The Boston Area Feminist Coalition records

The Boston Area Feminist Coalition (BAFC) was founded in the summer of 1981 when local feminists became frustrated with the fragmentation they were witnessing in the Women's Movement. The founders of the Feminist Coalition felt that even though many local groups were working toward the same goals, they operated too independently of one another to be successful. BAFC founders, Nancy Wheeler, Diane Raymond, Sara Freedman and Pam Chamberlain, wanted to provide a forum for these separate groups to address issues that all women faced. The group originally had four goals: to build unity among feminists, to organize successfully against the New Right, to build a network to more effectively communicate with each other, and to create a political discourse that acknowledged the differences among women, such as race, class and sexual orientation. In order to meet these goals, the Coalition held many workshops, retreats, forums, meetings and protests, which included events such as "Take Back the Night," a rally to protest sexual violence against women, and a conference on the "State of the Women's Movement." They were also successful in creating an effective feminist network in the greater Boston area.