COMPLETE COLLECTION
WITH COMMENTARY
(Special thanks to Sarah E. Frazer, University Archivist, Special
Collections and Archives of theUniversity of Houston Libraries
for her generous assistance in indentifying notable persons)
1) On the damp and foggy dawn of November 18th, 1977, the red carpet was conspicuously absent
from Houstons greeting of 22,000 women arriving in the city for
the National Womens Conference. A National Plan of Action (developed
by 2000 delegates elected from fifty states and six territories)
included twenty-six resolutions that were open to debate prior
to being adopted in Houston as the official voice of American
women .
2) The historical crest of feminisms Second Wave started quietly with muffled voices
and footsteps of runners crossing the knoll as they arrived with
the torch carried from Seneca Falls, New York.
3) Across 1800 miles and 129 years, the flame had been passed from woman to woman.
It was in Seneca Falls in 1848 that feminists gathered for the
first time for the Womens Rights Convention and debated over
the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, ultimately signed
by 68 women and 32 men The plan they adopted set an agenda for
the First Wave of the feminist movement.
4) The Conference departed from history by providing heightened visibility for women of
color. Also participating were public figures who remained within
the crowd and accessible all weekend.
Betty Friedan 1921- (red coat)
Michele Cearcy (left of Betty)
Pat Kokernot (left of Michele)
Sylvia Ortiz (left of Pat)
Jean Stapleton (face emerging from left)
5) Betty Friedan, the founder and first president of the National Organization
for Women, was adamantly opposed to including the sexual preference
resolution in The Plan for fear that the womens movement would
be damaged by associating with the lavender menace.. As a result
she was the subject of intense criticism for creating a division
between N.O.W. and many of the women who had given rise to the
Second Wave of feminism.
Betty Friedan (red coat)
6) New Yorks unstoppable U.S. Congresswoman, Bella Abzug, was appointed by President Carter
to preside over the Conference for which she and Congresswoman
Patsy Mink had introduced legislation and championed the appropriation
of funds for the development of The Plan.
Bella Abzug (wearing her trademark wide-brimmed hat)
Billie Jean King (front row, second from left)
7) Rain began to fall, as the Conference officially opened under the somewhat reluctant
gaze of national media.
Bella Abzug (hat)
8) Aspirations for reshaping society were firm. While it was risky to protest in the aftershock of
Kent State, the Second Wave did, indeed, protest and dream. Many
of the social changes that were boldly envisioned that year have,
in fact, been realized.
9) The diversity of delegates from various ages, races, geographic locations, political parties,
religions and economic classes continues to empower The Plan as
the will of Everywoman from Everytown, America. )
10) Far from a done deal, The Plan was subject to extensive revision, if not destruction,
under the pressures exerted by conflicting groups who demonstrated
aggressively for the inclusion or omission of various points based
upon their respective agendas prior to calling for the final vote.
11) The convention hall was surrounded by scroll-toting men. Fear was ever-present and some delegations
packed first aid kits in the event that debate over abortion and
lesbian rights would erupt into violence.
12) Women arriving from Nebraska.
13) In concert with right-wing Christian men preaching damnation through bullhorns, there were
significant numbers of women who came to Houston in an effort
to advance an anti-E.R.A., anti-choice, anti-lesbian and anti-liberation
platform they called pro-family.
14) Bridging the civil rights camps were feminists with a long history of participation in anti-war
protests. The very logo of the conference recognized womens unsung
contributions to the peace movement by unifying the the symbol
of womanhood with the dove.
15) Photography has been critical in preserving womens history. By gross omission from the textbooks
and media, women have had to reconstruct their heritage almost
exclusively through surviving letters, diaries and personal snapshots.
It is no wonder that cameras were carried by so many.
Donna F. Long (with cameras)
16) Getting into the conference was never easy.
17) Consistent with a woman's right to education and expression worldwide, the exhibition hall was
packed with diverse displays and literature on everything from
Harriet Tubman to menstrual sponges.
18) The ingenuity of the classic Supermom was invaluable in providing child care during conference working
hours, which turned out to be around the clock.
19) In a microcosm of the larger challenge confronting women of that time, when a radical feminist flannel-shirt
yankee photographer approached the southern lady bowlers, distrust
and uncertainty toward each other needed to be overcome in an
effort to assert our commonality beyond the differences.
Betty Williams (left)
Janie Brown (right)
20) ...our commonality beyond the differences.
21) ...our commonality beyond the differences.
Cynthia McGowan
22) Atrocities routinely committed against women in foreign countries were painfully exposed in
photographs. Todays forced invisibility of women and random murder
in fundamentalist Muslim countries was first protested at the
Conference in 1977.
23) Travel wasn't necessary, however, to encounter the rule of weapons and the vulnerability
women share when endeavoring to empower themselves.
24) As the delegates convened, filling the chairs section by section, the full impact of what
was about to occur began to register. Out of the cacophony of
regional dialects and the arrangement of purses and notebooks,
beyond the boundaries of anyone's expectation, a singular whooping
ovation for the historic moment erupted.
25) Upon completion of her keynote address, Barbara Jordan was stormed by autograph
seekers who were humourously received by the beloved and highly
respected U.S. Congresswoman from Texas. Barbara died in 1996.
Barbara Jordan
26) Much to the chagrin of the Secret Service, then First Lady Rosalyn Carter instinctively strengthened the
collective spirit of the movement when she crossed the great divide
and grasped the hands of delegates who had come forward to welcome
her onto equal ground.
Rosalyn Carter
27) The red phone kept the goal of global peace in the forefront of the proceedings
as Lady Bird Johnson and a host of dignitaries came to the podium
one-by-one.
Lady Bird Johnson (speaker)
Bella Abzug (hat)
Rosalyn Carter (green dress)
Betty Ford (turquoise dress)
Gloria Scott, President National Girl Scouts (white dress, first
row)
Barbara Jordan (silver blouse next to Gloria)
Fred Hofeinz, Mayor of Houston (next to Barbara)
Helvi Sipila (blond hair next to Fred)
Jane Culbreth (white blouse second row)
28) One could only imagine how far-reaching the impact of the gathering might extend.
29) Through the thankless task of archiving, several collections of personal notes and official documents
generated by women at the Conference have been preserved. Not
surprisingly, few women today even know that The Plan exists and
that it is a product of four of the most important days in womens
history.
30) In support of the sexual preference resolution, a small group of women brought imprinted balloons
declaring, WE ARE EVERYWHERE and invited lesbians to identify
themselves. That bold assertion of visibility, particularly in
the context of the effort to exclude lesbians from The Plan, was
a brilliant tactical contribution to the advancement of lesbian
and gay rights in America.
31) Once underway, the Conference held the 2000 hostage to their responsibility
for coming to an agreement on whether or not to retain each resolution
presented in the draft and how, exactly, to word it.
32) Surrounding the main assembly hall were smaller conference rooms in which official and unofficial
workshops took place. The 20,000 who had come to observe flowed
from the main balcony overlooking the delegation to a wide range
of meetings related to specific issues in The Plan.
33) Contrary to the assumption that feminism is a movement comprised exclusively of women, there
were many men present at the Conference. While some were there
to intimidate and disrupt, many contributed blood, sweat and tears
in support of the liberation of their mothers, wives, sisters
and daughters. Sophisticated in their understanding of the global
significance of women's equality, the men who participated, ironically,
ran the same risk of ridicule as the lesbians.
34) It was without fanfare that Margaret Mead sat reading during one of the workshops. Those
around her and the child playing at her feet reflect the remarkable
synthesis of personal and political, famous and common, old and
young, of color and not of color.
Margaret Mead (holding small open book)
35) Margarets powerful presence could be felt even as she sat among the audience at rest. The
anthropologist who opened the sociological door through which
a sexual revolution stormed, died within a year of the photograph.
Margaret Mead
36) Tireless conversations unfolded in the lounge, weaving the fabric of the very identify of "woman,"
one who had never before been called upon to state her will to
Congres.
37) Underlying the gathering was a spiritual life that gave rise to the New Age. From Wiccans
to nuns, there were women practicing and sharing visions and ceremonies
in privacy and in public.
38) Come sundown, the workshops on the periphery gave way to an variety of performances
in both folk and fine arts.
39) Long into the night, the delegates pressed on, caucusing and reconvening. As the
end of the weekend drew near, the emotional strain began to show
on the faces of those charged with defining the future of American
women and the imperatives of social reform.
40) The resolution in support of the ERA was approved early on. Because, however, the agenda
was alphabetical, time was running out for the reproductive freedom
and sexual preference resolutions, both still open to debate before
a final Plan could be adopted.
41) A womans right to choose abortion had already been upheld by the Supreme Court in its 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade. In addition, the vast majority of delegates elected at the state conferences won on pro-choice platforms, so it was expected that the resolution in support of reproductive freedom would pass.
42) Consistent with the move to exile lesbians from public visibility, Oxford scholar Kate Millett was relegated
to speak from the ancillary lecture hall. Despite her authorship
of Sexual Politics, the academic tour-de-force upon which the
Second Wave ideologically surged, Kates confessed love of women
in a later book proved to be her fall from grace, as well as from
the podium.
43) Under the gaze of men on the streets surrounding the convention center, the possibility
of violence was of increasing concern as the votes on reproductive
freedom and sexual preference approached.
44) From their centralized headquarters in a nearby hotel, the conservative right worked diligently on
a strategy for disrupting the Conference. Eagle Forum leader,
Phyllis Schafley and Indiana State Senator Joan Grubbins would
later successfully spearhead the defeat the nations progress
toward ratification of the ERA.
45) At one point, the entire proceeding collapsed as hundreds of protesters surrounded
the delegates, blocked the exits and displayed anit-ERA, anti-abortion
and anti-lesbian banners. Among them, were troupes of Cub Scouts
and various church organizations like the Methodists Against the
ERA and International Womens Year. Despite the protesters' efforts,
however, the right to reproductive freedom was overwhelmingly
approved for inclusion in The Plan.
46) Outside, a solemn candleight vigil developed in the last hours of the conference as the vote on
freedom of sexual preference loomed.
47) Among those expected by the National Organization for Women to sacrifice their freedom
and protection was Ivy Botini, the artist who designed the logo
for N.O.W..
48) Out of nowhere, a group of young protesters climbed on top of a wall and began
chanting. Despite the presence of national television cameras,
many older women, then, emerged from the darkness and grabbed
balloons.
49) Even impassioned supporters of lesbian and gay rights felt pressured to reject the resolution
rather than risk losing all the previous gains should the final
vote fail because of the minority's interest.
50) Hundreds of new balloons were carried into the hall as Betty Friedan took the podium on
behalf of N.O.W. to deliver her death blow to the sexual preference
resolution.
51) Thanks to the solidification of the movement., the sexual preference resolution was approved.
The Plan containing all twenty-six resolutions was then ratified
by the final vote.