Sonia Johnson, Susan Horwitz and Mary Beall called the first national Woman Gathering held in Washington, DC in August of 1983. This gathering drew one hundred and sixty five women. After that, hundreds of smaller gatherings have been held around the country.
On August 17-20, 1984, the second national Woman Gathering met at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri. At this conference, Sonia Johnson, 1984 Citizen's Party presidential candidate, spoke of the need for women to reject roles of powerlessness and inferiority and to take themselves seriously. Other events at the conference included street theater in which women re-enacted the 1929 Ibo women riots against unfair taxes in Nigeria; demonstrations in front of the St. Louis County Court house and the Reagan-Bush headquarters. The demonstrations celebrated "women's rights and resisted wrongs against women, minorities, majorities, workers, children, the economy, the earth and the cause of peace."
Contains Off The Wall II (a chronicle of the second national Woman Gathering), a registration sheet, two cassette tapes of speakers at the Gathering, and "Women's Voices: The Gender Gap Movie," a 16mm film used by the National Organization of Women during the 1934 presidential election.
Folder:
1. Women's Gathering, Fontbonne College, August 17-20, 1984
Tapes:
208.1 Women gathering, 8/17/84
208. 2Woman Gathering, Sonia Johnson tape, 8/18/84
Film: "Women's Voices: The Gender Gap Movie", 16mm and DVD viewing copy
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUIS
222 THOMAS JEFFERSON LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
ONE UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD
ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
(314) 516-5143
whmc@umsl.edu