CWLU Herstory

Thank you for your interest in the Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU). Women's liberation groups were a primary structure of second wave feminism, allowing women to organize locally and focus on varying aspects of the movement for women's rights. Consciousness Raising (CR) groups were a central feature of many unions, in which women met to focus on overcoming the psychological and social effects of sexism and to educate each other about the movement. While the CWLU recognized the importance of personal transformation, they were more focused on organizing women for political activism and revolutionary change. Women's liberation unions and CR groups were effective methods of organization and proliferation of information during the second wave, but mostly do not exist in the current feminist climate. The CWLU officially disbanded in 1977, however the Herstory Project website works to preserve the legacy of feminism, especially the CWLU, and to support feminism today.

There are many ways to connect to feminism today and we are in the process of adding new feminist resources to our website. If you are interested in connecting with current feminist groups, the links below are a great place to start:

• Join a National Organization for Women (NOW) chapter near you http://www.now.org/chapters/
• Do you live in DC or LA? Volunteer with your local Feminist Majority chapter http://www.feminist.org/volunteer/default.asp
• Feminist.com provides an online network of activism opportunities. http://www.feminist.com/activism/
• Join a local chapter of the League of Women Voters http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_Local_League
• Are you a college student? Join a Feminist Majority Foundation affiliated feminist campus group
• http://www.feministcampus.org/fmla/about/groups_by_state.asp
• If you are looking to lend your voice to activism through email and letter campaigns, Equality Now lists important actions going on around the world.
• To join: https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6208/t/8935/signUp.jsp?key=2437
• To see a list of actions: http://www.equalitynow.org/english/wan/action_daterev_en.html
• Looking for an online feminist community? The Feministing community blog has a new "My Feministing" feature that, similar to facebook, connects you to an online community of feminists with the ability to comment, tag, have a profile, and keep up with other members' latest activities. http://community.feministing.com/

If you are interested in helping the Herstory Project to preserve the history of the CWLU and second wave feminism and connect with the new generation of feminists:

• Visit our "Support Us" http://www.cwluherstory.org/support-the-cwlu-herstory-project.html page for information about volunteering and other contributions
• Friend us on Facebook
• Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter