This essay explores female leadership in the Vietnam Antiwar Movement. Women are often overlooked as mouthpieces of antiwar sentiment and as key players in the movement. Many women gained experience in male-dominated antiwar organizations where they were silenced due to their sex. As a result, thousands broke away to make music, art, and campaign in female-led organizations in an effort to end the war in Vietnam. Ties between women’s leadership in the Antiwar Movement and the emergence of Second Wave Feminism are also explored as the overlap between the two movements was significant. Women from all walks of life made great strides in expanding their social and cultural roles through participation and leadership. They played an instrumental part in encouraging peace and campaigning for change in the United States from the early 1960s through the late 1970s.
About the presenterJessica Hilburn
I graduated in May 2017 with my Masters in Social Sciences with a concentration in history from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. My master’s thesis was about broadening the conceptions of protest and activism to include women, artists, and expatriates as essential pieces of the Vietnam Antiwar Movement.
I work as historian at the Benson Memorial Library in Titusville, PA and as adjunct professor at Mercyhurst University.