Institute of Advanced Studies

From the Civil Rights Movement to the Present: The role of African-American women in black political organisations

by Dr Belinda Robnett, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine

In this lecture Dr Robnett will provide a social historical analysis of African-American women’s activism from the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement to the present, focusing on their leadership in  national black political organisations.

She will discuss the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, which engaged in massive direct action during the peak of the civil rights movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which has launched numerous successful legal challenges to racial segregation and other discriminatory practices. These organisations have served as a symbol of, and primary voice for black representation, equality, and justice, as well as significant agents of political and legal reform. 

First, Dr Robnett will discuss the critical role of black women to the success of the civil rights movement highlighting the ways in which their leadership bridged the masses to the movement. Though often lacking formal leadership titles, the activities of these women “bridge leaders” provided the stepping stones necessary for potential movement constituents and adherents to cross formidable barriers between their personal lives and the political life of civil rights movement organisations. 

Second, she will provide an analysis of African-American women’s leadership in the post-civil rights era, comparing black women’s past leadership to that of their present leadership role in black political organisations. Given the late 1960s to 1970s feminist movement in the U.S., how has the nature of black women’s informal but critical leadership changed?

Third, class and gender representation within black leadership will be addressed with a focus on the extent to which the issues facing African-American women and the poor have been incorporated into the goals and agendas of contemporary black political organisations. 

At the end of the lecture, Dr Robnett will provide insights into the future role of African-American women as forces of black political influence, and as essential agents of change.