Women’s Conference, Rochester

This tape, shot at the YMCA in Rochester, New York on July 18th, 1971, preserves the informal and communal atmosphere of an event known as the Women’s Conference. The participants, predominantly young white women, appearing to be in their early twenties, spent several hours together gleefully singing, acting, and dancing as an expression of their dedication to women’s civil rights. In various theatrical performances, the participants touch upon subjects such as police violence, racism, freedom, and women’s rights. Later, a group sing-a-long of This Land is Your Land expands to include the “Native American version,” a verse that addresses the national myths of America from the perspective of those displaced by its settlement.

 —Faye Gleisser