Sisterhood Is Powerful

“That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black, and a woman proves, I would think, that our society is not yet either just or free.”

— Shirley Chisholm, elected to Congress in 1968

In 1968, there were few women in positions of power. Women could be denied college admission because of their gender and could not get a credit card or a mortgage in their own name. Middle-class women were expected to get married and stay at home with the children or work in lower-paying “women’s” professions. Women of color experienced dual discrimination.

Top: Women carry a banner - "End the War in Vietnam and Social Crisis at Home"; Botton: Miss America protestors sit next to signs; Leaflet advertising the protest reads, "Women! Don't Miss Amerika!"

Top: Jeannette Rankin Brigade demonstration, 1968; Bottom: Miss America protest and leaflet, 1968

In 1966, Betty Friedan and others had founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) to advocate for women's rights. Many women leading the “women’s liberation” (often shortened to the more dismissive “women’s lib”) movement had been mobilized by working in the civil rights and antiwar movements. In January of 1968, a coalition of women’s groups (named the Jeannette Rankin Brigade after the 87-year-old who had been the first woman elected to Congress) led 5,000 women in an antiwar march on Washington, D.C. More and more women began to embrace the popular slogan that “sisterhood is powerful," a phrase that was coined in 1968. Women fought for equal professional opportunities and pay, reproductive rights, universal childcare, and an end to sexual harassment and violence against women.

In September, a protest against the Miss America pageant made use of the power of symbols and the media to bring national attention to the women’s movement. Although no bras were burned (as was popularly reported), the women protesters tossed items in a trashcan that they felt represented the limited roles society allowed women: sex symbol or housewife. These items included hair curlers, false eyelashes, and dish detergent.

Read the excerpts of the “No More Miss America!” pamphlet that was distributed during the protest in 1968. Note the range of issues that are described. Compare and contrast their demands with those of other movements for change.

Reading: Excerpt from “No More Miss America" pamphlet

Take Notes

How were the “Ten Points” related to the antiwar and other social change movements?