Episode 2: Collective Re-rooted
View a transcript (PDF)
Episode Notes
What is a collective and how is that type of group important to Black feminist organizing? In this episode, Crystal and Krystal discuss the meaning of the term “collective” and hear from Black feminist luminary Barbara Smith about the history she and others made with formation of the landmark Combahee River Collective. Guests Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Feminista Jones, Dr. Brittney Cooper, Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and Dr. Courtney Marshall help us understand the power of collectivity and the legacy of Combahee.
Photo (above): Combahee River Collective, 1974. Left to right bottom: Demita Frazier and Helen Stewart. Left to right top: Margo Okazawa-Rey, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Chirlane McCray, and Mercedes Tompkins. Courtesy of Margo Okazawa-Rey.
Production Credit
The podcast is produced in partnership with Smithsonian Enterprises Digital. Our production team is Jenna Hanchard, Taylor Polydore, Ann Conanan, and Alana Gomez. Special thanks to Fath Davis Ruffins, Dr. Modupe Labode, and Dr. Tony Perry.
Resources
Combahee River Collective
- BlackPast, The Combahee River Collective Statement (1977) BlackPast.org. November 16, 2012. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/combahee-river-collective-statement-1977.
- Jones, Marian. “If Black Women Were Free,” The Nation, October 29, 2021. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/combahee-river-collective-oral-history.
- Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2017.
- “The Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Project,” Ms. Magazine. https://msmagazine.com/tubman200
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- The Library of Congress online exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the NAACP’s founding. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/naacp/overview.html.
- “NAACP,” online exhibition, Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education, National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/naacp.html.
Black Panthers
- “The Black Panther Party,” National Museum of African American History and Culture, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change.
- Easley-Cox, Barbara. “The Black Panther Party,” National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/black-panthers#bpintro.
- PBS website for Stanley Nelson, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2016).
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
- SNCC Digital Gateway, SNCC Legacy Project and Duke University, https://snccdigital.org.
Collected is funded by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Museum of American History.
