Jasmine Wade CENG 106WS-02 Professor Peterson April 15, 2011

 Not many women activists are not mentioned in textbooks.  Black women always participated in this struggle but were relegated to the back seat.  I wanted to prove that women contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.

 In what ways did African American women activist shape the Civil Rights Movement?

 Fighting degrading stereotypes of sexism, African American women activists shaped the Civil Rights Movement by joining marches, organizing and participating in mass demonstrations, as well as delivering prominent speeches.

 Women planned many organized efforts to overcome discrimination based on race and gender throughout the nineteenth century.  Women being involved in the Civil Rights movement brought forth a more social and cultural change and had an impact of families, women in society, and the factor of gender. (Encylopedia)  Although defeating the sexism controversy was a large factor during the movement, one of their main goals was integration.

 “Although embedded within a structural context of three interlocking systems of oppression-- racism, sexism, and classism-- modern Black women activists in communities performed roles that would eventually merit them to be considered “leaders” and “heroes”. (JSTOR)  “African American women operated as “bridge leaders”, who – through frame bridging, amplification, extension, and transformation...” (American Journal of Sociology)

 Women as well as others risked their lives and worked tirelessly, demanding for a social revolution.  But it turns that history has often overlooked them.  Only highlighting important aspects of works done by woman that are significant.

 Firstly, I learned of more woman involved in the movement.  Speeches and rebellious actions were not the only way women attempted to get their voice heard, they also formed various organizations.  They were just as strong and brave as the men.

 I wanted to broaden my knowledge on women roles during the Civil Rights Movement.  I wanted to learn more about women who participated in the movement.  Being a young black woman, I wanted to prove that women too, have a role in society.

 Barnett, Bernice McNair, “Invisible Southern Black Women Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement: The Triple Constraints of Gender, Race, and Class,’’ Gender and Society Vol. 7 NO.2 (1993) , accessed April 12, 2011,  Evans, Sara M. Born for liberty: a history of women in America. New York: The Free Press,  Robnett, Belinda,“African-American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, : Gender, Leadership, and Micromobilization,” The American Journal of Sociology Vol. 101 (1996) 1664, accessed April 12, 2011,  Black women in America: a historical encyclopedia; Darlene Clark Hine, editor. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing, In

 Questions, comments etc?