Why read Radical Sisters?

Book cover of Radical Sisters: Second-Wave Feminism and Black Liberation in Washington, D.C.

Book description

Radical Sisters is a fresh exploration of the ways that 1960s political movements shaped local, grassroots feminism in Washington, D.C. Rejecting notions of a universal sisterhood, Anne M. Valk argues that activists periodically worked to bridge differences for the sake of improving women's plight, even while maintaining distinct political bases.…

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American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Radical Sisters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Nancy A. Hewitt

Author

Radical Sisters does for the 1970s what I tried to do for the nineteenth century—to show that while Black and white women activists usually worked separately and embraced different and often opposing priorities, some women forged interracial alliances to address shared concerns. Valk also reminds us that divisions among white feminists and among Black liberationists could be as contentious as those between the two groups. By focusing on Washington, D.C., the population of which was over 70 percent Black in 1970, Valk ensures the centrality of race to every issue she analyzes. Providing in-depth case studies of anti-poverty movements, welfare…

From Nancy's list on racial politics and women’s activism in the US.