Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement & the New Left

The women most crucial to the feminist movement that emerged in the 1960's arrived at their commitment and consciousness in response to the unexpected and often shattering experience of having their work minimized, even disregarded, by the men they considered to be their colleagues and fellow crusaders in the civil rights and radical New Left movements. On the basis of years of research, interviews with dozens of the central figures, and her own personal experience, Evans explores how the political stance of these women was catalyzed and shaped by their sharp disillusionment at a time when their skills as political activists were newly and highly developed, enabling them to join forces to support their own cause.

Sara Evans is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, where she has taught women’s history since 1976. The author of several books including Born for Liberty and Personal Politics, she lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2004 she was awarded a Regents' Professorship by the University of Minnesota.