Welcome
Pro-Equal Rights Amendment march during Republican National Convention, Detroit, Mich.
Women demonstrate in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Detroit, 1976.
Welcome to the “Stand Up and Be Counted” archive!
Our archive showcases examples of women’s activism in the state of Michigan from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s, a period of significant social and cultural change in the state and the nation. While this era is often characterized as “second-wave feminism,” we found that women engaged in a variety of causes and campaigns that cannot be reduced to one label. Using a lens of intersectionality, we looked for evidence of diverse women with diverse viewpoints. We found examples of women working for better housing, fair labor conditions, de-segregated schools, reproductive rights, and both for and against the Equal Rights Amendment.
We came into this project with an interest in women’s activism, both past and present. The archive took shape through a combination of our pre-existing knowledge and the materials that were available at the Bentley Historical Library. Numerous political and social justice organizations as well as individual activists have donated their papers to the Bentley. We explored those resources and shaped our archive accordingly. Some of the topics, such as reproductive justice, align neatly with what we think of as “feminist.” Other causes, such as fair housing and school desegregation, are not as obviously gendered but were nevertheless critically important to women. We were also mindful in looking for evidence of opposing views; we did not want to assume that all women think alike.
We hope you’ll explore and see the range of issues that energized women during this period through the snapshots we provided and that the archive will propel you to learn more about how women helped shape Michigan history during this time period. In turn, we hope that those who visit our archive will appreciate how the issues these women fought for are still relevant today. Reproductive justice, housing, education, work, and the meaning of equality under the law—all of these continue to shape the lives of women—and men—every day.
As you explore the site, you’ll see that individual pages focus on a particular campaign or cause. This structure reflects the way that materials were donated to the Bentley Historical Library, by an organization or individual who worked on that cause. We also hope this way of structuring the archive will help you quickly see the range of issues that women worked on and understand how they are still relevant today.
Our goal in putting together this archive is to provide an introduction to a multi-faceted chapter of women’s activism in Michigan. This archive offers a variety of intriguing images and texts that we hope will capture your attention--and encourage you to learn more. The archive provides a bit of historical background so that you can understand the documents you see in context, but there is much more to learn! Our “Additional Resources” page provides additional avenues for continued exploration regarding Michigan’s women activists and the causes for which they fought.
-- Danah Bazzi, Leigh Clouse, Kelly Langsam, Michelle McClellan, Alyssa Pataky