The Combahee River Collective: 50 Years of Black Feminism Reshaping Justice

by Jevin Smith

​​Fleischmann, S. (1980, January 15). Members of Combahee River Collective at the March and Rally for Bellana Borde against Police Brutality (Boston, January 15, 1980) [Photograph]. The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston.

10/01/2025

One of the most famous quotes  from a manifesto written by the Combahee River Collective Statement that continues to resonate with the same urgency and conviction 50 years after it was written:

"If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free, since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression."

Beverly Smith and her sister, Barbara Smith, at the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, October 14, 1979. Photo by Tia Cross.

The Combahee River Collective is a black, lesbian, feminist organization that was founded in 1974 in Boston, Massachusetts. Barbara Smith, one of the founders, named it after the raid led  by Harriet Tubman on the Combahee River on June 2nd, 1863 (Decherney, 2003.). The other two founders were her sister, Beverly Smith, and Demita Frazier. The CRC, which operated from 1974 -1980, was a group formed after breaking off from the National Black Feminists Organization. Despite criticism for their specificity, the group didn’t want to leave out any part of their identity, so they labeled themselves as black lesbian socialists.

Intersectionality:  one of the core values of the Combahee River Collective. Black women occupy a very unique position in the fight for equality and liberation. They are consistently  navigating  two types of oppression, race- and gender-based discrimination. Focusing on the liberation of black women would mean that all others would be liberated, since it would ultimately be the complete dismantling of the very systems of oppression that exist. 

The framework they used created the opportunity for queer and trans voices to be heard through the channels of Black women. Other Black liberation movements at the time often excluded queer voices, but the Combahee River Collective aimed to help people understand that queerness is no less important to one's identity than their race or gender. Insisting on their identity as Black lesbian activists, they leveraged their activism and organizing to offer a new paradigm for combating oppression, particularly for people of color, women, and queer individuals. 

Beyond building theories and publishing position papers, the members met weekly at the Cambridge Women’s Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Brandman, A. n.d.). Their meetings combined political education with in-depth discussions of literature from Black scholars.   The CRC advocated against sexual assault and argued that Black women, specifically Black lesbians were disproportionately targets of various forms of violence. They also advocated for healthcare and reproductive justice, while their white counterparts often advocated for issues such as abortion. The CRC sought to expand reproductive justice to the right to have children as well since maternal mortality rates were much higher in women of color.

One of the Combahee River Collectives' major movements happened in 1979, when they rallied to raise public awareness for the 12 women whose bodies were found in a five month period. Starting in January of 1979, There was a string of murders in the Boston area, with the ages of the women ranging from 15 to 34 years old (Dywer, 2019). Of the 12 women, only one of them was White and the rest were Black. While the police concluded that these were  isolated crimes, Black feminists organizations like the CRC viewed it as something else. They argued that they were examples of racial and gender violence, and the murders themselves were evidence of intersectional oppression. On April 28th, 1979, they organized a 500-person march against racial and sexual violence. They created pamphlets titled “Eleven Black Women: Why Did They Die?” that deconstructed the political and social factors they believed led  to d the murders. 

Even though the CRC was officially an organization for less than a decade, the impact can still be felt today. Despite  being published almost 50 years ago, the Combahee River Collective Statement continues to be  referenced and reflected upon, in both political and academic spaces. Coined by members of the CRC, the term “identity politics,” was used to explain how their shared identity and unique, lived experiences served as the basis for their political organizing and fight for social justice.Many of the reforms and demands for racial justice  that the CRC fought and advocated for are still being fought for today, such as  reproductive rights, domestic violence, and intersectionality within politics. 

The accomplishments made in that short time transformed how we hold space for these issues today, and the reality is no different for The Ruth Collective. The diligent work and perseverance of groups like the Combahee River Collective are  the cornerstone upon which The Ruth Collective is built, creating space and uplifting voices that are often overlooked. The Ruth Collective and the Combahee River Collective are united by shared values such as awareness, empowerment, and community. Just as the Combahee River Collective championed the power of every voice in the pursuit of liberation, The Ruth Collective hopes to continue this legacy by giving a platform to the voiceless.

Sources: Brandman, A. (n.d.). Combahee River Collective: Pioneers of intersectional feminism. Massachusetts Women’s History Center. https://www.mawomenshistory.org/resources/articles/combahee-river-collective-pioneers-intersectional-feminism 

Combahee River Collective. (1979). Eleven Black Women Why Did They Die? Queer History Boston. Retrieved September 26, 2025, from https://historyproject.omeka.net/items/show/590 historyproject.omeka.net

Decherney, S. (2023, September 8). Combahee River Collective. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Combahee-River-Collective

Dwyer, D. (2019, February 20). 11 black women were murdered in Boston 40 years ago. A local artist is remembering them across the city. Boston.com. Retrieved from https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/02/20/1979-boston-murders-estuary-projects/

​​Fleischmann, S. (1980, January 15). Members of Combahee River Collective at the March and Rally for Bellana Borde against Police Brutality (Boston, January 15, 1980) [Photograph]. The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston. https://historyproject.omeka.net/items/show/14