Document 27.1 Combahee River Collective, A Black Feminist Statement, 1977

Combahee River Collective | <em>A Black Feminist Statement</em>, 1977

The Combahee River Collective was founded in 1974 as an expression of black feminism rooted in socialism. The group, operated mainly in the Boston area, contended that sexism had many sources: capitalism, racism, patriarchy, and enforced heterosexuality. Although many of the group’s members were lesbians, they rejected lesbian separatism called for by some white lesbians. They proclaimed racial solidarity with African American men, but, as this statement shows, they recognized the difficulties of allying with black men against sexism.

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Source: Zillah R. Eisenstein, ed., Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism (New York: Monthly Press, 1978), 367–69, 371–72.

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