DOC Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement the New Left by Sara Evans in History

Review

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Connecting 1st 2nd Wave Feminism: The Issue of RaceBy E. W. FrancesI read this book as an assignment for an upper-division U.S. Women's History (from 1880-1980) course. Evans' narrative style is informative; personal; and engaging. Overall; the book is an easy-read.The thesis of Evans' book focuses on the way young white and black womens' work through SNCC (and other organizations)gave rise to the 2nd Wave Feminist movement of the 1960s. Ultimately; Evans is drawing on the parrallel between the Abolition movement and Suffrage movement to the early Civil Rights action and Women's Liberation movement.A century since it began; contemporary feminists (and others) seek to rectify the inherent racism of the earlier feminist movements. Evans' book; based on her personal experiences; discusses problems with racial tension in SNCC and its manifestation in the Women's Liberation movement. She especially explores how patriarchal social structures; fierce racial tension; and socio-economic differences pushed issues of racism within both the organized Civil Rights and Women's movements; more specifically; she describes the effects these factors had on women's accessibility to initiate change; women's self-perception; and women's relationships (cross and inter-cultural). Yet; she also speaks to the importance of the different female relationships formed during the early days of SNCC; cross-cultural relationships which blossomed outside of the deep South and led to stronger Civil Rights and Women's movements in other parts of the country.If one is unfamiliar with the many figures in the early SNCC and SCLC organizations; it would be helpful to have outside references so to identify the many figures Evans notes. Outside of this; the book is a great introduction to the social issues of the 1960s and the many structures of oppression feeding racism and sexism both then and today.4 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Personal Politics Gets PersonalBy PatriceI chose this book to read for my book report in history class. I had never read any of Sara Evans' other works; but it seemed interesting from reading the jacket. Once I started reading; it pulled me in. I think that because Sara used so many personal stories it really drew me in. I would not consider myself a feminist; but after reading this book; it opened my eyes to a lot of things I was unaware of. So; I definitely recommend this book to everyone.6 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Hopefully HelpfulBy RichardThe title indicates that this book is about womens civil rights. This is what I considered part of the thesis of the book as well. However; as I read this book it seemed to me that very little of the book concentrated on the struggles women made during the Civil Right Movement of the 1960's. The book focused mostly on the race issue of the movement only sporadically mentioning the struggles women faced. I feel that she could have asserted her personal experiences in a more profound manner by keeping foucus on her thesis "The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement the New Left". This book is a valuable read from the historic perspective; but I do not consider it to be an easy read fucused on its main subject matter. In other words; if you don't have to read it or the Civil Rights Movement as a whole is not in your main interest; perhaps you should look for another book.