2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

From W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson to Malcolm X and Huey Newton, scholarship on twentieth century black radical politics have repeatedly privileged male actors and masculine perspectives, often silencing women's narratives. This roundtable contends that historical narratives on black radical traditions in the United States and other parts of the globe cannot be understood without an analysis of women's critical roles in shaping this history. This roundtable includes five scholars—Ula Y. Taylor, Komozi Woodard, Erik S. McDuffie, Keisha N. Blain, and Ashley Farmer—who have written at length on black women’s historical contributions to black radical traditions and the role of gender in shaping global black radical movements and discourses of the twentieth century. Each scholar has approached this topic in different ways, employing a variety of research methodologies and focusing on women’s involvement in various radical political movements and organizations including the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and the Black Panther Party (BPP). The scholars assembled on this roundtable will discuss a range of key topics including Communism, black militancy and self-defense, Pan-Africanism, anticolonialism, and Garveyism—ultimately focusing on women's centrality to understanding the rich and complex history of radical politics in the United States and abroad. They will also discuss the present status of the field and highlight future directions for research.