Black Feminist Organizations

February 4, 2022

|In Black History in Two Minutes (or so), Season 2

While the Civil Rights Movement continued to spread across the US and the feminist movement evolved, one group felt neither movement really addressed their existence: Black women. As a result, the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) was formed.

The NBFO sought to meet at the intersection of racism and sexism, all the while pushing an agenda that created policies and protections for Black women. Even as they grew, another group, The Combahee River Collective Statement, recognized that important components like sexuality and the “everyday working woman” were missing from the conversation. In the end, the 1970s saw a much-needed introduction to Black feminist organizations that wanted to ensure the Black woman and her presence in society was not overlooked.

In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. — with additional commentary from Imani Perry of Princeton University, Hasan Jeffries of Ohio State University and Daina Berry of The University of Texas, we celebrate a group of women who laid the foundation for the advancement of Black women that we still recognize and see to this day.

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Archival Materials Courtesy of:
• Alamy Images
• Associated Press
• Bettye Lane photographs, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
• Freda Leinwand, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
• Getty Images
• Library of Congress
• Photo by Robert Giard, Copyright Estate of Robert Giard

Additional Archival Material Courtesy of:
• Black Lives Matter
• Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
• University of Westminster
• York University

Executive Producers:
• Robert F. Smith
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• Dyllan McGee
• Deon Taylor

Senior Producer:
• William Ventura

Series Producers:
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Executive in Charge of Production:
• Robert L. Yacyshyn

Post Production Supervisor:
• Veronica Leib

Post Production Coordinator:
• Katherine Swiatek

Written By:
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Additional Writing:
• Kevin Burke
• Kelsi Lindus
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Editors:
• Margaret Metzger
• Anne Yao

Producer:
• Kevin Burke

Archival Producer:
• Megan Graham