Article about Feminist Organizing Across the Generations which appeared in the Chestnut Hill Local

See https://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/stories/local-professor-pens-history-of-feminist-political-organizing,22017

Longtime Mt. Airy resident Karen Bojar, professor emerita of English and Women's Studies at the Community College of Philadelphia, where she founded the women's studies/gender studies program, has been thinking for 20 years about the issues explored in her new book, “Feminist Organizing Across the Generations.” The book, which traces the evolution of the feminist movement over almost six decades, was just released on Nov. 25 by Routledge, a leading academic publisher based in Oxford, England.

“This actually goes back to when I co-edited 'Teaching Feminist Activism,' in 2002,” said Bojar, who served as president of Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for Women from 2001 to 2009 and in that capacity dealt directly with the challenges of feminist organizing. “Also, during this period, I began collecting archival material from the founding members of Philadelphia NOW. I published that material in 2013 in time for a panel, 'Documenting Our History,' at the 2013 National NOW Convention.

“I knew my study was far from complete and I intended to return to the material and write a more comprehensive account, which would include a major strand of feminist history often left untold -- the enormous energy put into building feminist service organizations such as battered women’s shelters and rape crisis centers which were founded on a shoestring by committed feminists.”

Bojar, who has contributed articles to the Local in recent years, earned a Ph.D. in English literature from Temple University and an M.S. in education from the University of Pennsylvania. “In neither program did I have an opportunity to take courses in women’s studies,” she said last week. “The total absence of any courses on women and feminism meant that, like other women who first developed women’s studies programs, I was self-taught. I read just about everything available about feminism... Now there is so much literature written on feminism and gender issues that it would be impossible for anyone to review all the literature in the field, as I attempted to do in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”

A former longtime committee person in the 9th Ward Democratic Committee’s 2nd Division, Bojar is also the author of “Green Shoots of Democracy within the Philadelphia Democratic Party.” When asked about her background and previous books, Bojar said she would rather “avoid personal questions … and questions about previous books and keep the focus on 'Feminist Organizing Across the Generations.'

“The personal experience that I do think is relevant is my political evolution. The short form: I was a socialist in the late '60 and '70s; in the '80s I lost hope in the possibility of fundamental change and became a Democratic committeeperson and a feminist activist. The feminist movement was changing women's lives all over the world, and I wanted to be part of a rising movement. I was not particularly enthusiastic about working within the Democratic Party, but I didn’t see any hope for socialism.

“Then Bernie (Sanders) came along, and I began to hope again that real change was possible. I believe that socialist feminism is the only hope of improving the lives of all women, but it has become clear that it will take a long time.”

One significant finding in Bojar's research was that women of color were organizing around feminist issues but did not receive media attention, which was largely focused on white, middle-class feminists. “Also,” she said, “many women of color were organizing to improve women’s lives but not under an explicitly feminist banner.

“Many were involved in civil rights organizations and the movement for Black political empowerment. Others were involved in grassroots neighborhood organizations. Susan Hartmann in 'The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment,' documents the work of African American feminists who found that the ACLU, the NCC [National Council of Churches] and the Ford Foundation were more convenient or congenial places to pursue feminist aspirations than mainstream feminist groups.”

Interestingly, Bojar said her new hardback book is very expensive but did not want to mention the exact price “as both Amazon and Routledge adjust price to attract sales… On the plus side, an academic publisher like Routledge can ensure the book will be available in libraries and provide access to a global readership. Although I cannot ask my friends and colleagues to buy an absurdly overpriced book, I have asked those who have access to university libraries to order the book.”

Feminist Organizing Across the Generations

My new book Feminist Organizing Across the Generations, which traces the evolution of the feminist movement over six decades, will be released by Routledge on November 25. Unfortunately, it will first be published in a crazily expensive hardback version. Although I cannot ask my friends and colleagues to buy an absurdly over-priced book, I would appreciate those who have access to university libraries to order the book.

Feminist Organizing Across the Generations is very much informed by my perspective as a feminist activist. In turn, my choices as an activist have been influenced by my study of social movements--primarily the feminist and civil rights movements, both fueled by strong social movement organizations. A key theme of this book, emerging from both my research and my activism, is the critical importance of strong social movement organizations for achieving lasting social change.

The major social movements of the second half of the 20th century, the civil rights movement and the second-wave feminist movement, were fueled by structured, federated organizations comprised of empowered members with voting rights. I began this study with the assumption that 21st-century feminists, unlike second-wave feminists, were not committed organization builders; I discovered that assumption was incorrect. Although some young feminists are involved primarily in online activism and a relatively small number are members of NOW, many are building on the ground, multi-issue progressive organizations and bringing a gender justice perspective to these groups. Instead of explicitly feminist organizations focused on women’s rights, many young women are drawn to broad-based human rights groups in which gender justice is integrated into a more inclusive progressive agenda. They are becoming engaged in electoral politics and are increasingly drawn to socialist politics rather than to the liberal reform agenda associated with feminist groups such as NOW.

As I delved more deeply into the history of the feminist movement, I was struck by how many second-wave feminists were extraordinarily skilled at organization building. Part I, describes a generation of women who had worked as volunteers, building community organizations, labor unions, and political parties who were re-directing their considerable talents toward building organizations combatting the discrimination they experienced as women. They were also creating organizations to provide services to victims of gender-based violence and feminist health centers for women ill served by male-dominated medical institutions. Within a relatively short period of time, second-wave feminists built an extraordinary range of organizations, which transformed the political, economic, and cultural landscape.

Although I have centered my history of second-wave feminism in Philadelphia, the same trajectory was taking place all over the United States: the political movement to end gender discrimination, closely followed by the creation of feminist service organizations. In most cities and towns, the local NOW chapter was the major driver of institutional change. In Part I, my analysis of Philadelphia NOW is placed in the context of its network of relationships with other organizations, both national and local. This is far from the complete story of the second-wave feminist movement in Philadelphia. In the 1970s, women of color were organizing to improve women’s lives, but generally not under an explicitly feminist banner. Many were involved in civil rights organizations and in the movement for Black political empowerment;others were involved in grassroots neighborhood organizations. Much of the work of community groups and of small Women’s Liberation collectives was not documented, or if documented, not deposited in archives accessible to me. My subject is feminist organizations, feminism with a paper trail and now an internet trail.

Part II focuses on a major strand of feminist history often left untold—-the enormous energy put into building feminist service organizations founded on a shoestring by committed feminists, organizations such as battered women’s shelters and rape crisis centers. It is impossible in one book to document the range of service organizations nationwide; even with a focus on one location, the range of service organizations is beyond the scope of this study. Instead, I focus on the two kinds of organization most prevalent across the country—those providing services to victims of male violence (e.g., rape crisis centers and shelters for battered women) and those providing women’s healthcare services.

Although the advocacy groups and the service organizations were both outgrowths of the same movement, histories of the feminist movement have generally treated them separately, with historians and journalists documenting and analyzing the movement to end gender discrimination, and sociologists and social service professionals studying feminist service organizations. The feminist service organizations have received the least attention; to date there are only a handful of book-length studies. To my knowledge, there are no book-length studies that, like Feminist Organizing Across the Generations, examine both the political movement and the service organizations as closely related outgrowths of the same movement.

Many of the women who built feminist service organizations were influenced by the rejection of hierarchy and commitment to participatory democracy that characterized much of the late 1960s and early 1970s feminist movement—particularly that strand generally referred to as the Women’s Liberation movement. Just as it is difficult to completely disentangle the liberal reform strand of second-wave feminism from what was considered the more radical Women’s Liberation movement, it is difficult to clearly separate the political movement against sex discrimination from the movement to build feminist service organizations. There were activists who pursued both paths, and the broad support for the feminist movement encompassed both.

The service organizations often started small, sometimes evolving out of Women’s Liberation collectives; however, as government and foundation grants became increasingly available, some of these shoestring operations morphed into strong organizations with stable funding, becoming the locus of feminist activism in many communities. As NOW chapters waned in significance in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in many localities the service providers such as rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, and feminist health centers became the feminist movement.

By the late 1970s the multi-issue feminist movement had begun to fragment into separate movements: the anti-rape movement; the domestic violence movement; the abortion rights movement; the women’s health movement. The service organizations were certainly implicated in this tendency as they generally focused on one issue, although it’s not clear to what extent the service organizations were a cause or a consequence of the fragmentation. Suffice it to say, by the beginning of the 1980s we find fewer references to a unitary feminist movement.

As the movement grew in the 1970s, both activist groups such as NOW and feminist service providers increasingly grappled with racial differences among women—a particularly urgent issue for the rape crisis and battered women’s movement. The racial blind spots of many feminist service organizations led to the formation of service organizations specifically focused on the needs of women of color-–for example, the National Black Women’s Health Project and its network of local affiliates.

Part III shifts from the achievements and blindspots of second-wave feminism, which can be viewed from the perspective of some distance, to the much greater challenge of documenting and analyzing 21st century feminism, a landscape which is changing as I write. This study focuses on two periods in which feminist activism was unfolding within the context of a social movement—-20th century second-wave feminism and the 21st-century upsurge in social activism, much of which is led by young feminists. Although feminist organizing continued after the heyday of second-wave feminism, references to the “women’s movement” gradually disappeared. What continued were references to more focused, issue-specific movements—e.g., the abortion rights movement, the equa pay movement, and the anti-violence movement.

It wasn’t until the 2017 Women’s March that references to a unitary women’s movement reappeared. In response to the election of Donald Trump, the 2017 Women’s March, which began as a Facebook post, coalesced almost overnight, both demonstrating the power of social media-driven campaigns to rapidly mobilize millions of people, and also demonstrating their limitations. When conflicts arise, there are no agreed-upon mechanisms for resolving tensions and for holding leadership accountable. Although a non-profit Women’s March Inc.emerged from the initial march, it was not a membership organization with members empowered to set the agenda, elect board members and officers, and develop procedures for holding leaders accountable.

Although many young women were drawn to the 2017 Women’s March, established feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women have struggled to attract young women and meet the challenges of supporting grassroots activism in a climate very different from that of the feminist heyday of the 1970s. However, some 21st century feminists are choosing to build and become leaders in not explicitly feminist organizations, such as local chapters of Black Lives Matter (BLM) or Sunrise. They are playing leadership roles (even when they deny they are leaders)in a range of locally based social justice organizations and are bringing a feminist perspective to these groups.

Prior to the election of Donald Trump, many of the newer progressive organizations such as Occupy were not involved in, and did not encourage their members to engage in, electoral politics. Resistance to Trump’s election has resulted in more young women becoming engaged in electoral politics and running for office and winning. Also, younger women interested in political activism are increasingly drawn to socialist politics rather than to the liberal reform politics generally associated with NOW. Socialist feminists were involved in the second-wave feminist movement of 1970s; however, their numbers were relatively few and the larger society was antagonistic to socialism. Socialist feminists in 2021 are finding a far more receptive audience. Unlike the socialist organizations of the 20th century who were often hostile to feminism, 21st century socialist organizations are led by young feminists and place a high priority on gender justice, viewing all issues through a gender, racial and economic justice lens.

It may be too soon to gauge the strength and potential of socialist feminism, but we do know that feminist organizing in the 21st century will be multi-issue, intersectional, and international, with 21st century feminists bringing a feminist perspective to an ever-widening range of social justice issues.

The Early Fall Garden

Japanese Anemone

We just got back from a trip to New England. We found our garden in that in-between stage; the summer flowers are mostly gone and the fall foliage fireworks have not yet begun.

The leaves are turning later than usual—as a result of the warmer night temperatures which are probably one more consequence of global warming.

Fortunately the Japanese anemone are in full flower—-the backbone of our fall garden along with the sedum

Sedum

My garden is mainly a shrubs and perennials garden but I always try to squeeze in some annuals. Some summer annuals are hanging in there and the marigolds and vinca usually make it until the first frost.

Marigolds

Vinca

And the caladium are still lighting up shady spots.

Caladium

We had hoped to catch the peak of fall foliage in New England but it was late this year. However our trip was mainly a friends and family tour rather than a fall foliage tour. We enjoyed reconnecting with friends and relatives, although unfortunately some of them are dealing with serious health issues.

For me, the garden is a consolation. Unlike us, the flowers return year after year, generally on schedule. But will we be able to continue to count on this? The poet Wallace Stevens confidently asked “What has endured as April’s green endures?” But with global warming we can no longer be confident that the seasons will unfold and Fall flowers and foliage will arrive on schedule as they have throughout our lives. I try not to dwell too much on this.

The last of the lilies

Casa Blanca

Fragrance is one of the main reasons I devote so much time and energy to gardening. You can’t buy it; you have to grow it. The florists shops are filled with flowers bred for durability and showy blooms. Fragrance tends to diminish or in many cases disappear altogether.

The queen of the fragrant lilies is Casa Blanca which appears in mid-July and disappears in early August. I've heard some people describe its fragrance as cloying, sugary, like cotton candy. To me, it's a heavenly scent--more like vanilla laced with a whiff of musk.

Then the species lilies with their elongated stamens. They are fragrant but you have to be up close-- unlike Casa Blanca, one of which can perfume a large garden. The first to bloom is the statuesque Black Beauty which can reach over 6 feet tall.

Then the delicate white species lilies:

And finally speciosum rubrum, the last of which is blooming in my garden in late August.

Defending democracy in PA begins with the Judiciary

This article appeared in this week's Chestnut Hill Local

Over the 4th of July weekend, I had quite a few discussions with friends and relatives about the state of our democracy. This 4th of July was the first time I seriously considered the possibility that our democratic institutions were in jeopardy. For the first few years of the Trump administration, I thought our institutions were strong enough to withstand Trump’s blatant assault, but by 2020 I began to seriously worry if the guardrails would hold. They did, barely.

Trump may no longer be president, but the threat to our democracy continues. The latest Trump-inspired attempts to undermine the electoral process target election workers with threats of stiff fines and prosecutions. Recruiting poll workers will become increasingly difficult if they face threats not only of bodily harm from right-wing zealots but also of criminal prosecution.

Republican-controlled state legislatures are racing to pass measures making it harder for citizens to vote. In March 2021, the Georgia state legislature passed strict constraints on the use of ballot drop boxes, barred election officials from sending out absentee ballot applications, reduced the time frame to apply for absentee ballots, and imposed identification requirements for voting by mail. Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to sue Georgia, stating: “The rights of all eligible citizens to vote are the central pillars of our democracy. They are the rights from which all other rights ultimately flow.”

Many of these voting rights disputes will be settled in our courts. Unfortunately, Trump’s legacy lives on in his judicial appointments. As the Guardian put it: “Donald Trump’s presidency was capricious and chaotic, but there was one issue on which he focused with laser-like discipline: tilting the judiciary to the right.” According to ballotpedia.org, Trump appointed 234 judges, including 54 appellate judges, more than Barack Obama’s first term total of 172 and George W Bush’s 204.

In the November general election, Pennsylvania voters have the opportunity to push back against Trump’s campaign to change the composition of judiciary as we elect one PA Supreme Court justice, one judge of the Superior Court, and two judges of Commonwealth Court.

Before the Republican party became the party of Trump, Republicans committed to democracy were elected in judicial races. Some of these judges, whose primary allegiance was to the Constitution rather than to partisan politics, dismissed Trump supporters’ lawsuits to overturn a fair, democratic election. Increasingly, however, Republican judicial nominees will be chosen by a Trump-controlled Republican party.

The statewide judges elected in November will in all likelihood become involved in the congressional redistricting process. In 2018, the Democratic majority on the PA Supreme Court threw out the state’s 2011 map of redrawn congressional districts contending it was it was gerrymandered to favor Republicans, who, despite losing the popular vote in the 2010 congressional elections held 13 out of 18 seats. The Court drew a new map, which was used in the 2018 elections resulting in a 9-9 division.

New maps will be drawn after the release of census data for the Congressional, state House, and state Senate districts in mid-August 2021. It is widely expected that the state courts will again play a role in the redistricting process and thus it is critically important that voters pay attention to statewide judicial races.

In Philadelphia’s general elections, statewide judicial races with no contested local races on the ballot have historically had very low turnout. In our one-party town, contested local races are decided in the Democratic primary, and many voters have relatively little interest in the outcome of statewide judicial races.

The 2013 race for Judge of the PA Superior Court was a close contest decided by a few percentage points, with only 11.3 % of voters participating in the decision. The media coverage of the race for Superior Court was almost non-existent, and in many neighborhoods around the city it appeared that committeepersons were making little effort to inform voters and get out the vote.

Fortunately party leaders and political activists made a serious effort to educate the voters in the 2015 Supreme Court race, and turnout in Philadelphia rose to 25.62%—still dismal, given the importance of the race, but a significant improvement over the 11.3% turnout in 2013. Turnout in off-year elections has not returned to the rock bottom levels of 2013, and has been slowly inching upward. Nonetheless, turnout for the 2021 May primary was only 21.29% -- certainly nothing to celebrate.

The judiciary is the first line of defense for our democracy. To begin to undo the damage caused by Trump’s assault on our democratic institutions, in November, we must elect judges who are committed to upholding free and fair elections. Our democracy is at stake.

June is the best month for flowers

First come the self-seeding foxgloves pooping up all over my garden in early June.

Then the roses which usually peak in mid June. I haven’t had a great deal of success with roses. After losing many, many rose bushes, I finally settled on David Austin roses as the most reliable, combining something of the fragrance and disease resistance of old-fashioned roses with the repeat blooming of hybrid teas. For me the most reliable and most beautiful of all is Don Juan:

Like roses, Clemstis with their thin brittle stems area challenge to grow. I've lost a lot of clems over the years , but I will never give up on these beauties. One of the most reliable and long lasting is Niobe.

Then in late June the Queen of the garden: the regal lilies with their powerful fragrance:

The Asiatic lilies also bloom in late June. Their large glossy flowers make up for their lack of fragrance:

And the most fragrant lilies are yet to come--the orientals of mid July

Allium and Iris --the stars of my late May and early June garden

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Late May and early June is allium and iris time. Bearded iris have always been at the top of my list. The fragrance is intoxicating and compensates for their heart-breakingly brief season of bloom and unfortunate vulnerability to Botrytis Rhizome rot. This year I finally gave my Iris what they crave—full sun and good air circulation thanks to well-spaced planting. One of my great sins as a gardener is a tendency to cram too many plants into my garden beds. I’m finally breaking that bad habit.

Last year allium rose to the top of my list of most loved plants. When I returned home from a week in hell at Chestnut Hill hospital for major surgery, my garden never looked so beautiful. I was so happy to be home in my garden with Rick. It was allium time and I think I’ll always associate allium with that magical day.