Beverly Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Beverly Smith, see Beverly Smith (disambiguation).

Beverly Smith (born November 16, 1946) in Cleveland, Ohio,[1] is a Black feminist health advocate,[2] writer, academic, theorist and activist who is also the twin sister of writer, publisher, activist and academic Barbara Smith. Beverly Smith is an instructor of Women's Health at the University of Massachusetts Boston.[3] In her writings, Beverly notes that religion and education "were twin pillars" in her home as she grew up.[4]

She was one of three authors of the famous Combahee River Collective Statement, "one of the most widely read discussions of Black feminism,"[5] which was developed by members of the radical lesbian black feminist Combahee River Collective in 1977. Her essays and articles on racism, feminism, identity politics and women's health have been extensively published in the United States.

Political activism[]

In addition to activist writings, Beverly also participated in protests with her sister Barbara Smith. In April 1964, Beverly was part of a protest in honor of Civil Rights activist Bruce Klunder in Cleveland, Ohio[6] after his untimely death.

On the subject of "the personal being political," Beverly stated in a 1978 interview:

"I think one of the major contributions the feminist movement - of this part of the feminist movement is of the personal being political. What that boils down to is that any situation in which there is an issue about power and control is by definition a political situation. So, you can have a political situation in your own kitchen, in your own bedroom, or in your own gynecologists office. You don't have to be talking about the houses of Congress or the Supreme Court to be talking about politics. Politics are, in a sense, obscured and taken out of the realm of everyday life. But that's where everyone lives their lives."[7]

Beverly Smith took part in the above interview as a member of the Boston Chapter Committee to End Sterilization Abuse. The interview was part of a segment regarding the impact of male physicians on women's healthcare and political issues surrounding women's healthcare and sex education.

Education[]

Beverly Smith received a Masters of Public Health from Yale University and a Masters of Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education.[8]

Selected works[]

Periodicals[]

  • Conditions Five, The Black Women's Issue, November 1979;[9]
  • Conditions Four, Smith, Barbara, and Beverly. I Am Not Meant to be Alone and Without You Who Understand: Letters From Black Feminists, 1972-1978, Winter 1978 [1]
  • Sinister Wisdom - various issues[10]
  • Barbara Smith and Beverly Smith, "The Varied Voices of Black Women", Sojourner (magazine), October 1978.
  • Ms. Magazine[2]- various issues[11]
  • Aegis Journal, 1983, "Some Thoughts on Racism"

Anthologies[]

  • Smith, Beverly. "The Wedding", in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, 1983, ed. Barbara Smith, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
  • Combahee River Collective Statement, authored with Barbara Smith and Demita Frazier
  • Smith, Barbara & Beverly. "Across the Kitchen Table: A Sister-to-Sister Dialogue", in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (eds), Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, Persephone Press, 1981.
  • Smith, Beverly. "Black Women's Health: Notes for a Course", in But Some of Us are Brave: Black Women's Studies, Hull, Gloria T., Scott, Patricia Bell, Smith, Barbara (eds), The Feminist Press, 1982. ISBN 0-912670-95-9
  • Smith, Beverly. "Face-to-Face, Day-to-day — Racism Consciousness Raising", A conversation with Tia Cross, Freada Klein & Beverly Smith, in But Some of Us are Brave: Black Women's Studies, Hull, Gloria T., Scott, Patricia Bell, Smith, Barbara (eds), Feminist Press, 1982. ISBN 0-912670-95-9
  • Smith, Beverly. "Choosing Ourselves: Black Women and Abortion", in From Abortion to Reproductive Freedom: Transforming a Movement, ed. Marlene Gerber Fried, South End Press, 1990, p. 86.

References[]

  1. ^ Smith, Barbara. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983, ISBN 0-913175-02-1, p. xx, Introduction.
  2. ^ Evelyn C. White, The Black Women's Health Book: Speaking for Ourselves, Seal Press, 1993, ISBN 1-878067-40-0, p. 229.
  3. ^ "Beverly Smith redefines politics in light of the feminist movement" Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Open Vault.
  4. ^ "Where Would Black Feminism Be Today If It Wasn't For Barbara Smith?". Black Women Radicals. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  5. ^ Hammonds, Evelynn M. Transitions, Environments, Translations, Cora Kaplan, Joan Wallach Scott, Debra Keates (eds), Routledge, 1997, ISBN 0-415-91540-6, p. 298.
  6. ^ "Where Would Black Feminism Be Today If It Wasn't For Barbara Smith?". Black Women Radicals. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  7. ^ "Say Brother; Politics of Women's Healthcare, The; Beverly Smith redefines politics in light of the feminist movement". openvault.wgbh.org. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  8. ^ The Artist's Voice: Dindga McCannon, Beverly Smith, and Barbara Smith | ICA/Boston, retrieved 2021-03-07
  9. ^ Smith, Barbara. Home Girls, p. xlix, Introduction.
  10. ^ Smith, Barbara. Home Girls, p. 375, Contributors Notes.
  11. ^ Off Our Backs Magazine, October 1998. Klorman, Renee, interview with Barbara Smith: Activist. Writer. Revolutionary. Barbara Smith: A political life as a Black radical, lesbian feminist.
Retrieved from ""