41st Radical Women Conference, Oct 3-6, SF: The Persistent Power Of Socialist Feminism.

Radical Women's 41st Anniversary Conference
The Women's Building, 3543 18th St.
October 3-6, 2008, San Francisco

Theme: The Persistent Power of Socialist Feminism.

Speakers: Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart and activists and scholars from Central America, China, Australia and the U.S.

Key topics: Multi-racial organizing; the dynamic leadership of youth and queers; women of color and immigrant women spark a labor revival; declaring independence from the twin parties of war.

Workshops: Skills building for women organizers; political theory; movement strategy and much, much more.

Radical Women’s 41st Anniversary Conference occurs at a very important time. Around the world, women are part of a bold resistance to reactionary social and political forces. In Latin America, women and indigenous people are providing vibrant workingclass leadership against crippling neoliberal trade agreements. In Mexico, “Adelita” brigades shut down congress to oppose privatization of the nationalized oil industry. These movements provide a powerful stimulus to the entire hemisphere.

In the U.S., women are both targets and opponents of repression. In the anti-war, racial equality, immigrant, labor, student and queer movements, organizing is sparked and driven by women, especially women of color. They demand justice for Sean Bell and Black youth in Jena as well as funding for services in New Orleans. They oppose racist shock-jocks and lead unionization campaigns. They have stopped shipments of Iraq war supplies on the streets of Washington State. They defend civil liberties and continue the fight for affirmative action, childcare, and an end to sexual violence. They infuse the immigrant rights movement with militancy inspired by anti-imperialist upsurges in Latin America and fueled by the fight against U.S. xenophobia.

U.S. women are fighting tooth and nail to keep gains won by past generations, as well as to advance women’s cause. But feminist reformists and NGOs hold back the movement by diverting organizing into single-issue and Democratic Party politics. Radical Women looks for inspiration and strategies to our revolutionary socialist foremothers, and to the civil rights militants, students, lesbians, and unionists who spearheaded the Second Wave women’s liberation movement. Such women today are the sparkplugs for radical change and, by working in coalition with supportive men who have their own stake in achieving human liberation, they can truly shake the status quo.

For more information or to register, go to www.RadicalWomen.org
or contact the Conference Organizing Center at
radicalwomenus@gmail.com or 206-722-6057 or 206-722-2453.