"Radical Women in Gainesville" online collection now available

March 10, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The “Radical Women in Gainesville” online digital collection and exhibit is now open in celebration of Women’s History Month. To view the exhibit, visit http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/?s=rwg&m=hitletter.

“Radical Women in Gainesville” documents the valiant history of feminists who helped reform the conservative Gainesville college town in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The collection is comprised of photos, oral histories, self-published newsprints, newsletters, brochures, notes from feminist organizations and other original documents.

Gainesville women’s history dates back to 1968 when two Gainesville women wrote “Towards a Female Liberation Movement,” the political essay that propelled the static national women’s movement into action. Local women also founded one of the first five Women’s Liberation Groups in the nation. Today, Gainesville’s rich and active women’s community is one of many remnants of the women’s movement. Some of the radical women, now between the ages of 50 and 80, still actively participate in local NOW chapters and in other organizations.

“Radical Women in Gainesville” is a developing collection and exhibit Web site that memorializes the work of local radical feminists while preserving historical documents for future generations to access for research and empowerment. The collection continues to grow as local women contribute their personal collections to the repository. Future collections will be developed to include radical women throughout Florida.