The strategy of conversation-based research acted as a bridge in many ways. It provided as a platform for the everyday concerns of the community to be voiced as activism. This conversation began to break stereotypes between races and even within their own community. The conversation acted as a mechanism for oppressed groups to overcome internalized racism and sexism. Furthermore conversation acted as a tool for institution building through alliances.
Roberta M. Feldman, Susan Stall, and Patricia A. Wright (1998) discuss the success of a different type of alliance in an African American community. The residents of the Wentworth Gardens public housing community built a network of alliances. Women of the community began to organize to pursue community needs. Through this the community began to band together, building upon their own achievements. Feldman, Stall and Wright illustrate this in stating “Through these activities, women residents not only provided essential services, but also created a sense of social solidarity fundamental to the creation of community.” (1998; 260)
The initial community solidarity was the strength of the community when faced with construction of the White Sox Baseball Stadium. Due to the communities past activist efforts, the community had knowledge to aid them in their actions against the stadium construction. I think that the solidarity of the Wentworth Gardens community kept them from being truly devastated by the construction of the stadium. Because, the community was so strong, they bounced back quickly.
Wentworth garden residents formed cross-class alliances with groups from surrounded communities. One group in particular, the South Armour Square Neighborhood Coalition (SASNC), worked closely with the Wentworth Garden Community. These alliances later helped the Wentworth Garden community when rebuilding community resources.
They did this by networking and utilizing the alliances they had made to restore resources that they had lost. Feldman, Stall and Wright exemplify this in stating “In fact, other than the modest $8,000 planning grant from the city of Chicago in 1994, all technical assistance on the project thus far, including legal, architectural, economic development, community organizing, and funding application preparation and funds have been donated. SASNC has secured these serviced through their prior relationship with a community organizer…The technical assistants…readily agreed to work with SASNC, in part because of personal commitments gained through long-term involvements, and also because they had been impressed by the Wentworth Gardens activists’ comradery, creativity, and tenacity in achieving their goals despite enormous economic and political obstacles.” (1998; 270)
Now I want to shift top a different type of activism, labor activism. Pierrette Hondagnue-Sotelo (1994) discusses labor issues of Latina immigrant women. Hondagneu-Sotelo took an interesting approach to addressing the problems among paid domestic work among Latinas. The use of fotonovelas, being a cultural form of entertainment, was an ingenious outlet to educate Latinas about situations commonly encountered in domestic work. Further more, the fotonovelas gave Latinas a model of a positive work environment, and work relationships. I think it is important to recognize that these fotonovelas were being produced mainly by other Latina immigrant women who had faced poor working conditions.
The fotonovelas worked in a similar manner to the conversation-bases research used by Stern. In one aspect it gave a disadvantaged group of people a more positive comparison. By creating this notion of something better, members of the disadvantaged groups were driven to take an active role in pursuing change. This type of dialogue creates an opportunity to break stereotypes on many different levels.
Appalachian women used their traditional gender roles, ironically, to break stereotypes. Living in a disadvantaged community, the women chose to work within the limits of their roles as domestics. I think this strategy was integral to keeping the peace between the men and women of the Appalachian community.
Working-class Appalachian women’s activism was multi layered. Their activism was organized into a labor support group called the Family Auxiliary (or Daughters of Mother Jones). Appalachian women faced cultural stereotyping, believed to be inferior and so they were treated as inferior. They were not only acting against the inequities of their work environment, but they were taking the opportunity to display their power as a collective.
I found it very interesting how the women used their domestic skills as a form of creative protest. Virginia Rinaldo Seitz states “They created a distinctive style of dress and home furnishings with a political message, as popular women’s crafts became a vehicle for spreading support for the strike. For local people and for thousands of weekly visitors to the union Camp Solidarity, women sewed and decorated household items, like wedding albums covered in camouflage fabric and trimmed in lace, and sold them a t rallies and benefits. ” (1998; 226)
I think that it was very important for these women to hold on to their domestic role during the strike. Although women also worked outside of the domestic role as activists, the women participated in the activism without threatening the roles of the men. It was important for the Appalachian community to still preserve the family structure due to the economic strain. If women had been more aggressive, they probably would have had more friction with the men and the movement would have disbanded.
In each of these cases women found their role, whether it is in the forefront or in the domestic sphere. Another important factor in the activism of these groups of women is the formation of cross class, race and gender alliances. These types of activism show that community support makes a stronger fight.
References:
Feldman, Roberta M, Susan Stall and Patricia A. Wright. “The Community needs to be Built by Us” Naples, Nancy A. Community Activism and Feminist Politics. 1998; Routledge
Hondagneu-sotelo, Pierrette. “Latina Immigrant Women and Paid Domestic Work: Upgrading the Occupation.” Clinical sociology Review, Vol. 12, 1994, pp. 257-270
Reprinted 1998, Naples, Nancy A. Community Activism and Feminist Politics.
Seitz, Virginia Renaldo. “Class, Gender and Resistance in Appalachian Coal Fields”
Naples, Nancy A. Community Activism and Feminist Politics. 1998; Routledge
Stern, Susan Parkison. “Conversation, Research, and Struggles over Schooling in an African American Community” Naples, Nancy A. Community Activism and Feminist Politics. 1998; Routledge
