combahee river collective: a black feminist statement

Source: Off Our Backs , june 1979, Vol. 9, No. 6, "AIN'T I A WOMON?" (june 1979), pp. 6-
8
Published by: off our backs, inc.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25792966

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

off our backs, inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Off
Our Backs

This content downloaded from

132.208.246.237 on Thu, 25 Feb 2021 09:51:52 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
combahee^ive^^
Feb. 16, 1979 The Combahee River Collective is an embodied, if only in their physical
Roxbury, MA. ongoing Black feminist organization manifestation, an adversary stance
in Boston. Since we wrote this to white male rule and have actively
Dear Sisters: statement in 1977 we have continued resisted its inroads upon them and
to do political work and to work on their communities in both dramatic
I am writing on behalf of the Combahee defining our politics. If we were and subtle ways. There have al
River Collective, a Black feminist writing a statement now, it would re ways been Black women activists
group that I helped to start and which flect the changes we've experienced some known, like Sojourner Truth,
I've belonged to for the last five and we would expand upon many of our Harriet Tubman, Francis E. W. Harper,
years. We would very much like our original ideas. We would particularly Ida B. Wells Barnett, and Mary Church
collective statement to be included want to say more about our identities Terrell, and thousands upon thousands
in the Wimmin of Color issue of Off as Black Lesbians, how our identities unknown-who had a shared awareness of
Our Backs. We have wanted to send affect our politics and the dangerous how their sexual identity combined
it to Off Our Backs for some time with their racial identity to make
reality of homophobia in the Black
so that many more women could have community. We would also include a their whole life situation and the
a chance to read it and we felt ex more detailed discussion of Lesbian focus of their political struggles
cited that the statement might ap separatism. unique. Contemporary Black feminism
pear in a special issue just for wo is the outgrowth of countless gene
men of color. Since the statement was written we rations of personal sacrifice, mili
have continued to do workshops on tancy, and work by our mothers and
If you decide to use it you should racism for white feminist groups, sisters.
say that it first appeared in Capa we have initiated a series o$Black
talist Patriarchy and the Case for feminist retreats for women we work A Black feminist presence has evol
Socialist Feminism, ed. by Zillah with outside of Boston and we formed ved most obviously in connection with
Eisenstein and published by Monthly a collective of Black, other Third the second wave of the American wo
Review Press in 1978. I am writing World and white women to produce men's movement beginning in the late
to Zillah to tell her that I've sub "The Varied Voices of Black Women" 1960's. Black, other Third World,
mitted it to you and to find out if concert in the fall of 1978. Al and working women have been invol
there are any problems with having though our statement is already in ved in the feminist movement from its
it reprinted. I've written a short some ways an herstorical document, start, but both outside reactionary
introduction about the statement we feel that it is still an impor forces and racism and elitism within
which can precede it. tant articulation of Black feminist the movement itself have served to ob
theory. scure our participation. In 1973 Black
I also wanted you to have informa feminists, primarily located in New

a black feminist
tion about other projects I am work York, felt the necessity of forming
ing on that you might want to des a separate Black feminist group. This
cribe in the issue. Lorraine Bethel became the National Black Feminist
and I are co-editing a Black Woman's
issue of Conditions which should be
out in August. You can contact them
statement Organization (NBFO).

Black feminist politics also have an

at P.O. Box 56, Van Brunt Station, We are a collective of Black femin obvious connection to movements for
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215. Black liberation, particularly those
ists who have been meeting together
since 1974. During that time we of the 1960's and 1970's. Many of
Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott us were active in those movements
and I have co-edited a book on Black have been involved in the process of
defining and clarifying our politics, (civil rights, Black nationalism, the
Women's Studies for the Feminist Black Panthers), and all of our lives
Press which should be out late this while at the same time doing politi
cal work within our own group and in were greatly affected and changed by
year or early in 1980. Although it their ideology, their goals, and the
is aimed at women who teach Black coalition with other progressive or
ganizations and movements. The most tactics used to achieve their goals.
women's studies it contains much in It was our experience and disillusion
formation of interest to all women. general statement of our politics at ment within these liberation move
the present time would be that we are
actively committed to struggling a ments, as well as experience on the
A woman named J.R.Roberts has compiled periphery of the white male left,
an extensive Black Lesbian bibliogra gainst racial, sexual, heterosexual that led to the need to develop a
and class oppression and see as our
phy for which I'm writing the for
particular task the development of politics that was antiracist, unlike
ward. It also should be out in late those of white women, and antisexist,
spring. There has already been a integrated analysis and practice unlike those of Black and white men.
notice in Chicken Lady's column ask based upon the fact that the major
ing for contributions to pay for the systems of oppression are interlock
ing. The synthesis of these oppres There is also undeniably a personal
printing, but you might want to run sions creates the conditions of our
the notice again in your issue. genesis for Black feminism, that is,
lives. As Black women we see Black the political realization that comes
Last, I thought you might want to
feminism as the logical political from the seemingly personal exper
movement to combat the manifold and iences of individual Black women's
consider reprinting a reading list simultaneous oppressions that all wo lives. Black feminists and many more
on Black women writers that appeared men of color face. Black women who do not define them
most recently in Sojourner , a Boston selves as feminists have all exper
women's newspaper. We will discuss four major topics in ienced sexual oppression as a con
I and all the other women in our col the paper that follows: (1) The gene stant factor in our day-to-day ex
sis of contemporary Black feminism; istence. As children we realized
lective wish you much luck in the mon (2) what we believe, i.e., the spe that we were different from boys and
umental task of editing a whole issue cific province of our politics; (3) that we were treated differently.
of a newspaper. We will be very ex the problems in organizing Black fem
cited to see it and feel proud of For example, when we were told in the
your work.
inists, including a brief herstory same breath to be quiet both for the
of our collective; and (4) Black fem sake of being "ladylike" and to make
In Sisterhood, inist issues and practice. us less objectionable in the eyes of
white people. As we grew older we
Barbara Smith became aware of the threat of physi
The Combahee River Collective the genesis of cal and sexual abuse by men. However,
we had no way of conceptualizing what
contemporary was so apparent to us, what we knew
was really happening.
black feminism Black feminists often talk about their
Before looking at the recent develop feelings of craziness before becoming
ment of Black feminism, we would like conscious of the concepts of sexual
to affirm that we find our origins in politics, patriarchal rule, and, most
the historical reality of Afro-Ameri importantly, feminism, the political
can women's continuous life-and-death analysis and practice that we women
struggle for survival and liberation. use to struggle against our oppression.
Black women's extremely negative re The fact that racial politics and in
lationship to the American political deed racism are pervasive factors in
our lives did not allow us, and still
system (a system of white male rule) does not allow most Black women, to
has always been determined by our
membership in two oppressed racial look more deeply into our own exper
and sexual castes. As Angela Davis iences and, from that sharing and
points out in "Reflections on the growing consciousness, to build a
Black Woman's Role in the Community politics that will change our lives
of Slaves", Black women have always and inevitably end our oppression.
continued on next page

page 6/off our backs/june 1979

This content downloaded from

132.208.246.237 on Thu, 25 Feb 2021 09:51:52 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 _combahee
gether with Black men against racism,
continued from previous page
while we also struggle with Black men problems in organizing
about sexism.
Our development also must be tied to black feminists
the contemporary economic and political We realize that the liberation of all
position of Black people. The post During our years together as a Black
oppressed peoples necessitates the
World War II generation of Black destruction of the political-economic feminist collective we have experienced
youth was to first to be able to mini systems of capitalism and imperialism, success and defeat, joy and pain, vic
mally partake of certain educational tory and failure. We have found that
as well as patriarchy. We are socia it is very difficult to organize a
and employment options, previously lists because we believe that work
closed completely to Black people. must be organized for the collective
round Black feminist issues, diffi
Although our economic position is cult even to announce in certain con
benefit of those who do the work and texts that we are Black feminists.
still at the very bottom of the Amer create the products and not for the
ican capitalistic economy, a handful We have tried to think about the
profit of the bosses. Material re
of us have been able to gain certain sources must be equally distributed reasons for our difficulties, parti
tools as a result of tokenism in edu among those who create these resources. cularly since the white women's move
cation and employment which potential We are not convinced, however, that a ment continues to be strong and to
ly enable us to more effectively socialist revolution that is not also grow in many directions. In this
fight our oppression. a feminist and antiracist revolution section we will discuss some of the
will guarantee our liberation. We general reasons for the organizing
A combined anti racist and antisexist problems we face and also talk spec
have arrived at the necessity for deve
position drew us together initially, loping an understanding of class rela ifically about the stages in organ
and as we developed politically we izing our own collective.
tionships that takes into account the
addressed ourselves to heterosexism specific class position of Black wo
and economic oppression under capi men who are generally marginal in the The major source of difficulty in our
talism. labor force, while at this particular political work is that we are not just
time some of us are temporarily viewed trying to fight oppression on one front
what we believe as doubly desirable tokens at white
collar and professional levels. Al
or even two, but instead to address
a whole range of oppressions. We do
though we are in essential agreement not have racial, sexual, heterosexual,
Above all else, our politics ini or class privilege to rely upon, nor
tially sprang from the shared belief with Marx's theory as it applied to do we have even the minimal access
that Black women are inherently val the very specific economic relation
ships he analyzed, we know that this to resources and power that groups
uable, that our liberation is a ne who possess any one of these types
cessity not as an adjunct to somebody analysis must be extended further in of privilege have.
else's but because of our need as hu order for us to understand our speci
fic economic situation as Black women.
man persons for autonomy. This may The psychological toll of being a
seem so obvious as to sound simplistic, Black woman and the difficulties
but it is apparent that no other os A political contribution which we feel
we have already made is the expansion this presents in reaching political
tensibly progressive movement has ever consciousness and doing political
considered our specific oppression a of the feminist principle that the per work can never be underestimated.
priority or worked seriously for the sonal is political. In our conscious There is a very low value placed
ending of that oppression. Merely ness-raising sessions, for example,
we have in many ways gone beyond white upon Black women's psyches in
naming the pejorative stereotypes this society, which is both racist
attributed to Black women (e.g., mammy,
women's revelations because we are
dealing with the implications of race and sexist. As an early group mem
matriarch, Sapphire, whore, bulldagger), ber once said, "We are all damaged
let alone cataloguing the cruel , often and class as well as sex. Even our
people merely by virtue of being
murderous, treatment we receive, in Black women's style of talking/testi
dicates how little value has been fying in Black language about what we Black women," We are dispossessed
placed upon our lives during four cen have experienced has a resonance that psychologically and on every other
turies of bondage in the Western he is both cultural and political. We level, and yet we feel the necessity
misphere. We realize that the only have spent a great deal of energy to struggle to change our condition
delving into the cultural and exper and the condition of all Black women.
people who care enough about us to In "A Black Feminist's Search for
work consistently for our liberation iential nature of our oppression out
of necessity because none of these Sisterhood," Michele Wallace arrives
is us. Our politics evolve from a matters have ever been looked at be at this conclusion:
healthy love for ourselves, our sis
ters, and our community which allows fore. No one before has ever examined
the multilayered texture of Black wo We exist as women who are Black who
us to continue our struggle and work. are feminists, each stranded for the
men's lives. An example of this kind
This focusing upon our own oppression of revelation/conceptualization oc moment, working independently because
is embodied in the concept of iden curred at a meeting as we discussed continued on next page
tity politics. We believe that the most the ways in which our early intell
profound and potentially the most rad ectual interests had been attacked
ical politics come directly out of our by our peers, particularly Black
own idenity, as opposed to working to males. We discovered that all of
end somebody else's oppression. In us, because we were "smart", had al
the case of Black women this is a par so been considered "ugly", i.e.
ticularly repugnant, dangerous, threat "smart-ugly". "Smart-ugly" crystal
ening, and therefore revolutionary con lized the way in which most of us
cept because it is obvious from look had been forced to develop our
ing at all the political movements intellects at great cost to our "so- H
that have preceded us that anyone is cial" lives. The sanctions in the j^^j
Black and white communities against
more worthy of liberation than our
selves. We reject pedestals, queen Black women thinkers is comparatively llM
hood, and walking, ten paces behind. much higher than for white women, par- jlffjj
To be recognized as human, levelly ticularly ones from the educated mid- IHI
human, is enough. die and upper classes. HH

We believe that sexual politics under

As we have already stated, we reject BH
patriarchy is as pervasive in Black the stance of Lesbian separatism be- flifl
women's lives as are the politics of cause it is not a viable political fll
class and race. We also often find analysis or strategy for us. It HI
it difficult to separate race from leaves out far too much and far too Pfil
class from sex oppression because in many people, particularly Black men, Mfl
our lives they are most often ex women, and children. We have a great ? 911
perienced simultaneously. We know deal men
what of criticism and loathing
have been socialized to be for I^H
that there is such a thing as racial
sexual oppression which is neither in this society: what they support, H
how they act, and how they oppress.
solely racial nor solely sexual, e.g.,
the history of rape of Black women But we
notion doitnot
that have
is their the misguided
maleness, 1^1
by white men as a weapon of political
repression. per se-i.e., their biological male- %4?P1
ness-that makes them what they are. y
As Black women we find any type of *
Although we are feminists and Lesbians,
we feel solidarity with progressive biological determinism a particular
Black men and do not advocate the frac ly dangerous and reactionary basis #*
tional ization that white women who are upon which to build a politic. We
must also question whether Lesbian %s
separatists demand. Our situation as
Black people necessitates that we have separatism is an adequate and pro- *
solidarity around the fact of race,
which white women of course do not
gressive political analysis and stra- , *
tegy, even for those who practice it, ^
since it so completely denies any but '
'1
need to have with white men, unless
the sexual sources of women's oppres IS
it is their negative solidarity as sion, negating the facts of class and
racial oppressors. We struggle to race. Ex-slave from Alabama

june 1979/off our backs/page 7

This content downloaded from

132.208.246.237 on Thu, 25 Feb 2021 09:51:52 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
combahee
continued from previous page
there is not yet an environment in an intense variety of consciousness to working on those struggles in which
this society remotely congenial to raising. The overwhelming feeling race, sex and class are simultaneous
our struggle-because, being on the that we had is that after years and factors in oppression. We might, for
bottom, we would have to do what years we had finally found each oth example, become involved in workplace
no one else has done: we would have er. Although we were not doing poli organinzing at a factory that employs
to fight the world.2 tical work as a group, individuals Third World women or picket a hospi
continued their involvement in Les tal that is cutting back on already
Wallace is not pessimistic but real bian politics, sterilization abuse inadequate health care to a Third
istic in her assessment of Black fem and abortion rights work, Third World World community, or set up a rape
inists' position, particularly in her Women's International Women's Day ac crisis center in a Black neighbor
allusion to the nearly classic isola tivities, and support activity for the hood. Organizing around welfare
tion most of us face. We might use trials of Dr. Kenneth Edelin, Joan and daycare concerns might also be
our position at the bottom, however, Little, and Inez Garcia. During our a focus. The work to be done and the
to make a clear leap into revolution first sunnier, when membership had countless issues that this work re
ary action. If Black women were free, dropped off considerably, those of presents merely reflect the pervasive
it would mean that everyone else would us remaining devoted serious discus ness of our oppression.
have to be free since our freedom would sion to the possibility of opening
necessitate the destruction of all the a refuge for battered women in a Issues and projects that collective
systems of oppression. Black community. (There was no refuge members have actually worked on are
in Boston at that time). We also de sterilization abuse, abortion rights,
Feminism is, nevertheless, very threat cided around that time to become an battered women, rape and health care.
ening to the majority of Black people independent collective since we had We have also done many workshops and
because it calls into question some of serious disagreements with NBFO's educationals on Black feminism on
the most basic assumptions about our bourgeois-feminist stance and their college campuses, at women's confer
existence, i.e., that sex should be a lack of a clear political focus. ences, and most recently for high
determinant of power relationships. school women.
Here is the way male and female roles We also were contacted at that time
were defined in a Black nationalist by socialist feminists, with whom One issue that is of major concern to
pamphlet from the early 1970's. we had worked on abortion rights ac us and that we have begun to public
tivities, who wanted to encourage us ly address is racism in the white wo
We understand that it is and has to attend the National Socialist Fe men's movement. As Black feminists
been traditional that the man is minist Conference in Yellow Springs. we are made constantly and painfully
the head of the house. He is the One of our members did attend and des aware of how little effort white wo
leader of the house/nation because pite the narrowness of the idealogy men have made to understand and com
his knowledge of the world is broad that was promoted at that particular bat their racism, which requires among
er, his awareness is greater, his conference, we became more aware of other things that they have a more
understanding is fuller and his ap the need for us to understand our own than superficial comprehension of race,
plication of this information is economic situation and to make our color, and black history and culture,
wiser...After all, it is only rea own economic analysis. eliminating racism in the white women's
sonable that the man be the head of movement is by definition work for
the house because he is able to de In the fall, when some members retur white women to do, but we will con
fend and protect the development of ned, we experienced several months tinue to speak to and demand account
his home...Women cannot do the same of comparative inactivity and internal ability on this issue.
things as men-they are made by na disagreements which were first con
ture to function differently. Equa ceptualized as a Lesbian-straight In the practice of our politics we do
lity of men and women is something split but which were also the result not believe that the end always just
that cannot happen even in the ab of class and political differences. ifies the means. Many reactionary
During the summer those of us who were and destructive acts have been done
stract world. Men are not equal to in the name of achieving "correct"
other men, i.e. ability, experience still meeting had determined the need
or even understanding. The value of to do political work and to move be political goals. As feminists we do
yond consciousness-raising and serving not want to mess over people in the
men and women can be seen as in the
exclusively as an emotional support name of politics. We believe in col
value of gold and silver-they are not group. At the beginning of 1976, when lective process and a nonhierarchal
equal but both have great value. We some of the women who had not wanted distribution of power within our own
must realize that men and women are group and in our vision of a revolu
to do political work and who also had
a complement to each other because voiced disagreements stopped attending tionary society. We are committed to
there is no house/family without a of their own accord, we again looked a continual examination of our politics
man and his wife. Both are essential for a focus. We decided at that time, as they develop through criticism and
to the development of any life. 3 with the addition of new members, to self-criticism as an essential aspect
The material conditions of most Black become a study group. We had always of our practice. In her introduction
shared our reading with each other, to Sisterhood is Powerful Robin Morgan
women would hardly lead them to upset and some of us had written papers on writes:
both economic and sexual arrangements Black feminism for group discussion I haven't the faintest notion what
that seem to represent some stability a few months before this decision was possible revolutionary role white
in their lives. Many Black women have made. We began functioning as a study heterosexual men could fulfill, since
a good understanding of both sexism and group and also began discussing the they are the very embodiment of re
racism, but because of the everyday actionary-vested-interest-power.
constrictions of their lives cannot possibility of starting a Black fem
risk struggling against them both. inist publication. We had a retreat As Black feminists and Lesbians we
in the late spring which provided a know that we have a very definite
The reaction of Black men to feminism time for both political discussion
and working out interpersonal issues. revolutionary task to perform and
has been notoriously negative. They we are ready for the lifetime of
are, of course, even more threatened Currently we are planning to gather
together a collection of Black fem work and struggle before us.
than Black women by the possibility
that Black feminists might organize inist writing. We feel that it is ab 1. This statement is dated April 1977.
around our own needs. They realize solutely essential to demonstrate the
that they might not only lose valuable reality of our politics to other Black 2. Michele Wallace, "A Black Feminist's
women and believe that we can do this
and hard-working allies in their stru Search for Sisterhood," The Village
gles but that they might also be forced through writing and distributing our Voice, 28 July 1975, pp. 6-7.
work. The fact that individual Black
to change their habitually sexist ways
of interacting with and oppressing feminists are living in isolation all 3. Mumininas of Committee for Unified
Black women. Accusations that Black over the country, that our own numbers
are small, and that we have some skills Newark, Mwanamke Mwananchi (The
feminism divides the Black struggle Nationalist Woman), Newark, N.J.,
are powerful deterrents to the growth in writing, printing, and publishing c. 1971, pp. 4-5.
of an autonomous Black women's move makes us want to carry out these kinds
ment. of projects as a means of organizing
Black feminists as we continue to do
political work in coalition with other From Capatalist Patriarchy and the
Still, hundreds of women have been Case for Socialist Feminism, ed. by
active at different times during the groups.
Zillah Eisenstein, New York, Monthly
three-year existence of our group. Review Press, c. 1978.
And every Black woman who came, came
out of a strongly-felt need for some
black feminist **********************************

level of possibility that did not pre

viously exist in her life.
issues & practice The Combahee River Collective is a
Black feminist group in Boston whose
When we first started meeting early During our time together we have i name comes from the guerrilla action
in 1974 after the NBFO first eastern dentified and worked on many issues conceptualized and led by Harriet
regional conference, we did not have of particular relevance to Black wo Tubman on 2 June 1863, in the Port
a strategy for organizing, or even a men. The inclusiveness of our politics Royal region of South Carolina. This
focus. We just wanted to see what makes us concerned with any situation action freed more than 750 slaves and
we had. After a period of months of that impinges upon the lives of women, is the only military campaign in
not meeting, we began to meet again Third World, and working people. We American history planned and led by
are of course particularly committed a woman.
late in the year and started doing

page 8/off our backs/june 1979

This content downloaded from

132.208.246.237 on Thu, 25 Feb 2021 09:51:52 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms