Third World Women's Alliance Records, 1971-1980 (bulk 1971-1977)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. 2013-02-13
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Third World Women's Alliance Records
Creation of Third World Women's Alliance Records
Time of Creation of Third World Women's Alliance Records
Third World Women's Alliance
Biographical History for: Third World Women's Alliance Records
Historical Note The Third World Women's Alliance (TWWA) operated from 1968-1980. It originated in New York as the Black Women's Liberation Committee (BWLC), which was a caucus of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and was created to address the issue of male chauvinism within the movement against racism. From there the BWLC evolved into the Black Woman's Alliance (BWA), independent from SNCC but maintaining close political ties with it. In 1970 the group's common work and dialogue with Puerto Rican women transformed the BWA into the TWWA. Frances M. Beal was a founding member of the BWLC, and stayed with the organization through its various incarnations until 1978. TWWA became bi-coastal in 1971 with the formation of TWAA-Bay Area. The TWWA was one of several organizations formed by women of color in the late 1960s and early 1970s as responses to the essentialist theories of the early feminist movement. These organizations paved the way for Chicana feminism, Womanism, and Black feminism, among other theoretical approaches to feminism. TWWA broadened the scope of women's activism to address issues such as sterilization abuse, infant mortality, welfare rights, and low-wage work. Through its political activities, TWWA helped to create spaces in racial justice organizations for women's voices, issues and leadership. Although primarily an activist organization, concepts developed by TWWA's members in the course of political organization contributed much to feminist theory. TWWA's ideas of "double jeopardy" and "triple jeopardy" which were elaborated on by scholars as "simultaneity of oppression" and "both/and," advanced the understanding of the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in the women's movement. It also contributed to the experience of building "third world" and "black/brown" unity in opposing racism and sexism. The orientation of TWWA towards the "third world" brought the struggles, condition, and status of women in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to the forefront. TWWA built relations with women's organizations in other countries, pioneering a form of feminism that focuses on the affect of U.S. foreign and military policy on women's lives worldwide, promoting the idea that U.S. women of color had a role to play in the "global sisterhood." The TWWA-New York folded in 1977. In the same year the TWWA-Bay Area transformed itself into a mass activist organization, and began forming committees for external work. Committees formed during that period include the National Committee to Overturn the Bakke Decision, the Southern Africa Organizing Committee, the Josina Machel Committee and the Coalition to Fight Infant Mortality. By 1979 the TWWA re-organized to become the Alliance Against Women's Oppression (AAWO). The AAWO existed from 1980 -1989, and then took new form again as the Women of Color Resource Center.
Cheryl Johnson, Vicki Alexander, Barbara Morita, and Melanie Tervalon donated records to the Women of Color Resource Center Collection/Archives which were then donated to the Sophia Smith Collection in 2012 by the Third World Women's Alliance Alumni Association Archives Committee.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Third World Women's Alliance Records consist of 4.25 linear ft. and are primarily related to the West Coast and Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area Chapters of the organization. Types of materials include regional reports, committee and meeting minutes, political activities and events, and organization files. The bulk of the records date from 1971 to 1977 and focus on regional reports and meetings, as well as events sponsored and organized by the TWWA, such as International Women's Day. Major topics found throughout these records are reproductive rights, infant mortality, political education, affirmative action, labor unions, international human rights, and women's liberation.
The Records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to the records of the organization. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Individual authors in TWWA publications retain copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College as holders of the physical property.
Additional records are housed at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House - National Archives for Black Women's History, Amistad Research Center, and Duke University. Related materials in the SSC include Voices of Feminism interviews with Frances Beal and Linda Burnham, and the Alliance Against the Oppression of Women Records.
The collection was first processed by Sharon DeLaPeña Davenport in 2004 for the Women of Color Resource Center Archives. The finding aid was reviewed by the Archives Committee of the Third World Women's Alliance Alumni in 2012. It was revised for the SSC by Nichole Calero in 2012., December 2012
African Americans -- History -- United States -- 20th century -- Sources
lcsh
African American women -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Asian American women -- History -- United States -- 20th century -- Sources
Economic development -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Infants -- Mortality -- History
Hispanic American women -- History -- United States -- 20th century -- Sources
International economic relations
International Women's Day -- History
Minority women -- United States -- Services for
Reproductive health -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Sterilization (birth control) -- History -- Sources
Racism -- United States
Welfare rights movement -- United States -- History -- Sources
Women -- Economic conditions -- 20th century
Women -- International cooperation
Women -- Health and hygiene -- Developing countries
Women -- Health and hygiene -- United States -- 20th century
Women -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Women -- Social conditions -- 20th century
Women's health services -- United States -- 20th century
Women's rights -- Developing countries
Working class women -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Beal, Frances, 1940-
lcnaf
Louie, Miriam
Burnham, Linda
Alliance Against the Oppression of Women
Women of Color Resource Center
Black Women's Liberation Committee
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
United States -- Race relations -- 20th century
series
SERIES I. ADMINISTRATION (1971-1980)
consists of the organization's reports between the TWWA-NY and TWWA-Bay Area offices, meeting agendas, meeting notes, histories, and committee reports. The sub-series, Reports, documents many organizational issues such as recruitment, principles, policies, and procedures of the TWWA. In addition, this series contains documents relating to specific mass mobilization political committees and coalitions. In particular, the International Women's Day Committee and the Coalition Against Infant Mortality are rich sources of the TWWA's efforts to combat institutional gendered racism and raise awareness of political issues relating to women of color. This series also contains several histories of the organization beginning in 1971 and ending in 1980. This series is arranged alphabetically. In some cases, manuscripts are accompanied by fliers, posters, or other printed materials.
SERIES II. PUBLICATIONS (1971-80)
consists of the organization's newsletter, newspaper and other publications of the TWWA. The newsletter and newspaper are good sources of news articles and position papers written by TWWA members and coalition partners.
SERIES III. AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS (1971-80)
consists of documents relating to organizations associated with the TWWA as coalition partners in various political actions or for specific work projects. The Agbayani Work Brigade and the July Fourth Coalition demonstrate the range of alliances the TWWA formed with other revolutionary political activists for human rights and social services.
SERIES IV. SUBJECT FILES
consists of printed materials relating to local, national and international political issues primarily relating to women.
SERIES V. PHOTOGRAPHS
consists of some undated group photographs.
SERIES VI. OVERSIZE MATERIALS
consists of posters relating to mass meetings, rallies and events sponsored by, or associated with, the TWWA.
SERIES I. ADMINISTRATION
Committees
Ad Hoc 1974-75
Coordinating
Agendas 1976
Evaluations 1975
Guidelines for rotation 1976
Leadership 1975-76
One-year plan 1977
Permanent work areas 1976
Reaching organizational decisionsn.d.
Towards defining our political direction 1976
Cultural 1977
Family Development 1972-76
Health
Coalition to Fight Infant Mortality
Brochures 1978-80
I-Team 1980, n.d.
Newspaper clippings 1978-79, n.d.
Press releases 1979-80
Propaganda Committee 1979
Statistics 1977-79
Support letters 1979-80
Letters from the CFIM May-Nov 1979
Third party correspondence 1978-1979
Yearbook 1979
Internal Education
Asian women's historyn.d.
Black women's history 1978
Chicana history 1978
Combat liberalism 1976
Democratic centralism 1971
Dialectical materialismn.d.
Evaluation of the internal education committee 1976
Historical materialismn.d.
On contradictionn.d.
Program proposal 1976
Six-month plann.d.
Women's movement, n.d
Woman question 1977
International Women's Day
Committee evaluations 1974-76
Cultural evening 1975
Endorsements 1975-77, n.d.
International Women's Day 1974-80
Meeting announcements 1974-75
Potluck speech 1975
Task sign-up sheets 1973-76
Reconstitution 1975
General correspondence 1971-75
Evaluations 1975-77
--Financial materials
Fund raising 1972-79
Vanguard grant 1979
Women's building rental agreement 1980
Histories 1971-1980, n.d.
--Meetings
Consciousness-raising sessions 1972
General Alliance Committee 1973
Mobilizing meetings 1973-75
Membership Committeen.d.
Noon Series 1976
Policies, core group 1972
Principles 1973-1975
Rallies and demonstrations guidelinesn.d.
--Reports
Bay area chapter 1973-75
Bay Area chapter 1973-75
New York Chapter 1971-74
Seattle Chapter 1972
West Coast Chapter 1971
Resignations 1972
Security forms 1973
Six-month plan 1976
Subcommittee reports 1975
--Miscellaneous
Ann Arbor incident 1974
FBI File of TWWA 1971-74
Movement songsn.d.
Plexus, MisidentificationAug 1976,
Poems
"Third World Women," Ellice Parker Price 1976
"Let America be America Again," Langston Hughes
Sisters in the news27 Jul 1976
SERIES II. PUBLICATIONS
Newsletter
Vol. 1 No. 1 (3 copies)June 1976
Vol. 1 No. 2 (3 copies)July 1976
Vol. 1 No. 3 (3 copies)August 1976
Vol. 2 No. 3 September 1977
Black Woman's Manifesto (photocopy, Duke University)n.d.
SERIES III. AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
"Third World Women's Alliance: smash! capitalism, racism and sexism,"
"Women in the work force"
African Liberation Support Committee 1972
Agbayani Work Brigade, United Farm Workers (UFW) 1973-74, n.d.
Angela Davis Defense Committee 1972
Bay Area Farah Strike Committee 1973
California Coalition on Medical Rightsn.d.
Concilio de Mujeres: La Razón Mestiza 1974-75
Inez Garcia Defense Committee 1974
--July Fourth Coalition
Correspondence 1976
Evaluation 1976
Pamphlets and posters 1976, poster in Oversize, Box 9
Preliminary recommendation 1976
Regional structure 1976
Working papers 1976
--Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP) [Union of Democratic Filipinos]
ang aktibista [newsletter] 1975-76
First National Congress 1973
Miscellaneous 1974-75
Lolita Lebrón Committee 1974
National Committee to Overturn the Bakke Decision 1976-77
Native American Project 1976
Third World Socialist Feminist Organization 1975
Union of Vietnamese in the U.S. 1973
Venceremos Brigade 1976
Afro-American womenn.d.
Chicanas n.d.
Cuban Family Code 1976
International Women's Year Committee 1975
Legal rights informationn.d.
Racismn.d.
Reproductive rights, n.d
Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership, Mao Tse-Tung 1967
Women of the Whole World 1970-75
Women in Asia n.d.
Women in African.d.
Women in Latin American.d.
Group, no identification n.d.
Copy of finding aid and additional research materials
Triple Jeopardy (Volume I-IV) November 1971-Feb 1975
July 4th Coalition poster, "Unidad de Lucha"