clear – men and women must unite in the struggle. Within this united struggle, the fight against all forms of male chauvinism was stressed. Men must give active support to the struggle against all oppression of women.
The Call spoke with several men at the conference and all were very enthusiastic. One said: “I was very glad to hear that something like the Black Women’s United Front was being formed. As a Black man I really came to see in what way I could support what was happening.” Commenting on the participation of men in the conference, Betty Bryant of the October League said, “This conference is a real step forward because it means that Black women do not separate Black men from their struggle and it also means that from the number of Black men that attended this conference, that the brothers understand that they have to give us their support ... ”
The formation of the Black Women’s United Front did not come about without struggle. Before unity could be reached, the BWUF was strongly opposed by the All Afrikan People’s Revolutionary Party and its representative Eunice Foster. Foster, while showing the integral part that women must play in the overall struggle of Black people, opposed any separate organization for women.
AAPRP’s position failed to speak to the special oppression that Black women face. It failed to take into account the special forms of organization that could be useful in mobilizing the broad masses of Black women, who have often been held back or kept out of the mainstream of the revolutionary and political struggle. Such special forms of organization can greatly strengthen the Black Liberation Movement rather than dividing it, by bringing hundreds of new activists into the anti-imperialist struggle. After long, hard debate, AAPRP said it would remain a part of the United Front.
The founding conference of the Black Women’s United Front ended with a unified spirit and a willingness on the part of the hundreds of people who attended, to build the organization in their local areas. While they came from different backgrounds and areas and shared many different experiences, they also united against their common enemy and around the need for an organized and revolutionary struggle for liberation.