Christina Norling, Natalia Gilbertson, Navpreet Sekhon, Ploypun Sajjamanachai

BISGWS 302
Group Proposal
January 23, 2017

Radical Women is a socialist and feminist grassroots organization. It was formed in 1967
out of a university class on Women in Society. Gloria Martin, who taught the class, worked with
Clara Fraser, Melba Windoffer, and Susan Stern to create this organization. Their aim was to
raise awareness and end inequality in an attempt to help create a world that is free from “poverty,
war, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and repression” (radicalwomen.org). They
have played a massive role in transgender liberation struggles by assisting in the creation of gay
rights organizations. Merle Woo, the leader of Radical Women in the 1980s, fought two
employment cases against “race, sex, sexuality, and political ideology” at the University of
California Berkley (radicalwomen.org). Members of Radical Women believe that women of all
backgrounds have the potential to combat the sexism that is present in the workplace and
everyday life to create new norms within society.
One of the campaigns Radical Women supported was Free Nestora Selgado (2013-2016).
It focused on Nestora Selgado, a political prisoner held to solitary confinement in Mexico. She
was a police force leader in the Olinal​á ​community, battling drug cartels and corrupt Mexican
politicians. Selgado was charged with homicide and kidnapping but released after two and a half
years in prison, due to lack of evidence and support from several organizations, including
Radical Women (http://www.radicalwomen.org/Nestora%20is%20free.shtml).
With this organization, our group attended the Women’s March on Washington on
January 21​st​. This event promoted feminism, anti-racism, intersectionality, and many other
human rights issues. We also plan to attend an event on January 26​th​, which is The Power of
Revolutionary Feminism: A Winning Strategy Against the Right Wing. This is an informational
meeting and debate about social feminism and what citizens can do to get involved in regards to
the election of Donald Trump.
Radical Women correlates with Women and Labor Activism, which is a topic we will be
learning this quarter. This organization is involved in activities such as protesting sweatshops,
budget cuts, layoffs, and discrimination by companies such as Wal-Mart. The organization also
fights for equal pay for women.
This is an organization that stands for the rights of women and all people who are
marginalized in society today. We hope to learn, experience, and understand Radical Women’s
message by attending events, doing research, and conducting interviews with members of this
organization.
Interview 1 Questions:

1. Please say your name, title and date

2. We attended your meeting on the 26th of January. There, members of Radical Women
mentioned they didn’t want to march quietly in the Women’s March. Can you tell us a
little bit about why you wanted to march that way?
3. We noticed Radical Women has been around for quite some time. Over the years, how
have your membership demographics and target audience changed?
4. Given that this is a socialist organization that was founded during the Cold War, how was
Radical Women able to gain following during a time where socialism may have been an
unpopular political ideology?
5. How do you think progress with gay rights (i.e gay marriage) and race are affecting the
platform and goal of Radical Women?
6. Can you tell us of any big challenges you’ve overcome or lessons you have learned with
this organization and the political activism Radical Women engages in?
7. Where does Radical Women plan to go from here considering the recent changes in
government? / What is Radical Women’s ultimate vision, politically or generally, for the
society and country we live in?
8. If you do not mind, may I ask your age?
 Gina Petry Interview
February 10, 2017
Seattle, Washington, USA
Interviewers: Navpreet Sekhon, Ploypun Sajjamanachai, Natalia Gilbertson
Transcribed by: Christina Norling

Interviewee Name: Gina Petry

Interviewer Name: Navpreet Sekhon, Natalia Gilbertson
Interview Date: February 10, 2017
Interview Place: Office of Radical Women, Seattle, WA
Interview Description: Discussing the mission, history, goals, and activities of the socialist,
feminist organization Radical Women, with organizer Gina Petry.
Organizations Discussed: Radical Women
Transcribed by: Christina Norling
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, feminism, sexism, Clara Fraser, affirmative action,
reproductive rights, taxing the rich, Nestora Salgado, Sisters Organized for Survival , equality,
healthcare

Gina: Okay.

Navpreet: Thank you for interviewing with us.

Gina: Absolutely.

Navpreet: Please state your name, your title, and today’s date.

Gina: Um so my name is Gina Petry. I’m the organizer for Radical Women and it is February
10​th​ 2017.

Navpreet: Awesome, and so we attended your meeting on the 26th of January, two of our
members did, which is them. And it says there, members of Radical Women mentioned they
didn’t want to march quietly in the Women’s March. Can you tell us a little bit about why you
wanted to march, er, march that way? Yeah.

Gina: Yeah, sure, um yeah we believe that you know this current time with this administration
um, the president, Trump, uh, being, you know, very clearly uh, a misogynist, racist, uh, you
know, all of the above, felt like it’s an important time especially for, for women, for feminists to
be, um, to be loud, to use our voice to state what, um, you know, what we want. Um, a lot of, uh,
you know what Trump and the kind of right wing especially want is for women to be quiet, to be
passive, to, you know, not, not um, not you know be too much of rabble-rousing so we feel like
that is something that they use against us so we feel it’s especially important to be, um, you
know to not fall into that. And, um, you know I mean and women have been silenced in many
ways for a long time, um, it’s not just beginning with Trump but I think especially this time, in
this period it’s important to be, to be vocal and to, you know feel that, that power as well and for,
um. You know an-and it, it comes in many forms, I mean ours you know, was chanting, um there
are also, you know Native women who said, you know we’re going to drum and sing. And, you
know, that’s really important to us to be able to bring that to this march and to silence, to silence
that, um you know they felt was, was really offensive so. So I think that there’s, I think the you
know, the, the loudness, um, you know comes in many forms and I think it’s important to bring
all of that to, to the march so, um, you know. I mean certainly if there were people who wanted
to be silent, and were, you know that’s, that’s their choice, but I think, but our view was to say,
to put out that as a sort of march policy, was, um, you know was wrong, was the wrong call.

Navpreet: That’s amazing. I think that’s great because, um, I’m Indian so I’ve grown up seeing
like traditional Indian, um, even in film, or whatever, just the whole culture in general. And I’ve
noticed that women are always, like, told to be quiet, or, don’t speak when a man is talking or an
elder man is talking, so, I really admire that.

Gina: Yeah. Great.

Navpreet: Um, next questions is we noticed Radical Women has been around for quite some
time. Over the years, have your membership demographics and target audience changed?

Gina: Um, yes. Absolutely, I mean we have, I mean, our, our membership has, um you know,
has always been multiracial, um, you know, uh, different, uh intergenerational, different
sexualities, gender presentation, I mean that has, has varied over the years, um. And that’s one of
the things that drew me to Radical Women is because of the variety of membership and also you
know, who we were reaching out to, who we wanted to be part of the organization, um. And uh,
you know and I think part of what we always look at is, you know, who is and where are people
in motion, you know, where are women in motion, where are feminists, because we also believe
feminism is for everybody-- men and women and everyone. Um, so I think that’s part of, you
know, what we’re looking at too is, um, either who’s under attack, um, the most, or who’s in, in
motion fighting back, you know I mean, I mean part of, uh various movements, uh, you know at
different times, um more so and less so. So, um you know but in our view, um, you know under
capitalism, uh, which is a system that we want to change obviously where all the oppression is
connected and where is comes from, people, are, you know, women, people of color, queers,
working class, poor, [laughs] are always, you know under attack in some form. So, um, so you
know in a way we have, things have shifted, we have shifted with the times but, also I think that
is what remains constant.

Natalia: Defending the people that are being attacked the most?

Gina: Yes. Yeah.

Natalia: Yeah. Okay.

Navpreet: So it always varies during the time. Um, or as of right now we see that women are
being attacked, um, er, L, or the LGBTI

Natalia: Hispanic

Navpreet: Yeah, Hispanic

Natalia: Women, men, yeah.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Gina: Yeah

Navpreet: Awesome

Gina: Yeah

Navpreet: And then--

Gina: And I should, let me add, too, because I think that, um, you know we certainly look to
what’s happening you know, in the outside, in the world and the community and the movements.
But it is also, you know, our, our members are part of that too, I mean we’ve had, you know. I
mean, we have a lot of queer members and so when there have been particularly, you know,
homophobic times, or pieces of legislation or so, I mean I remember certainly part of, part of that
as well. So it’s a combination of, you know, who’s out in the community but also within our own
membership, so.

Navpreet: So what would you say right now, what your demographics look like from, what they
were when you first started?
Natalia: Like maybe when you first started, yeah.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Gina: Yeah, um, lets see. We’ve been around in Seattle since 1967. Um, so it was definitely
before my time, um. But, um, do you, I’m sorry, do you mean demographics as far as our
members? Is that what you were—

Navpreet: Mmhm, yeah. So your member demographics, how they’ve changed since 1967 to
2017?

Gina: Sure, yeah, um, I—

Natalia: Yeah, I was just going to say, who, like, was more included in the beginning and like,
you know, has that expanded a lot since then?

Gina: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think uh, certainly it has, it has expanded. I mean, um… you know
from, from the beginning we had you know our founders were um, two mothers, three mothers
actually, and um, you know one of them had eight children. And, uh, so at that time, you know in
the beginning there were particularly a lot of mothers who were involved because I think that
was a period of time too where you know, feminist movement was sort of, um, really growing in
the US in the 70’s and 80’s and, so, you know in terms of, of, that demographic, you know we do
still have mothers involved. We don’t have as many, um, but um, but definitely, you know some
older mothers, younger mothers. Uh, but so I think it, it’s shifted in terms of, certainly in terms
of that our, you know, our age range, um, has always, has always varied. Um, though I think you
know, right now we have more sort of people in their, you know, thirties to 60’s and 70’s. Um,
and so you know certainly looking to recruit more young women. Um, and uh, and, and you
know in other cities, other chapters, uh, there are more younger women and less older so it, it,
um, I think it, it varies too in terms of age and, um, uh, you know we do have several members of
color, we have a comrades of color caucus which is members of color within Radical Women
and Freedom Socialist party. Um, so, um, so that you know, has, has fluctuated too I mean in
terms of members of color being, being actively involved and, you know and also not being able
to. I think part of what we see as challenging, I think particularly with you know, thinking about,
um, mothers being involved is that, this is, I know I’ve worked with a lot of mothers over the
years and it’s hard to have the balance of, you know, raising children, most of them working or
going to school or both and, um, you know and they really—

Natalia: Do they benefit maybe the most from like socialism, kind of?
Gina: Yeah, yeah exactly. I mean, I think you know, our, our goal, um, part of the goal is to
make these things collective, right. I mean, you know, we know, we all have to eat, we all have
to, you know, um, we don’t all have children but want to be part of, you know, helping create a
society that is beneficial for the next generation and the generation after that. So, um, yeah I
mean I think certainly they would benefit and it is challenging as people, um, you know have to
work that much harder as economic times fluctuate, um, we’re certainly you know, influenced by
that in terms of what people are actually available, if they have spare time. Um, you know,
working sixty hours a week or two jobs, three jobs whatever the case may be so.

Natalia: So um, I know online I saw a few things about like workshops and, that Radical Women
holds. Um, do you have, you know things like that for like mothers and people that you know,
that don’t have a lot of free time? I’m just curious.

Gina: Sure, yeah. I mean we do, um, we have regular monthly meetings and we have, we have
had, um, uh, either study groups or discussion circles that have kind of been our main, um, and
we have done conferences and workshops too. Um, and we do try to, to vary I mean our
meetings, um, are, on Thursday evenings and um, you know have been once a month where
starting, like we’re starting a study group that’s going to be on Saturday afternoons. We’ve heard
from a couple of our mother members who were like Saturdays are the best day for me, you
know things are very hard because you know having small children. So, so we do try to, to vary
when we do different things and um, really I mean, talk to people about, talk to members and not
just members but, you know since we also want to recruit more people, um, what, what topics
are you interested in, or you know I mean I have an idea and maybe no one likes that idea or it’s
not of interest but, but I think really, talking about what people need, just you know topic-wise
but also, schedule-wise really trying to be flexible because, we know the reality of people's lives
is, you know not everybody is on an eight to five or nine to five schedule, so.

Natalia: So, yeah, um, just as a follow up I, um, when you’re talking about outreach to other
people just not, not just members, so like, how do you, um, participate in the community or try to
like bring attention to radical women and your goals?

Gina: Sure, yeah sure. Um, I mean we do it in a variety of ways. I mean certainly when we have
meetings and events or our, our study groups, we, um, we outreach, uh, going, going out to
community events, going out you know, posting, we call folks on our, um, who sign up on our
list. We, um, you know doing, using social media um, online calendars that kind of thing. We do
a variety of, of ways because well, one, we know there’s a lot going on and, you know people, I
think they say you need to see it three times in order for it to, to stick.

[laughter]
Gina: So, um. So anyway, so ​that​. But then also I mean, we, have over the years, I mean
definitely made connections and have working relationships with different groups and
communities and so, um, we’re very committed to, you know, building coalition with, um, with
you know, different organizations, members of the community, um. You know we, for instance
have worked a lot, uh, in the early 2000’s on, around immigrant rights and, um worked with
different, um, uh, well, multiracial organizations, um. You know, there were big protests there
also were community meetings and really trying to, um, have something specific we were
working on together so, uh, you know and I think especially in this time period that aspect is
really important because, of course we can see in the past couple weeks the variety of things that
have come out of the Trump administration that are affecting a lot of people, um, and that’s
going to continue so I think, um, really, I mean, being out in the community, attending other
events, you know, marches, protests, I mean really just being out there and talking to people and
talking to the people who are organizing it and, you know, um, that might, we might have a short
term goal we work on together, long term, um, we certainly have a long term [laughs] long term
goal but see that, you know, in the immediate, that people, um, changes need to be made so that
people can, you know, live their lives such as whatever that, however that might look like, you
know. Not being deported, not being imprisoned, not being shot by the cops. Having access to
healthcare that you need and you know, all of that, so.

Navpreet: Basic human rights.

Gina: Right, exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Navpreet: Let’s move on to our next question. Given that this is a socialist organization that was
founded during the Cold War, how was Radical Women able to gain following during a time
where socialism may have been an unpopular political ideology?

Gina: Yeah, um. That’s a good question.

[laughter]

Gina: Uh. I mean I think it has definitely, it has definitely been challenging, um, in that time and
I think, well certainly now especially, things are shifting I think there’s a lot more interest in, in
socialism and what it is and people who are agreeing. But, um, really, I mean what I would say I
guess is that we have just always been very out-front being socialists and feminists and, you
know, there’s definitely been, um, times that, that I have heard about where oh you know, don’t,
don’t say that, why do you need to say you’re socialist? Why do you need to say you’re radical?
Can’t you just be, can’t you just be women? Or, can’t you just be, you know, feminist if they
would even let you say feminist. But I mean there have been, I know, um, members who have
been involved, you know a longer time than I have that said, I mean they’ve literally, had to fight
to speak at, you know, at a meeting, at an event, um, at, you know, if they had an opportunity at a
rally the mic, the mic cord has been pulled on them and...

Natalia: Is it because they’re women? Or because they identify as socialists?

Gina: It’s, well sometimes it was hard to tell I think.

Natalia: Yeah

Gina: Um, but, I mean, I think certainly, uh, you know being women, being radical women first,
um, because even though you know, feminism, uh, you know the movement has, has grown I
mean of course it’s had a variety of types of feminism but, you know not every other, uh,
movement has been, open to feminism, right. So that was part of, um, part of I think some of it
sexism for sure, but, there was definitely an anti-radical component as well, um. So I think it, it,
uh, it, I mean we’ve always been, been clear that, you know, that we are radical, that we’re
socialist and feminist, and, and I think part of it, is just, I think, you know though we have faced
that push-back, there’s also been a lot of respect ultimately because we’ve been very principled
and just clear and, you know, debating, discussing. Um, you know many people don’t realize at
the time that they respect us but, [laughing] but you know, but, but it’s, so it’s, it’s definitely, has
been challenging even when I was, got involved in about 2001, I mean there was a different
response to, to socialism, you know, to Radical Women at all. Even that, even then I would
encounter people say oh, why you know, radical, ooh you’re kind of scary. Like, you know I
mean assuming that, we’re anti-man, or um, you know anti-trans and, neither of those are true. I
mean, as I was saying before we believe that feminism is for everybody and should be for
everybody. Um, so I’ve even seen that shift, um, in the time that I’ve been involved. It’s more,
you know, more openness and more, um, people who, not just who are open to the ideas but also
believe them too, so, um. Yeah, it’s definitely fluctuated, and you know, we’ve had, people will
tell, members will tell, uh, stories. There are actually some very hostile radical feminists who,
you know, also really believe that men are the problem. Who, you know, spray painted our hall
saying Radical Women, what was it, Radical Women, um, like, Radical Women lifts up men or
something, something like that.

Natalia: These were other feminists.

Gina: Yes, right, right, yeah. And I think actually it wasn’t this location, we used to be in the
University District, in, in like the late 80s?
Navpreet: Ohh, okay.

Gina: We moved here in the late 80’s, so prior to that. So it was a very, I mean certainly it was a
little bit of a different time but—

Navpreet: Mmhmm.

Gina: But that Radical Feminist omen is still out there, we’ve been debating them online,
actually. Uh, but, but no, you know, direct hostility like that. But it’s that kind of thing that
definitely had to overcome those, those challenges, um.

Navpreet: So you definitely differentiate yourself from, the feminists who are anti-man,
anti-trans.

Gina: Mmhmm

Navpreet: This is more of an open group, um, it’s not that men are evil, it’s just that women
deserve, their rights.

Gina: Right, right. And we really see that um, important component of, feminism for us is, is
class and understanding that, that, you know, especially with the working class that’s the
majority of us first of all, and you know who do the work, who make, you know we’re not all the
CEOs and billionaires, right but, um, but that is an important, um, aspect that crosses, you know
men and women and everyone and so, you know in our view to, to see that as an important part
of feminism, um, is actually, also what unites us, right, so. We have that, um, common interest,
so within the working class of course, there’s, you know, varying levels of oppression but um,
but that we do all have that in common. And so, we can use that as a basis to, to work together.

Navpreet: How do you support, um, the working class women? I know of the glass ceiling,
i—idea, where, you know if a woman is on top, she is much more likely to fall down quicker
than a man who is at a top job.

Gina: Yeah.

Navpreet: How do you, er, how do you support that? Or, um, bring awareness...

Gina: Yeah.

Navpreet: to, um, ideas?

Gina: Sure, um, I mean we have, I’ll start with a little bit of history. We have had our, our
founder, Clara Fraser, was, uh, sorry, this program at Seattle City Light tried to get women in the
electrical trades. She worked for Seattle City Light and, you know, saw that it was majority men
who were, and white men, who were in these positions of, you know, well paying, skilled jobs in
the trades, and so, she created this program and had the, the first electrical-trades trainee program
and, uh, handful of our members went into that program and other women as well. And so it was,
you know, to create, you know um, eq— you know, some level of equity in, in that. I mean that
was a specific field, a specific place but, you know, always looking for, um, I’ve always been
looking for ways to do that specifically, but also, um, really I mean advocating for, uh, well,
affirmative action and, reproductive rights I mean which includes, I mean choosing to have a
child or not and if you have a child that there’s childcare, there’s healthcare, there’s parental
leave I mean I see that these are all things that, that working women need in order to stay
employed, stay in school, I mean and, you know be able to make the choice. I mean of course
some women choose to stay at home, and that’s fine too, but to be able to have those kinds of,
you know support, support services, um, that make it possible. So, um, certainly you know we’ve
advocated for that at a city level and, you know, state level. I was, about, five years ago I was
coordinator, we had a campaign called Sisters Organized for Survival and we were specifically,
fighting, um budget cuts on the state level, which were cuts to social services and, and education
and, and wages and, um, you know we worked with a lot of other organizations and individuals
to stop cuts to basic health which, doesn’t exist anymore now that we have the affordable
healthcare act but, um. But, you know, seeing the way. we’re looking for ways that we can do
that kind of work, um, whether it be on the city or, or state level and um, and that will ultimately,
will support women in, being able to be part of the workforce.

Navpreet: That’s awesome. I remember reading on the website that, um, the, who was the
woman who, um, fought for women to be trained as electricians?

Gina: Oh, Clara Fraser.

Navpreet: Yeah, that she was, it was the first woman in history to, um, fight for women to be, uh,
er, was it to be, trained to be electricians.

Gina: Mmhmm.

Navpreet: That’s so cool.

Gina: Yeah.
Navpreet: I think that’s awesome.

Gina: Yeah. Yeah. She was, I mean I’ll say this, Clara was a longtime activist. I mean her
parents were, were radicals and she was part of socialist organizations growing up and was
definitely was sort of, you know, it was genetic. [laughter] I mean, you know, to some degree.
Um, but, but, so she certainly had that, you know, that upbringing and that helped, you know I
mean she became, a leader, uh, in Radical Women and, you know I mean was a leader through
her, through her life I mean part of why she and, Gloria Martin and all the women formed
Radical Women was because of the intense sexism they were facing as, you know women
radicals and working in, in socialist and social justice movements so, um, yeah so that was, she
was definitely, um, you know not, not afraid, you know was very bold and so it’s a, it’s a great
example, for sure.

Navpreet: That’s a really amazing example.

Gina: Yeah.

Natalia: I just had a, another question just going back to how you support other, um, things that
are happening like events. I just remember from your website, about uh, different campaigns you
had that Radical Women was part of. And, um, I know there was like a Mexican policewoman
who was put in jail.

Gina: Right.

Natalia: So, um that seems, you know like in a different country and seems far away I was just
wondering, how does Radical Women support these kind of, um, campaigns and like, you know.

Gina: Sure. Yeah, and I think if, um, I’m probably right about-- so it was Nestora Salgado who
was, um, originally from Mexico, um, you know was a US citi— ​is​ a US citizen. And um, as,
just to give a tiny background, um, so as an indigenous woman she was going, you know back
and forth to Mexico to help her community which was very poor, and so they have, in Mexico
they have what’s allowed under the Mexican constitution is community police force which is
something that particularly indigenous communities can form, because they were facing a lot of,
you know, violence from drug cartels or, you know mining companies who were destroying the
land. So it’s really a community defense. She was elected head of it, um, was, was put in jail
because she, uh, she and other commun— police force leaders were calling out there was a lot of
corruption and connection between the drug cartels and the official im—uh, government. And,
um how we found out about that is there was a small article in the newspaper in Los Angeles and
one of our members there saw that and saw that her husband and, some of her family lived in
Renton [laughs] and so, so--

Navpreet: Oh wow!

Natalia: So ​that’s​ how it’s connected!

Gina: Right, yeah. So, um, you know we, a couple folks got in touch with them and said we read
about this is there something that we can do, you know, from what, what had been um, people
had read you know seemed completely, unjust imprisonment and arrest of her and other
community police force leaders so, part of it, I mean just happened to, you know this connection
just happened and I mean, and this campaign was formed working with her family, local
committee and uh, was committees in different cities but... And, and different, certainly worked
with people in Mexico, um, as well. And, um, yeah it’s just how it [laughs] how it, it that
connection came about and I think also, I mean something that we saw was that you know, the
U.S. government has been sending a lot of money and, you know, uh military-style weapons to
Mexico which, um, we have seen and heard from people in Mexico that ends up getting used on
the people of Mexico. We saw that we had a responsibility in the U.S. to say, you know stop
sending, arms to Mexico that is ultimately killing innocent people in Mexico. So, you know, um,
so we have a role, so we had a role to play here. And certainly, I mean she is a woman leader,

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: Um, who was, you know, put in jail, was treated more harshly because of being a woman.
I mean, she was definitely experiencing sexism, so.

Natalia: So you kinda, that was a, like a, point where you could branch out more into a different,
region.

Gina: Absolutely.

Natalia: So that’s very cool.

Gina: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah! Yeah. It was really, a great, great experience.

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: And she was released and she’s free so...

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: It’s great to have a victory. [laughs]

Natalia: I thought it was unique, yeah. When I saw it.

Gina: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Navpreet: Do you reach out to other, er, cases in other countries. Have you tried?

Gina: Mmmhm, yeah, we have. I mean, um. I mean we’ve supported um, certainly in different
ways, either, um, you know, I’m trying to think of, uhhh... I mean I know there have been um,
different cases of deportations, you know, to central and Latin America, of, you know women in
particular that we’ve supported. Either we send in letters, we call, you know, put out kind of
action alerts to our email list, um, uh, send donations too. Um, and um, so we definitely look for
those opportunities and our, uh, national organizer, uh, who works out of Seattle has a lot of
those, um kind of national, international connections. We do also have a chapter in Melbourne,
Australia so, um, so certainly, you know they’re doing, that side of the world. Um, but yeah I
mean absolutely we see that, we know capitalism is international we know the impact on people
is, is international and so we definitely look for ways to, to reach out and you know what we,
what we can do I mean maybe we can’t always, you know, be part of a major campaign, but, we
certainly, do what we can, um, in raising awareness to, to women in other coun— parts of the
world, other countries.

Navpreet: That’s awesome.

Gina: Yeah.

Navpreet: Let’s go into our next question. So, how do you think progress with gay rights, um,
gay marriage, and race are affecting the platform and goal of Radical Women?

Gina: Um, I mean I would say, that you know, we, certainly recognize, you know, the progress.
It’s, it’s I think it’s kind of a mixed thing too because I mean for in— just taking gay marriage
for instance, that is an important victory and people should be able to get married if they want to.
But also recognizing that’s not, you know, in our view the solution to, to total, you know, queer
liberation. Um, because it’s still, uh, you know operating within, within, in the system. Um, and,
it’s not, I actually wrote uh, an article in the previous issue of the Freedom Socialist about, you
know that this is, that it’s, there’s not a sort of, how did I say it, like one size fits all liberation.
Because, you know, there are people who, who want to get married and that will be a benefit in
their life and that’s important, that’s great but, you know it doesn’t, um, it doesn’t change, you
know, uh, economic instability as far as like, you know, doesn’t make wages go up, it doesn’t
take away, um, you know, the, the threat of deportation, it doesn’t take away the fact that people,
um, may not be able to still access healthcare, um, that kind of thing. So, I think, you know, we
recognize that you know, these are, like, that is a victory, um, and in terms of, you know people
of color, I mean it’s such a, I think it, it’s, on one, there’s definitely progress in terms of, um, you
know, less I don’t know it’s hard, it’s all so hard to say right now because it doesn’t feel like
there’s less instance of racism and that there is that, that progress, but, um. I mean certainly,
certainly there is, um, but then you look at, uh, still the police brutality that is especially impacts
black community, black men in particular but you know, not exclusively. Um, but you know that
there is, there’s definitely a lot more awareness about, um, about it and, and that’s important.
Um, so I think that, you know what we, we really try to analyze okay what, how is this, this like
particular form—

Natalia: How far is it going? You know—

Gina: Right.

Natalia: What else do we need to do?

Gina: Right. Right. Um, and because you know one point for instance in Washington state we
had, um, you know there were affirmative action policies at, you know workplaces and, and
universities and now that’s been, banned, I mean there’s a statewide ban on, you know, a
company having affirmative action as an official, um, policy. So, uh, you know so that’s
something we will continue to advocate for, um. So, I think it’s important, you know we always
try to assess, like okay, maybe this is, there is an aspect of, of progress and victory to it, but it’s
not, you know, it’s not what we see as the full, the full thing that we need, but um—

Natalia: It won’t let, you won’t let it distract you.

Gina: Right. Right. Yeah! Right.

Natalia: Which is good.

Gina: Yeah and, yeah I mean I think, you know I was, certainly had a lot of, you know, meetings
and discussions around, around gay marriage and you know we had members who were queer
who were like, now we’re going to get married, and that’s you know, important to us. And okay
that is important. Um, and then like the affordable healthcare act. Uh, there were many, there are
many important aspects to it when it was passed, but you know, also um, it didn’t, we were
pushing for universal healthcare. So, you know, it’s, it’s important to, to analyze what has
worked and what, what hasn’t. Because also, I mean, a lot of these I think, we can, can look at
you know any of these, um, you know wins, or these reforms and they are, can be temporary
under capitalism I mean, certainly take reproductive rights and access to abortion, like it’s
slowly, chipped away you know and um, so, so that’s the kind of, um, that’s the kind of, uh, uh,
[laughs] um, um—

Natalia: The, the ide— the thought process behind Radical Women.

Gina: Right. Right.

Natalia: Like look at the whole, analyzing constantly the situation.

Gina: Yeah.

Natalia: Which is good, yeah.

Gina: And, and I think it also does inform us of, maybe where we need to keep pushing, you
know...

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: What is the, what is the thing that, that’s under attack. Um, you know I mean I think that
that, so that does certainly inform our, our immediate organizing and our long term, um, goal
too.

Navpreet: So the goal of Radical Women is not, just because same sex marriage was legalized,
does not mean that it has changed the culture’s mindset? Is what Radical Women is trying to
say? That the culture needs to change and needs to be more accepting?

Gina: Mmhmm. And, yeah, and I think that you know, also that not everyone is, wanting to, to
be part of that institution you know like, be part of, be part of marriage you know, be married be,
um, kind of, in that configuration of a relationship or, or a relationship at all. [laughs] You know,
I mean the benefits that come with marriage, um, should be available to everyone not just
dependent upon their marital status so.

Navpreet: Right.
Gina: So yeah, so I think certainly culture is part of it but then there’s also what comes with
that—

Navpreet: Mmmhmm

Gina: That win that, that um.

Natalia: The policy.

Gina: Right, right.

Navpreet: Awesome.

Gina: Yeah

Navpreet: So my next question is can you tell us of any big challenges you’ve overcome or
lessons you’ve learned with this organization and the political activism Radical Women engages
in?

Gina: Absolutely. Um, how much time do we have, uh. [laughter] I think, um, you know I think
that, you know what comes to mind as an example is, the campaign I talked about, Sisters
Organized for Survival, that I was the coordinator of, and you know for me personally working
on the, the state legislative level was very new. I mean I had been to Olympia for, you know
different actions but as far as really understanding how that part of the system works, how the
legislature works, uh, you know, and how bills go through the process, who to, to contact, how to
do it, um, it was all very new to me and you know, and we, we also felt like, you know we
wanted to have a combination of, I mean you know, certainly lobbying, and you know meeting
with legislators but also doing more, um, kind of direct action you know I mean, uh, rallying,
outside of, outside of the capital but also, inside the capital. And really how to build that um, so
not only understanding of the system but how to, to build the base of who was going to, who we
were going to work with to do that, you know in terms of, of organizations and individuals and
how to keep that, building, that outreach, um, and that base of who was involved building. Um,
because certainly you know, within that too we worked, I worked a lot with, we worked a lot
with um, labor unions because there were, um, you know there were anti-worker legislations, um
I mean, social services was being pitted against teacher salaries and state-worker salaries and so
we said these should not be pitted against each other. There’s enough money in this state, um,
because of the millionaires and billionaires and corporations that aren’t getting taxed, um, to
fund all of this, right. So, so it was okay how to, so we see that as a, a target right, to, to work
with organized labor unions. So how to get there and also learning that, they have a process, it’s
not, you can’t just go there and say okay we want you to be there and work with us, well there’s
a process they go through, um. And, and, and formulating, okay what’s our message, you know,
what are our kind of demands that we’re calling for and do people agree with that. And, so I
think it’s, it, it was definitely, um, a big learning experience. And, I think in terms of you know
Radical Women is about building women’s leadership, right, in these different movements and
how to have a leader, you know, take the lead but also, to be, um, for it to be democratic and
accountable. I wasn’t there to tell everybody what to do. Um, you know it was a collective effort
so, um, I, and I think that applies to so much of the organizing we have done since then and prior
to it. Um, I think it’s certainly educating ourselves, challenging ourselves, um and, recognizing
when something is working and when it’s not, or, how we can, maybe make it work. So, um, I
think those are the broad lessons all the time. [laughs] And you know, and really seeing, how,
um, you know how things change. I mean, I may have, again, the idea that okay I want to focus
on healthcare but maybe actually that’s not as immediate of a threat than say, housing might be.
Um, so, yeah.

Navpreet: That’s awesome.

Gina: Yeah.

[pause]

Navpreet: Did you have any follow-up questions?

Natalia: No, no. Just wondering what the next question was, but...

Navpreet: Okay.

Natalia: Yeah I was thinking about those, you said that your, you were, um, you had, uh, one of
the challenges or lessons you were going through, had to do with the message of Radical
Women.

Gina: Mmhmm.

Natalia: So, um, it’s been changing over time because of events? Or, um, you know, because of
who you’re working with?

Gina: Mmmhm. Yeah, both I mean, in that, in the example Sisters Organized for Survival, um, I
mean it was a campaign of Radical Women and, and people have to be in Radical Women to be
part of the campaign, um, which, that was a new, new thing for me, I mean, for myself and I
think for the organization too, as, I mean we’ve had campaigns at different times that Radical
Women members are part of but it’s not exclusive. But, for instance within that, I mean in terms
of like the messaging and, and demands, um, what we saw in that, you know, in the, this, like,
the line from the state legislature was “there’s not enough funding for all of this,” right. And so,
we said, okay but we see that there is funding, and this is, what, so this is how, um, taxing, taxing
the rich and corporations, um corporate profits. And so, one that required us to do research and to
okay, well so how much money are we talking about, I mean, really getting specific but also, um,
at that time there were other organizations calling for it but just raise, raise revenue no matter
what the revenue is, I mean the state needs money, let’s just raise revenue, but, what, um, the
distinction that we wanted to make is that, you know, poor and working people are actually taxed
at a higher rate, uh, across the board, than, you know than, than wealthy people and certainly
corporations were getting, you know, millions and billions in tax breaks and, um, so, that, that
time that we saw that messages as limiting because, you know the goal, part of the goal in
raising, you know, tax the rich was to, to, to show that the rich were not being taxed. Uh—

Natalia: Being more specific while the other organizations were just like “we need money.”

Gina: Right, right, right, um. And you know, and even within that too, talking about okay so the,
the poor and the working people that are taxed the most is a lot of women, lot of people of color,
um mainly, men too but, talking about wom— how it impacts women within that as well, so.

Natalia: Oh yeah. Staying true to the, women.

Gina: Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

Natalia: Feminism too.

Gina: Because I mean, it, because we know that it did, I mean the, the social services that were
cut, were mostly, I mean, my background is in social work so I know, huh, I know for a fact that
the majority of, you know, social service recipients are women. I mean, they’re single mothers
and, um, so yeah, so I mean it’s, that’s, that was what was going on.

Natalia: How to be consistent as things change, and road bumps. Yeah.

Gina: Right, right, yeah. And, and distinguishing ourselves and at the same time saying, you
know like the organizations were saying “we want to just raise revenue no matter what,” well we
did also want to work with them and say well this is why we think the message should be tax the
rich. And, you know, sometimes we came to agreements sometimes we didn’t.
Natalia: Mmmhm.

Gina: And that’s, well, part of the, part of the, part of the process. So.

Navpreet: Alright, so where does Radical Women plan to go from here considering the recent
changes in government? Uh, what is Radical Women’s ultimate vision, politically or generally,
for the society and this whole country?

Gina: Yeah, um, I mean I think certainly, uh, I think, with the, the massive women’s marches,
you know we see that this is an opportunity for, really a, a rebirth of a massive feminist
movement. Um, it certainly is, uh, a question of if that can happen, um, and what that will look
like. Um, but we’d like to see that happen, we’d like to be part of that and work with, you know,
work with other feminists, uh, on, you know the, e— either if it’s tax on reproductive rights, if
it’s um, you know, massive deportations or building of walls or banning people from, you know,
from some countries or more. Um, but really, um, I think that, seeing how, how these all are, are
feminist issues. I mean, the other, you know, the other thing, um, I’ll just throw in here too is that
I, uh, in November was able to go to Standing Rock. I was, Radical Women, sent me there and
spent some time there, um, and worked with and interviewed a lot of, um, native women and
youth leaders who were really, the leaders of the movement. And, uh, and I think making those
connections too, I mean seeing that it’s either how, how women are impacted or how women are
fighting back and so, you know certainly that’s a feminist issue as well, right. So I think that is
really, I mean overall, we’d like to really build a, you know, multi-issue, uh, radical, feminist
movement. Um, and so I, you know, and in a broad sense but I think also, you know, um, more
locally, you know, seeing how, like we’re participating in this clinic defense on, on Saturday. It’s
organized by a different group but really there’s, you know there’s attacks on Planned
Parenthood or certainly threatened attacks on Planned Parenthood. There’s always been a threat
to defund it, um, but you know so I think the immediate defense of, of services that are provided,
um, for women in particular and, um. I think it’s really, you know, we, we are definitely
grappling with the question of, of, how to, where to focus. [laughs] Um, because, because it’s,
you know, we’re all in, I think, and many activists that I’ve talked to are in this mode of, well we
have so much we have to defend. So we have to defend everything all the time. And I think that
you know there are a lot of people who are really ready to, who are getting active maybe for the
first time, maybe again, um, those of us, you know, who have been doing it too, I mean there’s a
combination of, of all that. And so, you know we’re going to various, like there’s neighborhood
action councils or community meetings too that, um, where we want to meet people and say,
okay, let’s keep connected and talk about, what, how can we stop, you know sort of stop these
attacks but also what do we want to, to build. I mean, you know we didn’t win the election for
instance, you know we didn’t support Hillary Clinton. Thought she certainly had the right to run,
and when she’s facing all this sexist attack that that’s wrong. Um, but, you know we don’t also
think that just putting a democrat in office is the solution, right. Um, and so, you know, so, we
want to, at least, I think at the, I would say minimum is to have in this electoral arena, to have a,
a viable, you know, left, third party, um, we think should be anti-capitalist, um, socialist would
be great. I mean certainly in Seattle, you know having Kshama Sawant on the council I mean
that’s, that’s an important, that was an important victory. And um, you know it’s a good, that’s
an opening for, for, uh, for socialism for sure. Um, but I think you know, doing that on a local
level and, then hopefully national, um, might, it might actually be a little easier now, [laughs]
than it would have, than it has been, um. Because, you know, I mean under democratic president,
I mean, things are, maybe a little bit better. Our people are a little more like, there’s an, I think an
overall sense of, okay well, maybe things are going to be okay. But now, people know it’s not
going to be okay so I think there’s opportunity to say, we need more than what we’ve gotten. I
hope that answers the question.

Navpreet: It does. It does.

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: Okay. [laughs]

Navpreet: I was just, processing, or agreeing to everything you were saying.

Gina: Yeah, great.

Natalia: Well, um, before we end the interview, right, we forgot to just say um, in the beginning
like what this project is about, right. So um, because we only have like one short question after,
right?

Navpreet: Yes.

Natalia: Okay so, so this project, um, we are just, you know, it’s called feminist knowledge
production, I think that’s what we’re calling it in class. That we just, want to, since groups like
this and, you know, women in general in history haven’t had their voices heard or, you know
been written about this is kind of, what we want to do, um, as part of, you know, pushing
feminism, as,or, like uh, researching and interviewing these organizations like Radical Women
and then, getting some information about them online and, you know, about the histories and the
movements so. Yeah we, we have an archive and so this interview is going to be part of, uh,
documents that we’re going to submit to that in the UW Bothell, no, yeah, the UW library online
database that, this is where this interview is going to be and a few other papers and pictures that
we have so yeah.
Gina: Great.

Natalia: That’s our project.

Gina: Yeah, that’s great. Great.

Navpreet: This class has actually been pretty great, we’ve been learning about all like the badass
things women have done throughout history that I wasn’t even aware of and, feminism is
something I have been a part of since, I think high school. I’ve been researching, but um,
learning about, er, even in politics and then, um, I think last week it was the mothers and
grandmothers of Argentina.

Gina: Mmm,yeah.

Navpreet: And we learned about— that was awesome.

Gina: Yeah.

Natalia: Yeah.

Navpreet: Things like that.

Natalia: The unheard things, and getting it out there.

Gina: Absolutely. That’s great, that’s great. Yeah. Because I think it is, um, you know that
knowledge can be seen as sort of a dangerous weapon, right. I mean once you know it you can’t
unknow it. And you want to know, at least that was for me, it’s like once I started learning I was
like, what else don’t I know, you know.

Natalia: Mmmhm, yeah.

Gina: It just, it’s a snowball and here I am.

Navpreet: It like keeps me up at night. I just keep thinking about these things. And it, it just
makes me realize how, wrong the world has been and it’s because you didn’t know, you didn’t
realize there were so many things that were wrong.

Gina: Right, right.

Natalia: Yeah.

Navpreet: So it’s definitely a long learning process.

Gina: Yeah, right, absolutely. Absolutely.

Navpreet: Yeah. So our last questions is if you don’t mind, may we ask your age?

Gina: Oh, sure. I’m 39.

Navpreet: Oh, and when did you, um, become a part of, or, what age were you at?

Gina: Let’s see, um, I think I was, 23. Yeah because I came to Seattle when I was 22 so it was
about, about a year after I came.

Navpreet: When did you, um, decide you wanted to be, you know, actively involved in feminism
and the movements?

Gina: Yeah, um I, let’s see, really the beginning point for me when I was 17, in high school. I
was raised in a small town in southern Illinois. And I was raised catholic and, um, I started really
asking questions about, well, why aren’t women priests? And, you know kind of that, that was
the beginning, the beginning of it all for me. Because, you know, I, that was actually my, my
high school term paper was about why women should be priests. And, um, you know kind of
researching that, that history of sexism within the catholic church which continues today. But
um, it was just really, well that’s not right I mean I just knew on a gut level it’s not right. That, I
mean if there were women who wanted to be priests that they should be able to. And I also had,
um, you know a couple, uh, feminist teachers, um, my psychology teacher, my journalism
teacher, my English teacher somewhat, she was a little more mild, she was definitely supportive
of the paper I was writing, who would talk about women and would talk about feminism, talk
about equality, and um. And I also remember, uh, you know having this discussion with a good
friend of mine because at the time I thought I was anti-abortion that’s what I was raised with.
And, she really, and she wasn’t, and she asked me a lot of questions about why and, it was, I
think the combination of those things just really set me on a path to, to understanding what
feminism was, um, how it fit for me, um, and then I just, I got, you know I was doing
volunteering in my local town and then when I went away to college I got involved in the
women’s coalition, and the, at the time it was called the gay-straight alliance and, it just all
started coming together for me. And, I remember when I, um, learned about socialism in, uh,
philosophy class, I thought, well, that sounds good to me. Because I was on this social work path
too, and, so it just, when I came to Seattle and found Radical Women, a listing in the newspaper
for a, a study group on the Radical Women manifesto, and, I read it and I was like, oh my god,
this is just, this is what I was looking for because I was doing a lot of different things, but all in
these different places. It’s really, to me, where it all came together, everything that I cared about
and wanted to fight for was happening, here, so.

Navpreet: That’s awesome. That’s very admirable.

Gina: Thank you, yeah.

[inaudible]

Navpreet: Thank you so much for doing this, and taking the time.

Gina: Absolutely, yeah. No it’s, I mean, I always appreciate the, I like to know what’s happening
right with, you know, within the university but it’s good, it’s good practice for me too.

Natalia: Yeah.

Gina: And to connect, so, cool.

Natalia: We got a lot of good information.

Interview 2 Questions:

1. Please say your name, title and date.

(BRIEFLY EXPLAIN PROJECT)
2. In general, what is the structure of your organization Radical Women? Do you vote to
elect the organization’s president? Are there subgroups of members who have different
tasks to complete?
3. What are the sources of Radical Women’s funding?
4. In the meeting that our members have attended on January 26 when the basket was
passed around the room, it was mentioned that Radical Women does not want to receive
any funding or sponsorship from other sectors. Can you elaborate more on that?
5. What do you think are the first steps towards achieving socialism? How is Radical
Women helping accomplish those steps?
6. What are the goals of this organization and how have they changed over the years and
why?
7. Can you tell us of any big challenges you’ve overcome or lessons you have learned with
this organization and the political activism Radical Women engages in?
8. If you do not mind, may I ask your age?
 Margaret Viggiani Interview
February 14, 2017
Seattle, Washington, USA
Interviewers: Navpreet Sekhon, Ploypun Sajjamanachai
Transcribed by: Ploypun Sajjamanachai

Interviewee Name: Margaret Viggiani

Interviewer Name: Navpreet Sekhon
Interview Date: February 14, 2017
Interview Place: Office of Radical Women, Seattle, WA
Interview Description: Margaret Viggiani discussed the history and structure of Radical Women,
the stands of the organization, and her experience working for the group.
Organizations Discussed: Radical Women
Transcribed by: Ploypun Sajjamanachai
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, feminism, Margaret Viggiani

Navpreet: Alright.

Margaret: Those are cool. Is that the same program on both of them? Very nice.

Navpreet: Alright, so.

Margaret: Alright, mhmm.

Navpreet: Let's start, um, please say your name, title, and date.

Margaret: Well, my name is Margaret Viggiani and I am the finance director for National
Radical Women. I am also part of the National Radical Women, um, na- it gets confusing. The
National Radical Women National Executive Committee, um, which is the leadership body for
uh, the, U.S. branches of Radical Women.

Navpreet: And today's date?

Margaret: Oh, sorry. Today is Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day. It's February 14​th​, 2017.
Navpreet: Happy Valentine's Day. So we're going to start by explaining the project to you, which
is um, it's for gender and sexuality history movement's class. And what we're doing is the archive
project, which is, we're looking at local organizations around Seattle uh, focused on gender. Uh,
we have some groups that um, help with domestic violence, and then we have Radical Women,
which is empowering women. We also have um, LGBT um, organizations that we're all
studying. We're researching them. Uh, we're attending two of their events, and we're doing some
interviews to get uh, kind of learn about the organization, and we're going to present it to our
class, and it's going to be put in the UW Library system.

Margaret: Wonderful.

Navpreet: Awesome. So, my first question for you is, in general, what's the structure of your
organization, Radical Women? Do you vote to elect the organization's president, or are there
subgroups of members who have different tasks to complete?

Margaret: Well, thank you. That's a good question. Um, we are a, what's called a
membership-based organization, so we say that the highest, um, the short version is we vote.
How's that? The long version is, we believe that the membership in voting sets the direction for
the organization. Um, so, our national, when we have um, national conferences, is when we vote
in our national leadership. And um, that's also when we vote in, sort of our um, game plan for the
upcoming period, then the leadership is charged with implementing the ideas that come out of a
convention. And the same thing is also done on local level. Um, Gina, who you guys interviewed
earlier who's the local Seattle Radical Women organizer, she was, she and her executive
committee, were elected by the local membership.

Navpreet: Okay, and this happens every four years?

Margaret: It happens as, as frequently as we want it to. So it can happen more frequently than
four years. You know? It uh, it depends on what's going on in the world.

Navpreet: Mm-hmm

Margaret: Um, we don't have uh, we don't have a set, we don't have set term limits. Um, but I
would say we try to do it... Every five years or less. Um, because one of the purposes of Radical
Women is training women into leadership, so changing leadership is a very important part of the
organization's goal.

Navpreet: Right.
Margaret: Yeah.

Navpreet: So it's more open ended, which is nice.

Margaret: Yeah, and then, and then, you know, say, someone like may have been on an
executive committee and then moved into a different position like organizer. Um, people on the
executive committees can have job titles like I do. I was actually elected to be a finance director,
but some people are just sort of committee members-at-large, and then they fulfill the tasks as
needed, depending on what's going on in the world. Like, who could have imagined, realistically,
that we would be where we are in 2017, three years ago, right? You couldn't. But, here we are,
and so you've got to have some flexibility in your leadership and in your organization to be able
to say, okay, you know, now we really need to organize on these issues. Who can step up? Who
is interested? Who is passionate on this? Who wants to take the lead? And that's part of the
process.

Navpreet: Okay, yeah. No, that makes sense to follow what's going on in the world to find your
leadership. And then, um, are there subgroups of members who have different tasks they need to
complete for the organization?

Margaret: We, we have, what we call um, fractions, which are exactly what they sound like.
Small parts of the whole. And, um, in Radical Women, we've got um, members that are part of a
labor fraction, and this is a joint fractions between Radical Women and our sister organization,
The Freedom Socialist Party, and the members in that are all in unions, and this is a way to
coordinate union work. Um, we have a, uh, LGBTQ fraction, of, um, it doesn't necessarily mean
everybody who's LGBTQ in the organizations is in it, just people who are interested in
organizing in the movement. Uh, so, that they keep, you know, what the fractions do is, they help
organize the work of the larger organizations. They say, you know, This is coming up. This is
really important. We have to get involved in it. There's a march this week. There's a rally two
months from now. Or there's this really terrible bill coming down the pike, and you know, we've
got to organize everyone we know to go to Olympia to oppose that. So it just depends on what's
going on. Like right now, the labor fraction is very involved with opposing this push towards
right to work laws. I don't know how up-to-date you guys are on right to work laws, but if it
passes, it basically means that unions, it'll undermine unions completely. And, and every state
where right to work laws have passed, unions have been decimated and wages and living
conditions have fallen. So this is not a good thing. It's not a good thing for you guys, coming out
of school with that. You've got to get jobs that pay. You don't need jobs that uh, pay less than
minimum wage because they've undermined the minimum wage laws, well.

Navpreet: Wow that's really-

Margaret: So did that, did that answer it clearly enough?

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: So, so we've got labor, we've got a commands of color caucus, which is made up of
comrades of color. This is also a joint fraction of um, Radical Woman and The Freedom Socialist
Party. We've uh, currently, right now, we have an LGBTQ fraction, and we had at one point, a
young moms fraction, uh, so you know, we have different fractions for different times depending
on who's in the organization and what's going on, so.

Navpreet: Yeah, no, that makes sense. Having different subgroups for different movements, I
guess?

Margaret: Yeah, and, and, and for, yeah different movements and also uh, just, things that are of
interest to people, you know, you want them to work together.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: Being Radical Women takes a feminist women in the broadest possible sense. I think
you guys got this from Gina also.

Navpreet: We've been noticing that from our studying.

Margaret: We are not, and, and in a lot of ways, when we were first formed, we took a lot of
grief from, we used to say that we're the uh, feminist, we were the feminist movement of the left,
back when the left was disavowing, and by the left I mean the socialist movement, was
disavowing feminism, calling it petty bourgeoisie, saying that it wasn't really working class
based, who they think feminists are, I don't know. This mentality has very much changed. I think
you guys are aware of this. Um, but you know, back in the 60s and the 70s and even the 80s and
the 90s when I first started coming around, people would just be like, feminism is not a working
class issue. You know, that's what middle class white women do. Discounting all the women of
color from the beginning who have been feminists from, you know, the dawn of time up. Um,
and then the other thing that Radical Women does, or has been, continues to be, in the feminist
movement, we've always brought our socialism, and our multi-issuism, and, you know, we've
always said it can't just be about, it can't just be about abortion rights, which are important, but it
has to be about childcare. It has to be about education and housing. Because in the end, this is
what women need, and quite frankly, what women need, is what everyone needs. You know? I
mean, our women are just… The oppression of women based on gender is a, historical, which
we're not going to into for this discussion, but, the fact that um, the fact that uh, so many people
like to limit feminism to a very small box, is, is a very, very narrow view of feminism that
neither we have and quite frankly nowadays, a lot of groups don't have. But, back in the 60s and
70s it was, it was certainly the more left radical wing of the feminist movement that had the
multi-issue approach.

Navpreet: Yeah, I think that's interesting um, I think a lot of people don't realize that, there are
women in other countries, especially in the middle east, that are, I hear stories, or read stories
about them getting burned alive by their in-laws just for being women who are not educated
enough to live on their own. And, I think people don't realize that those women need feminism
and they need those rights.

Margaret: And that a lot of women, I mean don't discount women, you know, there are feminist
groups in Pakistan, there are feminist groups in Iraq, there are feminist groups in Afghanistan.
You know? It may not look exactly like we're used to feminism looking like, but there are
women on the front lines. Uh, the Kurdish women are on the front lines of battling ISIS. Whether
or not they call themselves feminists, I have no idea, but to me, the fact that you're fighting for
your homeland, you're fighting for your right to exist, you know, you're fighting for yourself and
your family, you know, RAWA, um, Revolutionary Afghan Women's Association I think is what
it stands for. You know, they have been working to get, um, education programs in Afghanistan.
Women all over the world, whether it is, uh, shouted from the rooftops or not, have been fighting
to throw off the shackles of lack of education, um, lack of opportunity, you know. Because
education is a very good step towards economic betterment. Depending on where you are, but,
you know, it's hard to get ahead in the world without a little bit of education.

Navpreet: For sure. Education is key. Especially for women.

Margaret: Especially for women.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: Well, they've done those studies too, haven't they?

Navpreet: Mm-hmm

Margaret: You guys probably know more about that than I do.

Navpreet: Yeah, we've been studying a lot about. I, I've come to, or even throughout my life, I've
come to the realization that, if women were more educated, they wouldn't be as oppressed as they
are. Especially the women in, from different cultures. Cultures that believe that women shouldn't,
or don't need education as much as men do.

Margaret: But, you know, when you're talking about different cultures, I think it's also really
important to not let the U.S. off the hook on this.

Navpreet: For sure.

Margaret: Because there are plenty of people in the United States that believe that women don't
need an education. That education is wasted on women, um, and, and, and I'm going to say
people, not just men, because this is not a gender-specific thought. Um, there are, you know, uh,
it's, it's not always religious-based either though, it's, there are many religions that don't believe
in the education of women the way we would consider education. Um, the actual learning of
sciences and math, and, um, so, I, I, some… I think it's important to look overseas, but I also
think it's important to look in our own backyards.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: Cause there's a lot of BS that goes on right, right near home as they say. I will not
swear on this tape, I promise. Okay, I don't promise. Knock wood on that one.

Navpreet: Let's move on to our third question.

Margaret: Third question.

Navpreet: What are the sources of Radical Women's funding?

Margaret: We get our funding basically from two areas. We get em from members, and we get
em from supporters. We are a donation-based organization. That's how we get by. Um, members
pay regular monthly dues and pledges, and um, actually many supporters pay regular uh, pledges
whether they be monthly, quarterly, yearly. And, um, then on, we have regular fundraising
activities that we'll do throughout a year. International Women's Day events, um, Women's
Rights Day events, maybe a Halloween event. We might do oh, any kind of, rummage sale, I-I
don't know, I don't know if Gina told you last year, uh, Seattle Radical Women did a bake sale,
which always goes over big. People think it's cute.

Navpreet: That is cute.

Margaret: But it makes money, you know?

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: Uh, plus, people really like to come in, to come in here and bake during the holiday
season cause they don't want to bake at home. So, we take orders from people, and we, people
come on in, and they bake, and then we wrap it all up nice, and send it out to people, and you
know, make some money in the process. So. So different things like that is how we make money,
and then, um, bequeathments, uh, you know, when people pass and... leave you money.

Navpreet: Um, Gina, in our last interview, mentioned that this building is also rented out
sometimes? Is that another source of funding?

Margaret: Yeah, Gina was not 100% accurate on that. She is correct, it is rented out. It's not a
source of funding for Radical Women. Radical Women actually rents, this hall is owned by an
associated called Freeway Hall Association, which is kind of an umbrella group. It's a 501C3 I
believe, umbrella, and it um, rents to Radical Women, National Radical Women, um, the
different other entities and then the groups that come in and use it like on a regular bases, like
Hempfest, has their monthly meetings here. SWAP, which is um, Sex Workers Outreach
Program, they have regular monthly meetings here. And different organizations like that. But
that money actually goes to Freeway Hall Association. That does not go to Radical Women.

Navpreet: Oh, okay. That makes sense.

Margaret: Yeah.

Navpreet: So, um, it says here, in the meeting that our members attended on January 26​th​, when
the basket was passed around the room, it was mentioned that Radical Women does not want to
receive any funding or sponsorship from other sectors. Can you elaborate more on that?

Margaret: Uh, I think what they meant is we don't take money from, we don't take, well, they
wouldn't give it to us, but we don't take any money from um, uh, they, that comes with strings
attached. You know? A lot of foundations get money from um, places like the Gates Foundation,
and I know the Gates Foundation, in many people's minds has a very good reputation but I, don't
actually have a very high opinion on what they do. I think they muck around with in the. Let's
just say, the Gates Foundation is all for charter schools and I'm really opposed to them. That's
just one of the many issues we don't agree on. But uh, so when you take money from foundations
in certain places, you know, it comes with, this is what you're going to work on. You're going to
work on this issue or you're going to, and so, we don't do that. Which is one of the reasons why,
um, we uh, I mean we, like I said, they wouldn't give it to us, but we couldn't take it, because we
don't take money that comes with strings attached to it. People can't say, I'll give you this money,
if you work on this project. This is only for working on the issue of the hazards of smoking
towards women. Maybe that's the most important issue out there; maybe it's not. I'm sure it's very
important. Depending on how you feel about the question, but it's not our political priority. Our
political priorities are set by our membership.

Navpreet: That's great.

Margaret: So, I hope that I helped clarify what happened at the meeting.

Navpreet: That does.

Margaret: I'm very sorry I missed that meeting. I was out of town that day.

Navpreet: I missed that meeting too but um, Ploy attended it, and-

Margaret: What did you think?

Ploy: It was fun um, it was fun. Yeah.

Margaret: Good.

Ploy: I got to hear a lot of opinions from people.

Margaret: I heard there was quite a crowd.

Ploy: Yeah, like, probably like 45 or 50 people were there.

Margaret: That's actually pretty good for a Thursday night, so, that was nice to hear. I heard they
had, that's what Gina thought too. She thought there was 45 or 50 people there.

Navpreet: Especially after the Women's March. A lot of people probably wanted to become a
part of something.

Margaret: That march was a, were you guys able to attend?

Navpreet: I so wish I would have attended.

Margaret: If you could have gone back in time, I would have told you guys to go. You could, you
could feel it in the air. People were excited, but even I didn't think it was going to be as huge, I
thought there'd be like 20-30,000, which was going to be humongous, right?

Navpreet: How many were -

Margaret: In Seattle they're saying there was between 100 and 130,000.

Navpreet: Oh my gosh

Margaret: Yeah, and it supposed, in, in a, Los Angeles they were saying what, between 500 and
700,000?

Navpreet: I believe that.

Margaret: In D.C. there was, they say a million, but, you know, if L.A. is getting 500, 700,000,
who knows how many were in D.C. It was crazy. I mean, and it wasn't just, it was, it was,
women and men, and all ages, and all genders, because it was certainly not gender binary in any
shape, way shape or uh, form, and people of many ethnicities, and ages. I saw little ones getting
pushed in strollers with their little pink hats on and old folks with their walkers and, and, just
people came out, and I think, not that walkers makes you old. Wow, that was probably an ageist
comment. Sorry about that. Um, but, I, I think people came out 'cause I think people have been
ready and angry for a while. And, and there hasn't been a call that resonated, but women have
been taking it on the chin for the last few years. There's no getting around it. The attacks on
education, attacks on abortion rights, attacks on low income housing, attacks on, you know, um,
the uh, SNAP programs, which is uh, food stamps. Um, all these attacks primarily hit women.
Often women of color. The attacks on immigrants now are hitting women and kids no matter
what they say. And, the thing is, is it's like, women were ready to go. And, and, everybody was
ready to go. The LGBT community, people of color, you know, Black Lives Matters, Native
Lives Matters, Standing Rock, it was all there, and it was all there because people felt like the
time is now. I believe people came together because people were ready to be united. They're tired
of movements that tell them, the only thing we care about is this one little teeny weeny
subsection. The attacks on us are too coordinated. We must be coordinated in our defense.

Navpreet: I think that's amazing. I wish I would have been a part of that. It's a moment in history.
And it was there when I was there, and I just wish I would have been a part of it.

Margaret: You know what? There will be other moments in history and next time they show up,
you guys will be ready to go.
Navpreet: I will.

Margaret: That's the important part. Don't ever lose, don't ever miss, everyone can miss one
opportunity. You don't miss the opportunity when it comes knocking again.

Navpreet: Yeah.

Margaret: You open that door.

Navpreet: Agreed. So, my next question for you is, what do you think are the first steps towards
achieving socialism. How is Radical Women helping to accomplish these steps?

Margaret: Well, I think, what Radical Women really does, is it helps with the education process.
Um, I mean, Radical Women's real goals are to uh, build women's leadership, and to build the
left-wing, so to speak, of the feminist movement. Um, because, because, as we saw at the
Women's March, the feminist movement has the capability of really bringing together a lot of
disparate ideas. Um, a lot of disparate, what could be conceived of as disparate movements, but
really put them under one umbrella. And that is very important. In terms of, and, and the building
of women's leadership, because without the voices of women, without the voices, particularly, of
women of color, of the LGBTQ community, of the people that have been most oppressed under
capitalism. You will not build the movement needed. It won't have the, it, it, won't have the
strength, because it won't have the correct demands to really tackle the system. You know,
whenever somebody says, if you go to an event, and you're looking at a, all white, or all male,
you kind of go, huh, really the couldn't find any women to speak on this subject? You know, or,
There's no women of color involved in this? And, and you kind of ask yourself, Like, what? You
feel like there's a missing voice, right? Because there is. You can't have, we believe, that what
this strength in the movement comes from listening to and the leadership of the most oppressed
under capitalism. And we think that helps build the socialist movement. Whether, Radical
Women itself is never going to take state power, so to speak, um, we believe in vanguard parties.
Our sister organization, The Freedom Socialist Party, is a vanguard party. We are not a vanguard
party. We are a mass movement organization. We believe in being involved in mass movements,
and building mass movements, and helping to grow them and push them to the left. That's our,
that's our role, that's our job. Um, and in doing that, we're helping to build towards a revolution,
and we're always talking about really educating on why capitalism, why it's important to fight for
reforms under capitalism, but when you realize you can't get the simplest of reforms, like, I'm
sorry, we couldn't even keep trans-gendered bathrooms for what, a year before the fight started
again? We're fighting over abortion rights for the last 40 years. It may or may not get overturned.
Quite frankly, in you guys', I fear for you young folks. Folks. That's an old timey word. But um,
you know. I mean you guys are the ones that are living with the failure of the 60s to really have a
socialist revolution. You know? Cause what we're seeing, this whole, that the economy's tanking,
and we're seeing a huge pendulum switch, swing, to the right. Um, but we're doing everything in
our power, but clearly, people are ready to swing back. I mean, it moved right enough to scare
people. It moved right enough, fast enough to, I think, get people, out of the, oh my gosh we
have to do something about this, into the oh yeah, we’re doing something about this, and that is a
change. You know? People have been griping for a long time. They just haven't been doing
much about it. And, even though you wish you could stand on a street corner and say hey, come
on, let's all move now. You can't move faster than people are ready to go. No matter how much
you believe things should be moving along faster, movements, movements have an ebb and a
flow to them.

Navpreet: I think it's nice for, in the social media generation, I think a lot of us are becoming
aware of many issues through social media.

Margaret: I believe that.

Navpreet: Because I, I didn't know of many of the issues in the world, and I see it online and it
makes, it makes me think, and it makes me realize a lot. Yeah.

Margaret: Well I think you guys are much more connected to the world. I mean, you can pick up
your, you can pick up your cell phone, and text somebody or Skype somebody, or, I'm sorry
Skype is probably old school. Google chat.

Navpreet: FaceTime.

Margaret: Oh FaceTime, sorry. You know, but you can FaceTime somebody in Africa. You
could, uh, you know, you could Facetime somebody in China. Or, you know, halfway around the
globe. Australia, uh, England, South America. You couldn't do that when I was a kid. You could
have a pen pal. You could write a letter. And maybe, in a month, the letter you wrote would
arrive, and then they would send you a letter back, and, two months later, and you could do it
with a couple of people 'cause it was very time consuming and, but now, you can, you can read
newspapers around the globe that are being translated into English and, there is so much more
news out there. There's unfortunately so much more crapola that passes itself off as news, but if
you are a educated consumer of the news, you can figure, you know, you can figure out if it's a
reputable source or not, and take it from there.

Navpreet: Yeah. I agree.

Margaret: Alright. What else?

Navpreet: What are the goals of this organization and how have they changed over the years?
Why?

Margaret: Well, Radical uh, did Gina tell you about the founding of Radical Women in her chat?

Navpreet: She did, um, a little bit. It had to do with, um, the, the electrician, or was it, women
weren't electricians, and-

Margaret: Okay.

Navpreet: She told me that story.

Margaret: We're going to go back a little bit farther than the electrical trades trainings. I'm going
to go back to how Radical Women was founded. So, way back in the 60s, neither Gina nor I
were around back then. We were twinkles, as they like to say, in our parents eyes. Um, but uh,
there was a big civil rights movement. You guys have studied it, the, uh, none of, the anti-war
movement was, was starting to really take off and the women's movement hadn't quite kicked off
yet. And there were a lot of women involved in the civil rights movement, and there were a lot of
women involved in the anti-war movement. And, in the civil rights movement, there was, from
what I can tell, sexism was an issue, but in the anti-war movement, sexism was a huge issue.
Women were told, you can't speak from the stage, this doesn't affect you, women can't be
drafted, and women were getting very angry with being treated like second class citizens. They
felt like, we're out here, we’re putting our lives on the line just like you are, um, you know, we're
not just here to make coffee and copies.
And, uh, radical women actually came from a formation, there had been a class going on, one of
these free classes, back when they had free classes on campuses, and um, there were women in
what was called the old left, the traditional left, all the parties, and I believe they were from the
socialist workers party. No, they were actually from the Freedom Socialist Party at that point,
and um, and uh, young women who had been involved with students for a democratic society
and other just, general feminists, and they kind of came together and they said, you know, we're
tired of this. We need a new organization. We need someone that will help women learn how to
stand up to this sexism. And, out of those sort of, humble, you know, and, and from the
beginning, Radical Women was socialist feminist. And it was about training new leaders. So in
that regards, we haven't really much changed our mission over the years. What we've done with
the mission changes as time has progressed. Um, sometimes we were the only people, when we
were talking about reproductive rights, we might be the only group saying, no, you can't just talk
about reproductive rights. We have to talk about forced sterilization, particularly in women of
color, native women, Puerto Rican women. I mean these aren't, these are legitimate issues in
these communities, and you can't, you know, you can't talk about one without talking about the
other. That, very early on, we got into, there was a lot of arguing in the women's movement
about that. "Oh, it's divisive. It's too confusing." Whenever people don't want to deal with their
issue, they're going to tell you it's divisive, and it's too confusing. That the average person on the
street can't handle what, more than one thought at time, ha. You know? I mean, come, it's bull.
We all know it, but it's a nice way to shut people up. But we said no, people can handle more
than one basic concept or two basic concepts, and we have to address issues important to
communities of color or we will not recruit them to, or it will be, a white middle class
bourgeoisie movement, and it will not succeed. You know? Or you'll win the bare minimum but
the bare minimum is not enough for most people. Sorry.

Navpreet: Oh, you're good. So, the goal of Radical Women is to educate women, and-

Margaret: And to fight for, and, and, to educate women on, it's a, it's a, it's a, education's one
component of it. We're grassroots. We're a community-based organization, so we're about
movement building. Cause education without action is, just, it's, I guess you could say it's like a
three-legged uh, a three-legged uh, stool. You need your education component, you need your
um, actual action component, and then your third component might be your leadership
component, you know, building the leadership. I mean, we're about all three of those, and we're
trying to build movements that are pushing things to the left. That's what we want.

Navpreet: And that's always been the goal.

Margaret: Yeah. Yeah, to, that's always been the overarching goal. I Mean, overarching goals are
fine. How you put them into place, that's what changes. You know, what are the key issues
people have? Like right now, I think we're all in agreement, the key issue people are trying to
fight are, certainly the environment, the whole issue of Standing Rock and the drilling, is
important to all of us. The coal train terminals, um, the fight for, against right to work in this
state, the fight to keep abortion and um, housing. Housing is so important in this state. I mean,
I'm just thinking locally, as opposed to more national issues but, you know, at, at different times,
the, the key issues where people might be organizing on shift somewhat, but the purpose of why
you're organizing is always the same. You're always just trying to push people. Push them. Get
them involved. Get them educated, and get them thinking, can there be something different?
Because we can't change something unless people can envision it.

Navpreet: Right.
Margaret: Right? Nobody ever drew a house that didn't know what a house looked like. You've
got to have an idea.

Navpreet: That's true. Um, going along with the organization and its goal, what are some of the
big challenges you personally have overcome? Lessons you've, lessons you’ve learned, um, and,
in your political activism with Radical Women?

Margaret: Well, I, wow. There's a lot. How much time do you guys have?

Navpreet: That's exactly what Gina said. Those were her first words.

Margaret: Okay, here's the thing about Radical Women, it really is about helping you, it's, it's
about helping you achieve the best that you can be, and, you know, the standards are pretty high.
But it's a good thing, because it teaches you, I think a lot of society teaches us to not shoot for the
stars. To not really, well-

Navpreet: It's unrealistic.

Margaret: It's unrealistic to think as a woman you're going to be president, but, you know, maybe
you can be a county council person, which is still, by the way, a pretty great job, no dissing on
that, but do you know what I'm sayin’? They uh, it's a little, um, Radical Women really says, you
know what? Go for it. You want to, you know, you, you, you think you can't public speak? Why?
Why do you think that? Because you've never publicly speak? Here, here's an opportunity. Give
it to, give an educational at a meeting. GO, give a two minute open mic speak at a rally. You
know? Um, you've never organized an event? Does this mean you can't organize an event? No, it
just means you need training on how to organize an event. You've never organized a rally? We
were laughing, we're like, we've never organized a rally that had 100,000 people and I'm like,
nope but we've done them have had thousands of people before and I'm pretty sure that we could
figure out how to make the difference happen. I mean, you, you learn how, you lean how to push
yourself, and there's not a lot of places that push people. You know? Most jobs, they're pushing
you because they want something out of you. You know? And not a lot of organizations really
take, because there aren't a lot of membership based organizations anymore where the
membership's really actively involved. Um, but that's really what it takes is, it takes training, and
pushing, and, and then we critique things. After things are over. We say, okay, this was great,
this could have been tweaked a little bit better, this is what you did great, this is what, you know,
next time, next time this is a spot for improvement, and that's how you get better. We have to be
willing to be honest with each other and in society at large. There's not a lot of, really honesty is
not promoted contrary to the garbage that you get fed, and really honest critique, where you
balance things, the good and the bad, you know, so that it doesn't, you're not coming down on
somebody over something small, but you're allowing them the ability to do better next time. That
is, to me, the greatest thing I've learned in this organization. Is how to balance things out. And
also you learn how to work with people. You learn how to work with a whole bunch of different
groups of, groups, individuals, uh, over, with different issues, um, oh I think I have grown so
much as a person, as a political thinker, uh, just from the study groups, and the educationals that
we've done, and the self-studying we've done to be able to figure out our position on topics.
Cause that's the other thing. Something happens, what do you think about it? We're going to
issue a statement. Someone's got to write it. And it might be you guys. So um, I feel, I've been in
Radical Women since 1990 and it's 2017 so what's that give me, wow.

Navpreet: 27 years.

Margaret: That's entirely too much time. Um, yeah, two decades-

Navpreet: Almost three decades.

Margaret: I know, which is shocking. But uh, I don't, it's the longest I've ever belonged to any
group or organization, and, I still, every day get something out of it. And that's a hard thing to
say.

Navpreet: And the knowledge you acquire is your most powerful tool.

Margaret: And, and, I am still learning.

Navpreet: Mm-hmm

Margaret: Every, every day, at, matter of fact, something just came over, I Just got a email and I
Was sort of bamboozled by it and I'm like, oh no, now I'm going to have to sit down and figure
out what's going on with this issue, you know? But uh, it's exciting. It's exciting to have, to be
part of something where you feel like you can continually grow. And, and, movement work,
progressive movement work, can be that. So, and I feel like radical women's given me that
opportunity. I don't know if I have specifically answered your question, but, hopefully.

Navpreet: Yeah, I mean, you've talked, or told us about the lessons you've learned, how it's
helped you grow, and that's, you know, what we were kind of looking to learn about.

Margaret: Okay.

Navpreet: And then, our last question for you is, if you don't mind, may we ask your age?
Margaret: Oh, sure, pft, I don't mind at all. I just have to think. 54. Wait, no, I'm only 53. I do it
wrong all the time. I'm 53 but I'd like to say I'm 54. Okay, here's the deal, my father was, I'm
going to tell you a whole story about this.

Navpreet: Go ahead.

Margaret: My father was a math teacher. And he used to say, on your birthday, he'd, so, like on
your birthday where you'd turn nine, he'd go, okay, your 9​th​ year is over, you're in your 10​th​ year
now. So my whole life, I've been counting a year ahead.

Navpreet: That's so funny because in, in Indian culture we do the same thing.

Margaret: See, and then it gets confusing. Cause people say, how old are you, and I say, I'm 54,
cause I know I'm in my 54​th​ year, and I have to go, wait a minute. Am I really in my 54​th​ year? or
am I in my 55​th​ year? You know? Anyway.

Navpreet: No, every year-

Margaret: Wait a minute. Yeah, 'cause my birthday hasn't happened yet. Yes. I'm 53.

Navpreet: Just giving yourself an extra year.

Margaret: I know. I add on all the time. Other people, they try to take years off. I don't care, I
worked hard to get this far along. I am not at all, see, that's another thing. Why should women be
ashamed or men, shamed by the years they've walked this earth, you know?

Navpreet: I always find that bizarre too. Hiding your age.

Margaret: People get really-

Navpreet: Offended.

Margaret: Offended. And it's like, I don't find it, I tell people all the time, like, you're not going
to offend me with however old you think I am, because I am who I am. I am my age, um, not
trying to be older, I'm not trying to be younger, I'm just trying to be me, and it is what it is, and
you know, you work hard. You guys, I'm guessing, 20’s? Cause you're in school?

Navpreet: I'm exactly 20.

Margaret: Oh.

Navpreet: But my mom says I'm in my 21​st​ year.

Margaret: 21​st​ year. I know, see?

Ploy: Well, I’m in my 22​nd​ year.

Margaret: Gotcha. Gotcha, yeah. Makes a difference in terms of the, the licenses, but, anyway,
what else do you need-

Navpreet: And uh, so you were saying that you became a part of Radical Women in 1990. So 27
years.

Margaret: Yeah.

Navpreet: How old were you when you, I mean, that wouldn't be hard to figure out.

Margaret: I was about 27, I guess. This is like the halfway point. Wow. Half my life in the org.
It's been worth it.

Navpreet: And uh, or what, drew you to, you know, being a feminist activist?

Margaret: Easy. That's the easiest question you've had. In 1989, I think it was, there were these
big marches going on in D.C. for abortion rights. And I had just moved out to Seattle the year
before, and my older sister had moved down to Baltimore, and she said, I'm in Baltimore, I'm
going to D.C. for this big march, which ended up being like one of the biggest marches in, in the
history of the U.S. It was a huge march in '89. And um, until these more recent ones, and uh, she
says, "You've got to find something local." So I went to this local march that was being put on by
NOW, I believe, National Organization for Women. And um, I signed up on everybody's sign in
sheet. Everybody has lists, right? Nobody calls me. Oh, and I Met these really great women from
Radical Women. I met Linda, and uh, a couple of other people that are still in, still here, and uh,
anyway, but they were the only group that called me. They were the only group that called me
and said, Hey, we're having a follow up meeting, we're going to be talking about abortion rights,
there's this coalition. So I went to a meeting and then there was a coalition happening and they
said, do you want to go to the coalition with our Radical Women member Kathy and a couple of
other people, and I said, yes, I'm interested in this issue. And um, and that is really, you know,
and, and, the very first meeting I went to, they were talking about socialist feminism and I said,
you guys, I live these ideas, but get real. Seriously? Socialism? We live in the United States. No
one's ever going to be a socialist here. And they all laughed at me, and they said, well, you know,
these are the reasons why we believe that you can't reform your way. And, you know, the
argument is convincing. It's convincing to me, at least, that, so many people have worked so hard
for equality, for liberation, and so many different movements that if we could really reform our
way to get rid of racism, to get rid of sexism, to get rid of homophobia, we'd be there. Cause
people have put the time and the effort to end war, to save the environment. I mean, the effort's
been put in, right? But we're endlessly fighting the same fight and the same fight. So, you've got
to ask yourself, what is the, what's the block? Right? And if you really start looking at the
economic roots of capitalism and how it creates these divisions so, so, you know, a little bit of
study later, you hopping into a study group, going to these coalition meetings, getting active and
involved, and the next thing I know, I think within six months, or eight months of meeting the
organization and I joined.

Navpreet: And you never looked back.

Margaret: I never looked back. Uh, and it's been a lot of fun. You know, I'm not going to say it's
all fun. Sometimes it's a little scary when you're going toe to toe with Nazis in Idaho, but, you
know-

Navpreet: There's Nazis in Idaho?

Margaret: Well, there were. Until they pretty much got ran out of town. I'm not saying it was just
us, but we were there. Uh, you should, you should look up the um, history of the group called
the United Front Against Fascism. And if you want, I could give you some stuff on them after
this, but uh, Radical Women was one of the many, many groups. At one point uh, several leaders
in the Aryan nation, and the white supremacists said that the pacific northwest was going to
become the new, sort of stronghold, for, uh, white supremacy. And it was really a, um, militant
grassroots efforts that every time these guys came out, they were, at, by unionists, people of
color, the LGBTQ community, the feminist community. People went out and they stopped
coming. And then, that big compound that had been over in Idaho actually got takeaway, I think
it was Richard Butler's was it, was it his compound? Um, I'm going to get the details confused,
but, the big compound in Idaho they lost, for supposed tax reasons or, somebody sued them and
won it. I don't remember all the details but, but, the reality is, because this is kind of news to you
guys, that you're supposedly living in a, you know, a white supremacist stronghold, cause you're
not. Not to say we don't have supremacists here. We certainly do. They're everywhere but they
are not the um, they are not the force they would have been, if they had not been so actively
countered by the community, and that lesson, that I learned very early on in my organizing, was
that you never let these challenges go. You cannot let the right wing, people tell you don't
confront them, they're wrong. You must confront. You must stand in front of someone and say,
no thanks. Go crawl, you have a right to speak, I have a right to speak too. And if there's 10 of us
here, and only one of you, and your voice can't be heard, well, we don't have to give up our right
to speak. And maybe you should rethink what you're saying but that's an educational question.
Um, but anyhow, that is uh, that is a very long aside and I'm sorry I did that to you guys-

Navpreet: Oh, no-

Margaret: Cause I know you're trying to get going, but yeah, I mean, that's, that's probably the
history of Radical Women, is fighting, fighting against, outright fascists. You know? And it's
scary but it teaches you, you can do anything. You know? And you can? And you can't be afraid.
You, well that's not true. You're always going to be afraid of stuff in this world. That isn't the
question, the question is what do you do with your fear. Do you use it? Do you say, okay, there's
some fear but we're moving on, or do you let it stop you, and you got, and when you have an
organization when you have people around you, you can not, use your fear and you can move
forward. cause you're not by yourself and you're not isolated. Alright.

Navpreet: Thank you.

Margaret: That was a whole hour. I'm sure you guys are-

Navpreet: Thank you so much.

Margaret: You're welcome. You're welcome. Thank you for coming. I hope…
Navpreet Sekhon, Natalia Gilbertson, Christina Norling, Ploypun Sajjamanachai
BISGWS 302 – Histories & Movements of Gender & Sexuality
Dr. Julie Shayne
Local Archives Project – Final Paper
3/13/2017

Radical Women is a socialist, feminist organization with locations in Seattle, Washington

and other cities across the United States, along with Melbourne, Australia. Our group had the

opportunity to research and learn about its history, goals, and achievements through the Seattle

branch. We attended Radical Women’s events and interviewed two of its core members to better

our understanding on the importance and need for empowerment of women in this world,

economy, and political climate.

To begin, a brief history of Radical Women starts with its founding in Seattle,

Washington. Gloria Martin, Clara Fraser, Melba Windoffer, and Susan Stern are accredited with

launching this organization in 1967. Gloria Martin stated that the group was formed to

“demonstrate that women could act politically, learn and teach theory, administer an

organization, develop indigenous leadership, and focus movement and community attention on

the sorely neglected matter of women’s rights — and that women could do this on their own” in

her book, ​Socialist Feminism: The First Decade, 1966-1976​. During our interview with Margaret

Viggiani, the National Radical Women finance director, she stated that Radical Women was the

result of angry women who were made to feel like second class citizens during the anti-war
movement. They did not have a voice, and were told to sit quiet because the movement did not

affect them. They were putting their lives on the line, but given no recognition. This organization

was a result of a free university class taught by Martin on the topic of Women and Society.

While conducting research on Radical Women, we attended two events. One of these

events was the Women’s March on Washington, which took place in Seattle on Saturday,

January 21, 2017. The Women’s March was filled with people of diverse cultural backgrounds

and age groups. There was clearly an immense sense of community between everyone waiting

on The March to begin by sharing words of encouragement with one another. As we admired a

set of pink hats worn by a group of teenage girls, they opened a trash bag full of these homemade

hats and kindly offered us some. The girls explained that they were passing these hats to those

who did not have them. As we looked around, we saw some funny, and some serious, signs,

along with ones written in other languages. Though we could not find Radical Women in the

crowded March, we did get a chance to ask our first interviewee, Gina, about the organization’s

role in The March that day. She stated that members of the group had decided they did not want

to march quietly because women are constantly being pushed to stay quiet during this time. They

wanted to make sure their voices were heard regarding the social issues they believe in.

According to Gina, quiet is what the right wing administration wants from women, and in order

to protest, some Radical Women members brought drums and wore particular attire to express

their cultures and other issues they were passionate about. This was the way Radical Women

chose to shed an intersectional light on feminism through The March and bring attention to their

individuality. Overall, the experience was completely eye opening and showcased a true sense of

community. Each individual radiated with positivity, embracing and accepting one another.
 Another event we attended was a Radical Women meeting on January 26th, 2017. It was

meant for the organization’s members, but was also open to the public. Around 45 to 50 people

were present and a nice soup dinner was prepared. The meeting started with a recap of The

Women’s March, further leading to a discussion based on Radical Women’s next moves. In this

discussion, there was a leader, who called on attendees to speak in the order they raised their

hands, and several different people pitched in their ideas. Newcomers were also welcome to

share their ideas. For an estimated two hours, people bounced ideas off one another. These ideas

made references regarding capitalism, which only favors skills that make profit. They focused on

issues of work women take part in, such as babysitting, not being accounted for. Members went

on to create ideas in keeping the momentum of The Women’s March going, possibly leaving

work to protest (how not working hurts the capitalist economic system), staying united as they

move forward, and other general short-term and long-term goals. Continuing the discussion in

regards to the election, some members expressed their distrust of the democratic party. They

stated that democrats did not care for Bernie Sanders’ socialism, and that he had chosen the

wrong platform to stand in as a socialist. In addition to this, many other ideas made an

appearance, such as diversity, in the matter of gender, race, and sexuality, dismantling the

FBI/CIA/prison system, and one of the large topics of the night, unionizing. Much of the

post-election anger came back to the fear of losing what small amount of worker’s rights still

exist under the new administration. They noticed that corrupt unions needed to grow and

mobilize again. We gathered that the tone of this meeting focused on frantic feelings and a

discussion of the ways in which the equality and justice that Radical Women believes in can be
protected under the new administration. They tried to emphasis a specific next step they could

target, but it was overshadowed by the frustration due to the rapid change in political climate.

Next, in our interviews with Gina Petry, who is the organizer for Radical Women’s

Seattle branch, and Margaret Viggiani, who is a member of the National Committee for Radical

Women, we discussed the goals and mission statement of this organization. They fight for the

equality of women. They focus on taking a deeper look into the issues that surround feminist

issues, such as sexism, capitalism, classism, racism, and homophobia, as a way to practice

feminism in the ever-changing world and environment we live in. When asked about how these

goals have changed over time, both Gina and Margaret stated that the goal of women’s equality

will always be the focus for Radical Women, however, what issues they approach and problems

they battle as they fight for this equality depend on what is going on in our world at the time.

Margaret stated that women’s reproductive rights, for example, is a popular issue that has

become a massive debate during the current presidential election, which is why the Radical

Women organization has made it one of their top priorities to fight for these rights. In her

interview, Gina also stated that when marriage equality was an issue in the United States,

members of the group were fighting to legalize it. This showcases that the goals and mission of

Radical Women involve changing priorities within time periods. For Radical Women, any fight

for equality and equity is essentially a fight along the path of feminism and gender equality.

When researching how Radical Women is organizationally structured, we chose to ask

Margaret during her interview because she is the finance director. She began by explaining that

the organization tends to adjust elected officials during national elections, or simply whenever it

is possible or needed. They believe that change is good and divide their members into subgroups
according to a cause they are all individually passionate about. Radical Women contains groups

focusing on domestic violence, abortion rights, the LGBT community, etc. and these groups

form and disperse in accordance to what is going on in our world. Margaret also stated that the

organization’s finances are completely dependent on funding, which usually comes from citizens

who are supportive of Radical Women’s mission for equality. The Seattle office for Radical

Women shares the building with the Freedom Socialist newspaper and Clara’s Books’ bookstore.

Therefore, some funding is shared between them. When Radical Women holds meetings, they

have dinners, which is one way they raise money, and they also rent out the space for anything,

from baptisms to birthdays, to raise revenue.

Furthermore, as we went conducted these interviews with Gina and Margaret, we asked

them both a particularly similar question towards the end of each segment. This question was in

regards to the challenges and lessons they have learned throughout their years as members of

Radical Women. Coincidentally, they also shared similar answers. Both Gina and Margaret

stated that the biggest lesson they have come to learn since becoming a part of this organization

is that women can do anything they set their mind to, whether it is being president, or simply just

speaking at a rally. They believe that Radical Women is the platform that encourages women like

themselves to go ahead and achieve their goals, disregarding the restrictions society places upon

them due to gender binaries.

In fact, the perspectives on what activism should be and the strategies of Radical Women

connect to many movements we have studied in class. These include the naked protests for

housing in South Africa and the Domestic Workers movement in the U.S. In our interview with

Gina, she mentioned that one of the challenges in her experience with Radical Women was in
accordance to reaching Olympia and learning how policy-making works in the state of

Washington. Gina explained that as a socialist, feminist organization, Radical Women’s goal is

to have a socialist representative in the democracy and going to Olympia was its way of

representing a socialist perspective through its ideas and demands for the state representatives. In

this way, the group is similar to the Domestic Workers of the U.S. because a big part of the

domestic workers’ battle for rights reflected upon connecting with attorneys and trying to

understand how the existing policies could work in their favor. It was a long and difficult process

to learn and grasp the court, along with its laws, but it was their leading way of gaining rights

and protection (Poo, 2011). This movement, along with Radical Women’s efforts to have

political representation, hold similar strategies, which are rooted in demand for policy that

protects ​all ​people.

Having been around since 1967, Radical Women has survived through times when

gender inequality was much more pervasive than it is today. As Gina described, part of the

backlash they receive may be due to their blatant declaration of being socialist. She explained

that a great deal of it definitely comes from being women. Simply because they call themselves

“radical”, has caused a lot of criticism because stereotypes view radical as the opposite of what is

prevalent for women, especially in the twentieth century. Women are expected not to be

“rabble-rousing”, as Gina stated, but from the beginning of this organization, Radical Women

has aimed to be exactly that and is not shy to let the world know. In a similar way, the naked

protests in South Africa gained momentum by the women’s power, who were being everything

they “were not supposed to be” (Meintjes, 2007). Between both examples, the same idea of

discomfort exists in the ideas of women being “radical” and angry, stripping naked to protest. In
terms of strategy, the organization and movement are identical. Of course, one would claim that

the South African women were undoubtedly radical.

In addition, Gina also gave us several documents that support Radical Women’s stands.

These documents were written by the Radical Women staff and its members in order to advocate

for their beliefs. One of the articles, “Misnamed ‘right-to-work’ laws exploits workers”, was

written by Linda Averill and Kirk Duncan, who are also members, and published by The Seattle

Times. This article was written in opposition to a prior published article, “Right-to-work ruling

could gut Washington's public unions” by Jeff Rhodes. It presented the story’s other side of the

right-to-work law (Averill, 2017). Another article, “Voices from Standing Rock” by Lois Danks

featured Gina Petry from when she attended Oceti Sakowin camp with Patrick Burns of The

Freedom Socialist Party. The camp was filled with “protesters, mostly youth,” who vowed to

stay until the Black Snake (pipeline) was completely diminished, according to the article (Danks,

2017). The documents we received touched on current issues, including capitalism, the rolling

back of worker’s unions, LGBTQ, Dakota Access Pipeline, women’s rights, immigration, etc.

They are not served for simply just informational purposes, but they are used as a way of

promoting events and meetings for the organization.

Radical Women, these movements, and the particular type of activism within them, are

the reason why feminist archives and feminist knowledge production are significant. Mass media

and history textbooks tend to bypass accomplishments and leadership done by women,

undermining their work, struggle, and voice. The movements we have studied within this course

are recorded, but nevertheless, hard to come by. The more information is published in regards to

women as activists, leaders, and empowering beings, the more often we can do this. Information
about movements, such as the ones we have discussed, and organizations such as Radical

Women, will be much more common, spreading feminist knowledge. This practice of archiving

keeps the progress and success of women alive, which is a key component to a future filled with

better understanding of what gender equality looks like, and how it can be shown and enforced in

policy.

Archives Project -- Final Paper (<--put this in header I think and then do page numbers in header

on the right side)

References

Allen, E. (2013). ​Radical Women Statement: Unpacking Transphobia​ [Pamphlet]. Seattle, WA:

Radical Women.

Averill, L., & Duncan, K. (2017, January 23). Misnamed 'right-to-work' laws exploit workers.

The Seattle Times​. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/misnamed-right-to-work-laws-exploit-workers/

Be bold, be loud, be brave -- mobilize against Trump and the far-right [Advertisement]. (2017,

January). ​Radical Women​, p. 1.

Danks, L. (2017, January). Voices from Standing Rock: Interviews with water protectors on the

front lines. ​Freedom Socialist​, p. 3.

Meintjes, Sheila. 2007. “Naked women’s protest, July 1990: ‘We won’t fuck for houses.’” Pp.

347-367 in​ Women in South African History: Basus’iimbokodo, Bawel’imilambo/They

remove boulders and cross rivers​. Ed., N. Gasa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

Poo, Ai-jen. 2011. “A Twenty-First Century Organizing Model: Lessons from the New York
 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Campaign.” ​New Labor Forum ​20(1): 51-55.

Slater, A. (2014). ​Life lived in peril: women under capitalism​ [Pamphlet]. Seattle, WA: Radical

Women.

Metadata
Organization: Radical Women
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The street where the Radical Women Office is located.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle
Photo Title: Door of Radical Women Office
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The door of the Radical Women Office shows that the building is home
not only to the organization but also to the Freedom Socialist Party and Clara’s books.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, Clara’s Books, Clara Fraser, Freedom
Socialist Party

Photo Title: Office of Radical Women Window

Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Posters on the window of Radical Women’s Office.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, capitalism, feminism, Freedom Socialist
Party, islamophobia
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women Newspaper in Window Display
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: An older copy of the Freedom Socialist newspaper in the window
display of New Freeway Hall where Radical Women is located.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, Freedom Socialist newspaper, Native
Americans,
Photo Title: Front of the Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The front of the Radical Women’s Office at New Freeway Hall.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle
Photo Title: The Window of the Office of Radical Women
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The front window of the Radical Women’s office.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, feminism, islamophobia, freedom
socialist party
Photo Title: Lenin Bookshelf at Radical Women Office
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Several books on Lenin sitting on a bookshelf at the Radical Women
office.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Lenin
Photo Title: Marxism Bookshelf at the Office of Radical Women
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Another picture of the bookshelf at Radical Women with some more
books on Lenin and also books on Marxism including ​Handbook of Marxism​, ​Ten Classics of
Marxism​, ​Karl Marx: The Evolution of His Thought​, ​Marxism & Alienation​, ​Stalin on Lenin​,
Masters of Russian Marxism​, ​Introduction to Socialism,​ and ​Anarchism & Anarcho-Syndicalism
among others.
Keywords: Radical Women, Marxism, Lenin, Stalin, Marxism, Karl Marx, socialism
Photo Title: Bookshelf at the Office of Radical Women
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: A bookshelf at Radical Women’s Office featuring books on Leon
Trotsky.
Keywords: Radical Women, Trotsky, socialism, Marxism

Photo Title: Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)

Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Inside New Freeway Hall, featuring books from Clara’s Books on the
right.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, Clara’s Books, Clara Fraser
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Office, working space in New Freeway Hall.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women, Meeting Space/Lounge Area (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The meeting area and lounge area inside New Freeway Hall, featuring
posters about feminism and capitalism, Warrior Women and Water Protectors.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, feminism, capitalism, Warrior Women,
Water Protectors
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women, Meeting Area(New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: The meeting area inside New Freeway Hall, featuring posters about
feminism and capitalism, Warrior Women and Water Protectors.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, feminism, capitalism, Warrior Women,
Water Protectors, solidarity
Photo Title: Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: More of the meeting/working space inside New Freeway Hall, featuring
a poster on I.C.E. raids, a chalkboard, and some book shelves.
Keywords: Radical Women, New Freeway Hall, Seattle, I.C.E.
Photo Title: Bulletin Board at the Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall)
Photographer: Natalia Gilbertson
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: A bulletin board at Radical Women’s office, featuring the other
branches of Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party within the nation and
internationally.
Keywords: Radical Women, Freedom Socialist Party

Interview 1 title: Gina Petry Interview

Interviewee Name: Gina Petry
Interviewer Name(s): Navpreet Sekhon, Natalia Gilbertson
Interview Date: February 10, 2017
Interview Place: Office of Radical Women, Seattle, WA
Interview Description: Discussing the mission, history, goals, and activities of the socialist,
feminist organization Radical Women, with organizer Gina Petry.
Organizations Discussed: Radical Women
Transcribed by: Christina Norling
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, feminism, sexism, Clara Fraser, affirmative action,
reproductive rights, taxing the rich, Nestora Salgado, Sisters Organized for Survival , equality,
healthcare

Interview 2 Title: Interview with Margaret Viggiani

Interviewee Name: Margaret Viggiani
Interviewer Name: Navpreet Sekhon
Interview Date: February 14, 2017
Interview Place: Office of Radical Women, Seattle, WA
Interview Description: Margaret Viggiani, finance director of National Radical Women,
discusses the history and structure of Radical Women, the stands of the organization, and her
experience working for the group.
Organizations Discussed: Radical Women
Transcribed by: Ploypun Sajjamanachai
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, feminism, Margaret Viggiani
Photo of Interviewee 1 Title: Photo of Gina Petry
Photographer: Navpreet Sekhon
Photograph Date: February 10, 2017
Photograph Place: ​Office of Radical Women (New Freeway Hall), Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Picture of first interviewee, Gina Petry, at interview in Seattle.
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, Gina Petry, feminism
Photo of Interviewee 2 Title: Margaret Viggiani
Photographer: Ploypun Sajjamanachai
Photograph Date: February 14, 2017
Photograph Place: Office of Radical Women, Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Margaret Viggiani during her interview
Keywords: Radical Women, Margaret Viggiani, Feminism, Socialism
Event #1, Photo #1Title: Protest poster from Women’s March
Event: Women’s March on Washington
Photographer: Christina Norling
Photograph Date: January 21, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Image of a poster seen at the Women’s March featuring a quote from
President Obama.
Keywords: Women’s March, activism, Seattle, Trump, protest, poster, Barack Obama
Event #1, Photo #2Title: Multicultural Posters
Event: Women’s March on Washington
Photographer: Christina Norling
Photograph Date: January 21, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Picture of protesters from the Women’s March with posters in multiple
languages.
Keywords: Women’s March, activism, Seattle, Trump, protest, poster, feminism
Event #1, Photo #3Title: Trump and Putin
Event: Women’s March on Washington
Photographer: Christina Norling
Photograph Date: January 21, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Putin and Trump costumes worn by the protesters at the march on
Washington.
Keywords: Women’s March, activism, Seattle, Trump, protest, poster, Putin, propaganda
Title: Event #2, Photo #1
Event: Radical Women Meeting
Photographer: ​Doreen McGrath
Photograph Date: January 26, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Radical Women monthly meeting in Seattle.
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, meeting, feminism
Title: Event #2, Photo #2
Event: Radical Women Meeting
Photographer: ​Amber Dulaney
Photograph Date: January 26, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Radical Women monthly meeting in Seattle.
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, meeting, feminism
Title: Event #2, Photo #3
Event:Radical Women Meeting
Photographer: ​Amber Dulaney
Photograph Date: January 26, 2017
Photograph Place: Seattle, WA
Photograph Description: Radical Women monthly meeting in Seattle.
Keywords: Radical Women, socialism, meeting, feminism
Document or Artifact #1 Title: “Life Lived in Peril: Women Under Capitalism”
Author or Creator: Anne Slater
Date: N/A
Description: A brochure explaining the exploitation of women and the treatment of women as
second-class citizens in the capitalist system, calling for a revolution for women’s liberation from
oppression.
Keywords: capitalism, women, human rights, feminism, equality, violence, politics, economic
subordination, undercaste, Clara Fraser, inequality, ownership, private property, patriarchy,
family, exploitation, worker’s rights, civil liberty, right-wing, women’s liberation, radical, Radical
Women
Document or Artifact #2 Title: “Misnamed ‘Right-to-Work’ Laws Exploit Workers”
Author or Creator: Linda Averill and Kirk Duncan
Date: N/A
Description: Informs the reader about fake, worker’s rights protections policy that hurts unions
instead of supports them. The Freedom Foundation opposes unions and the Organized
Workers for Labor Solidarity wants to expose their manipulative agenda.
Keywords: worker’s rights, exploitation, right to work, Freedom Foundation, Organized Workers
for Labor Solidarity, Jeff Rhodes, public worker union, free enterprise
Document or Artifact #3 Title: “Unpacking Transphobia”
Author or Creator: Emma Allen
Date: June 2013
Description: This is a statement from Radical Women on transphobia and what transphobia
says about socially-constructed gender binaries, inequalities, and fighting bigotry in society.
Keywords: transphobia, Radical Women, feminism, discrimination, bigotry, women’s rights,
prejudice, transsexual, derogatory, unemployment, sexual violence, medical industry, body
dysmorphic disorder, Deep Green Resistance, oppression, gender, sexism,The Radical Women
Manifesto, labor division, LGBTQ, gay, lesbian
Document or Artifact #4 Title: “Voices from Standing Rock: Interviews with Water Protectors on
the Front Lines”
Author or Creator: Lois Danks
Date: February 2017
Description: “Gina Petry of Radical Women and Patrick Burns of the Freedom Socialist Party
traveled to Oceti Sakowin camp in November 2016 to cook, carpenter, and interview water
protectors” (quote from the source). Several tribe members and supporters speak out about the
violence and lack of morality surrounding the pipeline situation, proclaiming that they will not
stop fighting for their
Keywords: water protectors, interview, Standing Rock, Dakota Access Pipeline, Cheyenne River
Reservation, International Indigenous Youth Council, Black Snake, Alex Good Cane Milk, IIYC,
Ta’Sina Sapa Win, Sam Carlos, colonialism, reservation, Wicanhpi Iyotan Win, Sioux
Reservation, indigenous resources, environmentalism, Liam Cain, capitalism, Wakinya
Tunwanpi Iyoyanpa Win, Gil Killspretty Enemy III, police violence,
Document or Artifact #5 Title: “Be Bold, Be Loud, Be Brave-- Mobilize Against Trump and the
Far-Right”
Author or Creator: N/A
Date: January 2017
Description: A statement from Radical Women about the Women’s March, civil disobedience
and civil rights movements describing Radical Women’s call for a non-silent march and mission
to fight capitalism along with its resulting marginalization of women and other minorities
including people of color, immigrants, queers, workers, homeless, etc.
Keywords: Radical Women, Trump, far-right, women, Women’s March, human rights,
marginalization, civil rights, racism, sexism, xenophobia, bigotry, capitalism, oppression
Document of Artifact #6 Title: Radical Women Flier
Author or Creator: N/A
Date: January 2017
Description: A flier regarding the Womxn’s March and a Radical Women meeting with contact
information and information on the meeting and blurb from Radical Women on the march. It also
features info about a Freedom Socialist Party meeting and discussion.
Keywords: Radical Women, Freedom Socialist Party, New Freeway Hall, right wing,
revolutionary feminism, socialist feminism, oppression, capitalism, Womxn’s March, minorities