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Collection Overview |
| Title: |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action
(Cambridge, Mass.) records |
| Dates: |
1980-1986 |
| Location: |
64/3, FF6/D9 |
| Call Number: |
M143 |
| Volume: |
0.3 cubic feet |
| Scope and Content Abstract: |
The collection includes flyers, posters and brochures documenting Women's
Pentagon Action events both local and national. The Update newsletter charts
Boston branch's activity in its coverage of events and outlines the organization's
philosophy in articles and opinion pieces. A file on the 1983 Seneca Falls
anti-military encampment underscores the affiliation of the Boston Women's
Pentagon Action with the direct-action encampment sponsored by other anti-war
organizations. Financial documentation of the Boston Women's Pentagon Action
includes information concerning the group's assets and expenses. Personal
and professional letters reveal the relationship between the Boston Women's
Pentagon Action and the anti-war and feminist community. |
| Historical Abstract: |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action was a local chapter of the Woman's Pentagon
Action, a decentralized, national feminist organization focused on anti-military,
environmental, and social activism. The Women's Pentagon Action was born
out of a 1980 meeting of activist women in the Northeastern United States.
Concerned with the threat of nuclear proliferation, the Women's Pentagon
Action was formed to organize and lead protests advocating human rights
and non-violence. In November of 1980, the first Women's Pentagon Action
march was held at the Pentagon and included experimental use of protest
actions such as theatre, puppetry, and weaving demonstration. A similar
march was held at the Pentagon in 1981. The structure of the Women's Pentagon
Action allowed for autonomous regional chapters, which organized joint projects
with local organizations. In addition to participating in national rallies,
the Boston Women's Pentagon Action, part of the Women's Educational Center
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, partnered with local organizations to host
protests, discussions, artistic events, and civil disobedience training
sessions. In support of the 1983 anti-military Seneca Peace Encampment in
New York, the Boston Women's Pentagon Action mobilized local activists to
participate in the summer-long protest camp. In 1984, the Boston chapter
took part in the national Women's Pentagon Action "Not in Our Name" protest
on Wall Street. The rally was organized in an effort to expand the focus
of the Women's Pentagon Action by targeting economic inequality. In 1986,
the Boston Women's Pentagon Action disbanded and its assets were transferred
to the Boston Women's Fund. |
| Arrangement: |
Arranged in one alphabetical sequence. |
| Subjects and Contributors: |
- Boston Women's Pentagon Action
- Women's Educational Center (Cambridge, Mass.)
- Feminism – Massachusetts – Cambridge
- Women's rights – Massachusetts – Boston
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| Restrictions: |
This collection is unrestricted. |
| Related Materials: |
Women's
Educational Center (M47) |
| Processor: |
Finding aid prepared by Kendra Kelley, November 1, 2007. |
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| Chronology |
| 1980 |
Northeast feminist conference draws activists concerned with the threats
of nuclear proliferation. |
| 1980 |
First Women's Pentagon Action march on the Pentagon is held in Washington,
D.C. |
| 1980 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action is formed. |
| 1981 |
The second Women's Pentagon Action march on the Pentagon occurs in Washington,
D.C. |
| 1982 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action participates in the Standing Up Against
the Klan social justice rally in Washington, D.C. |
| 1982 |
Boston hosts regional meeting of the Women's Pentagon Action. |
| 1983 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action participates in the international Campaign
to Stop the Euromissles. |
| 1983 |
Anti-missile protesters stage a summer-long Seneca Falls Peace Encampment
in Seneca, New York. The event is supported by Women's Pentagon Action,
including the Boston chapter. |
| 1983 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action members attend the march for Jobs, Peace
and Freedom in Washington, D.C. |
| 1983 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action participates in a protest of the Charles
Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. |
| 1984 |
The Women's Pentagon Action "Not in Our Name" protest is held in New York
City. |
| 1984 |
The Women's School and the Boston Women's Pentagon Action partner to host
workshops on feminism and civil disobedience. |
| 1984 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action members protest a defense contracting conference
at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. |
| 1986 |
Boston Women's Pentagon Action disbands. The organization's assets are
transferred to the Boston Women's Fund. |
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| Bibliography |
|
Epstein, Barbara. Political Protest and Cultural Revolution. California:
University of California Press, 1993. |
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