Organized White Women and the Challenge of Racial Integration, 1945-1965

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 1-20

3. Women’s Associations in the United States

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 21-64

4. The League of Women Voters

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 65-109

5. The American Association of University Women

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 111-149

6. The National Women’s Committee on Civil Rights

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 151-186

7. Wednesdays in Mississippi

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 187-221

8. Conclusion

   • Helen Laville

   Pages 223-228

9. Back Matter

   Pages 229-254

   PDF

This monograph asserts that the troubled history of segregation within American women’s associations created a legacy of racial exclusivity and privilege. While acknowledging the progressive potential of women’s associations and the extent to which they created a legitimate outlet for American women’s public activism, it explores how and why such organizations failed to aid in issues of integration. Rather than being a historical accident, or a pragmatic response to circumstance, this monograph demonstrates that white exclusivity and privilege was crucial to the authority and influence of these associations. Organized White Women and the Challenge of Race Relations examines the translation of what seemed on the surface to be relatively simple demands for racial integration into a far more significant and all-encompassing confrontation with the frequently hidden structures and practices of white privilege.

• women's movements in the 1960s
• race relations in America
• gender and race in America
• John F. Kennedy’s civil rights program
• racial justice and women's rights

• Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom

  Helen Laville

Helen Laville is a Reader in American History at the University of Birmingham, UK.

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