Women of Color and ERA

A miscalculation in tactical strategy by feminist supporters of the ERA was the virtual neglect of women of color. The National Organization of Women (NOW), which spearheaded the drive for passage of the ERA, focused its efforts on white middle class women. NOW failed to realize that minority women, particularly black women, were critical to the success of feminist movements. NOW's compromises to include black women in the movement were ineffective because they were considered inappropriate examples of tokenism.

A quote by Giddings sums up the above thesis statement: "The disarray of the Black movement and the failure of the ERA had at their base a common cause: the diminished participation of Black women" (347-348). Even today, political analysts claim that the black vote is crucial to any political campaign. During the 1970s, support from black females was critical to the passage of the ERA because of the fragmented support that the amendment had among white females.

NOW advocates were totally unprepared for the response to the ERA from a large faction of the white middle class women they targeted. This faction was led by Phyllis Schlafly: "They were women who concluded that rights won at the expense of privilege constituted a perilous trade-off" (Giddings 343). Schlafly played on the fears of these women that the ERA would lead to the erosion of family values, abortions, and the loss of alimony payments.

A significant portion of Schlafly's support stemmed

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situation. NOW also took the step of sponsoring more chapters in minority communities. This tactic was considered evasionary and inappropriate because NOW continued to refuse to deal with common issues, instead focusing exclusively on drumming up support for passage of the ERA. In 1979, NOW missed an important opportunity to make sincere efforts toward inclusion by electing an all-white group of national officers for the second year in a row, despite the fact that qualified minority candidates were in the running. Affronted by NOW's lack of concrete action in addressing minority concerns, some of its prominent minority leaders called for a boycott of the organization by women of color. Thus the defeat of the ERA came about partly because of a lack of sensitivity by NOW advocates to the critical role of racial politics. The time was ripe for coalition building between NOW and the black community. NOW failed to grasp that opportunity, and as a result the ERA did not gain the support needed for congressional approval. Even today, NOW does not have strong support among minority women. Works Cited Mansbridge, Jane. "Why We Lost the ERA." (1986), Ch. 1-4, 10-13. Giddings (1984). Ch. 19. The selections "The Femin

Category: Psychology - W