Beverly Smith facts for kids

Beverly Smith (born November 16, 1946) in Cleveland, Ohio, is an important writer, teacher, and activist. She works to improve health for Black women. Beverly is the twin sister of Barbara Smith, who is also a well-known writer and activist. Today, Beverly Smith teaches about women's health at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

She helped write the famous Combahee River Collective Statement. This statement is a key document in understanding Black feminism, which is a movement that believes in equal rights for all women, especially Black women. The statement was created in 1977 by a group called the Combahee River Collective. Beverly Smith has written many articles and essays. These writings often talk about important topics like racism, feminism (the belief in equal rights for women), and women's health.

Beverly Smith's Early Life

Beverly Smith was born on November 16, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother was Hilda Beall Smith. Beverly and her twin sister, Barbara, were born early. Beverly got pneumonia as a baby. They first lived in a small house with their mother, grandmother, and great-aunt. When they were six, they moved to a two-family house with their aunt and her husband.

Beverly grew up in a home full of women. Her mother worked as a supermarket clerk. Her grandmother mostly took care of the twins. On October 16, 1956, Beverly's mother, Hilda, passed away. She had been sick for several months with heart problems. Education was very important to the women in her family. Beverly's mother had a college degree in education. Other family members also worked as teachers.

Her Schooling and Learning

Beverly Smith went to Bolton Elementary School. Later, she went to Robert Fulton Elementary, Alexander Hamilton Jr. High, and John Adams High School. She finished high school in January 1965. That same year, Smith started college at the University of Chicago.

Beverly Smith earned her first degree from the University of Chicago. She then went on to get two master's degrees. One was in Public Health from Yale University. The other was in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Her mother's passing made Beverly want to study public health. She wanted to focus on improving the health of Black women.

Her First Steps in Activism

Beverly Smith started getting involved in social causes in high school. She joined a group called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). At that time, schools were often unfairly separated by race. Beverly's early activism included protesting the school board and boycotting schools. During one boycott, she and her sister went to a church meeting.

After high school, Smith became even more involved with CORE. She and her sister helped spread information in neighborhoods. In April 1964, Smith joined a protest in Cleveland, Ohio. This protest honored Bruce Klunder, a Civil Rights activist who had died. Smith also met the famous activist Fannie Lou Hamer at a party. In 1967, Smith was also part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

While at the University of Chicago, Smith started a support group for Black students. They talked about unfair treatment on campus. Later, a friend invited Smith to a women's liberation meeting. This got her involved in political movements again. At college, Beverly Smith also listened to speeches by important leaders like Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King Jr..

Her Beliefs and Faith

Beverly Smith has written that religion and education were "twin pillars" in her home. She grew up in the Baptist Church. She attended Antioch Baptist Church, which is one of the oldest African-American churches in Cleveland. Since 2014, Smith has been a member of the First Parish of Watertown. This is a Unitarian Universalist church.

Beverly Smith's Career

In 1973, Smith moved to New York City. She started writing for Ms. magazine. At a conference for the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) in 1973, Smith met someone who helped her get a job. She started doing research at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. While studying for her master's degree, Smith worked at different health centers in Boston.

After getting her master's degree in Public Health from Yale University in 1976, Smith worked at Boston City Hospital. There, she focused on women's health. Smith has also worked at Floating Hospital for Children.

Her Activism Work

Fighting for Women's Rights

When she lived in New York City, Smith joined groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO). She went to NOW meetings in 1973 but soon stopped. She felt they focused mostly on the problems of white, wealthy women. It was at the NBFO conference that Smith felt she truly connected with other Black women. She called the conference "revelatory," meaning it opened her eyes.

Smith says her early work in women's health helped shape her feminist views. Working at Boston City Hospital, she saw the challenges in women's healthcare. She also worked closely with a feminist health center. Smith attended conferences about the health of Black and other women of color. She was deeply involved in advocating for Black women's health. Much of her work focuses on topics like reproductive health, common illnesses, mental health, and safety for Black women and children.

Smith explained that "the personal is political." This means that even everyday situations can be about power and fairness. She said in a 1978 interview:

"I think one of the major contributions the feminist movement - of this part of the feminist movement is of the personal being political. What that boils down to is that any situation in which there is an issue about power and control is by definition a political situation. So, you can have a political situation in your own kitchen, in your own bedroom, or in your own gynecologists office. You don't have to be talking about the houses of Congress or the Supreme Court to be talking about politics. Politics are, in a sense, obscured and taken out of the realm of everyday life. But that's where everyone lives their lives."

The Combahee River Collective

The Combahee River Collective started around 1975. Smith was living in Boston for her work at Boston City Hospital with her sister, Barbara Smith, and Demita Frazier. The group first began as a local chapter of the NBFO. But in 1975, they became independent because they had different goals.

Beverly Smith, Barbara Smith, and Demita Frazier started writing their famous statement after a friend asked them to. The three women had been involved in many women's movements. They understood that these movements were not fully addressing racism. The group believed it was important to look at how race, gender, and social class all connect. Smith believes this statement helped develop Black feminism.

The group's ideas were against racism, classism (unfairness based on social class), homophobia (prejudice against gay people), and heteronormativity (the idea that being straight is the only normal way to be). Smith and her group felt that Black feminism had the right ideas to fight unfairness for all women of color.

Her Lasting Impact

The Combahee River Collective Statement has had a big and lasting impact on Black Feminism and feminism in general. It introduced important ideas like "interlocking oppression." This means that different types of unfairness, like racism and sexism, are connected and affect people at the same time. The statement also helped Black and Brown women get involved in political action.

Selected Writings

Magazines and Journals

• Conditions Five, The Black Women's Issue, November 1979;
• Conditions Four, Smith, Barbara, and Beverly. I Am Not Meant to be Alone and Without You Who Understand: Letters From Black Feminists, 1972-1978, Winter 1978 [1]
• Sinister Wisdom - various issues
• Barbara Smith and Beverly Smith, "The Varied Voices of Black Women", Sojourner (magazine), October 1978.
• Ms. Magazine[2]- various issues
• Aegis Journal, 1983, "Some Thoughts on Racism".

Book Collections

• Smith, Beverly. "The Wedding", in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, 1983, edited by Barbara Smith, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
• Combahee River Collective Statement, written with Barbara Smith and Demita Frazier
• Smith, Barbara & Beverly. "Across the Kitchen Table: A Sister-to-Sister Dialogue", in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (editors), Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, Persephone Press, 1981.
• Smith, Beverly. "Black Women's Health: Notes for a Course", in But Some of Us are Brave: Black Women's Studies, Hull, Gloria T., Scott, Patricia Bell, Smith, Barbara (editors), The Feminist Press, 1982. ISBN: 0-912670-95-9
• Smith, Beverly. "Face-to-Face, Day-to-day — Racism Consciousness Raising", A conversation with Tia Cross, Freada Klein & Beverly Smith, in But Some of Us are Brave: Black Women's Studies, Hull, Gloria T., Scott, Patricia Bell, Smith, Barbara (editors), Feminist Press, 1982. ISBN: 0-912670-95-9