Finding Affinity within the Movement

“There can be no peace until there is first justice and power.” -Shafeah M’Balia, Conference of Black Organizers member and staff organizer, American Friends Service Committee

Bringing people together in coalition and building solidarity across difference anchored WRL Southeast’s commitment to southern movement building. But social movement spaces could be alienating. Peace movement organizations like War Resisters League were often white-dominated and feminist movement spaces often felt exclusionary of lesbian-identified people.

Black and lesbian feminist peace activists found respite through building community with people who shared their experiences. They built separate spaces of affinity to escape discrimination and process the issues affecting their lives. Some affinity spaces became powerful movement organizations themselves.

Members of the Conference of Black Organizers (CBO) like WRL Southeast’s Mandy Carter were inspired by the work of the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice (SOC), founded by civil rights organizers Anne Braden and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. The SOC supported peace and justice movements led by communities of color, such as the North Carolina Organizing Project on Military Spending and Human Needs. Two North Carolina-based SOC leaders pictured here, Pat Bryant and Carrie Graves, were also active with the CBO.

Blue flier with iconic image of "Uncle Sam" pointing in the background. The sponsoring organizations listed at the bottom of the flyer include: "Charlotte SCLC, Clergy & Laity Concerned, Women in the Workforce (High Point, NC), American Friends Service Committee, Southern Organizing Committee for Economic Justice, Ga. Citizens Coalition on Hunger, Black Workers for Justice (NC), Makini McClain, Walter Collins-U.U.S.C., War Resisters League/SE"

A Conference of Black Organizers flier announcing a southern regional conference. WRL Southeast staff organizer Mandy Carter was co-founder of the CBO, which connected peace and justice issues and supported Black-led organizing against war and state violence.

Peach flier with a hand-drawn cartoon image of two women dancing closely together and the name of the artist, Jean Vallon. The flier headline text reads, "A Women's Dance after the march." The address in Mt. Pleasant, D.C. is followed by a hand-drawn map to a house marked with the women's symbol. The remaining text reads, "$2 benefits Seneca Peace Camp, cash bar"

Many women leaders in the peace and justice movement of the 1980s identified as lesbian feminists, although some were only out among their friends and community. Women’s dances were places of refuge outside of the straight world. This flier advertised a dance after the 1983 March on Washington anniversary. Proceeds went to Seneca Peace Camp, one of many women-run encampments for disarmament outside of nuclear arsenals.

Pink flier accented by two triangles, reading "Post-Pride '86 Dance & Party" and "out today, out to stay," and providing details on the address of the dance at the Durham YWCA. Lists the names of four DJs: Liz Snow, J.P., Mandy Carter, and Marilyn. The bottom of the flier reads, "Everyone welcome!"

A flier for a lesbian dance party after the second Triangle Lesbian and Gay Pride march in 1986. WRL Southeast staff organizer Mandy Carter was one of the DJs.

Because it was not safe for many lesbians to be "out," lesbian feminist networks learned about social events, activist meetings, and nightlife through word-of-mouth and members-only mailings like this one. The Newsletter ran for years in the North Carolina Triangle area. WRL Southeast-affiliated lesbian feminists advertised in The Newsletter for WRL events, such as the one listed here on May twenty-fourth.