African American Women

  • Black women and liberation movements conference (Part 2 only)

    Listening Post: Highlights from the “Black Women and Liberation Movements” Conference, sponsored by Howard University’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities, November 8, 1979. Speaker on this reel, Frances Beal, tells of her first teacher and about the history of the SNCC and SCLC. This is reel 2 of 2, reel 1 is missing.

  • Black women of achievement: Stephanie Colbert Hopkins

    Interview with Stephanie Colbert Hopkins, president of Star Step, Inc, a public relations firm. Hopkins, a Black small business owner, discusses her professional and personal successes, the current job market for Black people, and the double stigma she faces as a business owner of being both Black and a woman. Contains listener phone calls. Hosted…

  • Miss Black America 1980

    This episode of Upstream features Sharon Wright, Miss Black America 1980. Wright was the thirteenth recipient of the title and after relinquishing the crown acted as spokesperson for Coca-Cola. She discusses her activities of the past year and gives advice to young girls who’d like to compete in the pageant. Hosts and producers Marie Smith…

  • National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (Girls) Inc.

    This episode of Upstream is on the National Association of Colored Women’s (and Girls’) Clubs, Inc. (NACWC) and includes interviews with several members of the organization. The guests are Otelia Champion, President of the NACWC; Samella Burton, President of the Northeastern Federation of the NACWC; Delia H. Martin, NACWC delegate for New Jersey and Legislative…

  • Women in Washington, D.C.

    This episode of Upstream is on women and dating in Washington, D.C. Topics covered include dating as a working woman, fidelity, and prescribed gender roles. Contains listener phone calls. Hosted and produced by Marie Smith.

  • Michelle Parkerson

    This episode of Upstream features filmmaker and poet Michelle Parkerson who talks about the economics of being an independent artist. Parkerson talks about her most recent film, “…But Then She’s Betty Carter” (1980), and how she supports herself as a filmmaker. Parkerson also reads some of her poetry in the second half of the program.…

  • Mary Jefferson

    This episode of Upstream is on Mary Jefferson (1927 – 2002), a jazz and blues singer popular in Washington, D.C. Jefferson talks about young people’s relationship to the blues and how the blues really originated with Black women. Contains listener phone calls. Hosted and produced by Nikki Jeter. Program cuts out early.

  • A celebration of Black womanhood: Black women in the health sciences (Tapes 5 and 7 only)

    Actualities from Barnard College’s conference “Celebration of Black Womanhood” held February 4-5, 1978. Tapes in Pacifica’s holdings were numbered #5 and #7, indicating that several are missing. These two parts are from a panel about Black women and careers in the health sciences. Part 5 is about applying to medical school. Speakers include Jewel Hodge,…

  • The extinction of Black women

    An informal discussion by three Black women from the New York Black Feminist Counseling Collective, sponsored by the WBAI Women’s Radio Workshop, concerning what the group calls the extinction of Black women. The discussion centers on attacks on Black women, impediments to survival, and expanding Black women’s political consciousness. The three women are Lavidia Penson[sp?],…

  • Speeches from A Celebration of Black Womanhood Weekend at Barnard College

    This is a recording of the “Black feminist thought” panel from the Barnard Organization of Black Women’s conference, “A Celebration of Black Womanhood Weekend,” held February 4-5, 1978. The events of the conference focused on the Black woman as a professional, how young, Black women can enter the professions, and what to expect after she…