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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971

1971-02-19 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 9

Gimme Womans Shelter

[3 photos]

   When I got the last issue of Rat and read about Gimme Womans Shelter, I got so exited for all the sisters in New York, for the women who had seized the building, for the politics involved. Women were acting to fill their own needs, by taking over a huge, abandoned city-owned building on New Years Eve, and converting it into a womens center to provide shelter, a child-care center, a feminist school and an abortion information center. 
   During the 12 day occupation the women scraped and painted the walls, the floors were repaired, glass was donated for the windows that were broken and the boiler was almost fixed. I just wished  to see in Rat more personal experiences of those 12 days.... with so many hundreds of women coming and going there must have been an incredible amount of feminist relationships.
   My head immediately envisioned similar actions in cities and towns throughout the country....why one building, then another building, then a block, then a community, a city, a country, the possibilities.....
   Our love to all the sisters in New York for their inspiring action.

reprinted from the Liberated Guardian
Women battle the police
   On January 12, the Tactical Police Force (TPF) surrounded the building. No women were allowed to enter and three who refused to leave were arrested.
   The next morning, while a picket line formed outside, some twenty women managed to enter the building. The TPF told them they had five minutes to leave or be busted for criminal trespass. The women refused to leave.
   The TPF tried to throw them out. In the back of the building, the pigs attacked a group of women who had been trapped. Twenty-four women were busted for trespass, 4 of them for assault. Five pigs were treated for minor injuries.

City sells women out
   The city vacated the East 5th Street building - the former Department of Welfare Women's Shelter - four years ago, leaving holes in the floor, live electrical wires, broken glass, an open elevator shaft, and a leaking sewage system. The building was a hazard to the community and the city had taken no responsibility for it.
   The city had indicated to the women a few days before the police action that there was a possibility of holding the building unmolested. During the initial talks with representatives of the mayor's office, the city also took under consideration repairing the building. 
   The sellout has continued since the eviction. The city promised that equipment from the medical project, the food co-op, and the child care center, and the personal belongings of the women, would be stored in the court building until claimed. Instead, these things were taken to the Bureau of Encombrances, which has a long record of "losing" many of the items stored there.
   While women held the building they began changing a health hazard into a useful space. Despite the lack of heat, the lead-based paint had been scraped and the walls repainted, broken glass had been swept up and equipment for the projects assembled. The food co-op and schools were underway. A clothing exchange was in operation.
   The building, which has also been a welfare center, is almost ideal for a community center. It is large and divided into areas suitable for group activities. The city claims that the building is not structurally sound, but a woman architect who went over the plans assured the sisters that its girder-reinforced construction was sound. The wiring is in good shape and the glass can easily be repaired with new glass (already donated to the women).The only thing in need of major repair is the plumbing.
   An investigation found that the plumbing job would cost about $10,000, but it would cost about $50,000 for the city to have the building torn down.

Project in exile
  The women are demanding that the TPF get out of the building and return it to them. They are also demanding a lease and money for essential services and utilities. On Saturday, January 16, 500 demonstrated in support of these demands near the site of the building. The demonstration lasted two hours despite the sub-freezing weather. Although the pigs prevented anyone from picketing in front of the building, everyone's spirits were high.
   After the  demonstration, sisters met in the Ikon storefront to establish a Fifth Street Women's Community in Exile. During the meeting women formed small groups to continue projects begun in the building. For the next two weeks, the center will be working out of the storefront. The food co-op will have its first sale January 23. Other projects will be underway as soon as equipment and space are available.


HAPPY BIRTH  RAT

3 is different than 
      2 is different than 
                         1

One: if you want it done, you do it.
Two: a division of labor
       one is good at some things, and
       sort of likes to do them.
     
       one is neither, and doesn't like
       to do a whole lot at all if
       there's a way around it.
Three: 
    Three exacerbates and defines what
     two didn't know (had forgotten -
    didn't want to know) existed.

   Three defines a division of labor
    that was realized in an unspoken
   way, and probably accepted there.
 
We grow up learning how to be 2
Never learning about 3
    or 4 or more.

Perhaps it is because there is a 
     2 and a 1.
P.S. Perhaps not.

[photo]

We are a collective of eight women functioning as a world wide conspiracy of Radical Lesbians.

[photo]

Ain't I A Woman is published every three weeks by the Angry Independent Amazon Women
P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.

If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN'T I A WOMAN?, send 15¢ per copy. 
Minimum bundle: 20 copies

ain't I a woman?   FEBRUARY 19, 1971 page 9

Saving...

Gimme Womans Shelter [3 photos] When I got the last issue of Rat and read about Gimme Womans Shelter, I got so exited for all the sisters in New York, for the women who had seized the building, for the politics involved. Women were acting to fill their own needs, by taking over a huge, abandoned city-owned building on New Years Eve, and converting it into a womens center to provide shelter, a child-care center, a feminist school and an abortion information center. During the 12 day occupation the women scraped and painted the walls, the floors were repaired, glass was donated for the windows that were broken and the boiler was almost fixed. I just wished to see in Rat more personal experiences of those 12 days.... with so many hundreds of women coming and going there must have been an incredible amount of feminist relationships. My head immediately envisioned similar actions in cities and towns throughout the country....why one building, then another building, then a block, then a community, a city, a country, the possibilities..... Our love to all the sisters in New York for their inspiring action. reprinted from the Liberated Guardian Women battle the police On January 12, the Tactical Police Force (TPF) surrounded the building. No women were allowed to enter and three who refused to leave were arrested. The next morning, while a picket line formed outside, some twenty women managed to enter the building. The TPF told them they had five minutes to leave or be busted for criminal trespass. The women refused to leave. The TPF tried to throw them out. In the back of the building, the pigs attacked a group of women who had been trapped. Twenty-four women were busted for trespass, 4 of them for assault. Five pigs were treated for minor injuries. City sells women out The city vacated the East 5th Street building - the former Department of Welfare Women's Shelter - four years ago, leaving holes in the floor, live electrical wires, broken glass, an open elevator shaft, and a leaking sewage system. The building was a hazard to the community and the city had taken no responsibility for it. The city had indicated to the women a few days before the police action that there was a possibility of holding the building unmolested. During the initial talks with representatives of the mayor's office, the city also took under consideration repairing the building. The sellout has continued since the eviction. The city promised that equipment from the medical project, the food co-op, and the child care center, and the personal belongings of the women, would be stored in the court building until claimed. Instead, these things were taken to the Bureau of Encombrances, which has a long record of "losing" many of the items stored there. While women held the building they began changing a health hazard into a useful space. Despite the lack of heat, the lead-based paint had been scraped and the walls repainted, broken glass had been swept up and equipment for the projects assembled. The food co-op and schools were underway. A clothing exchange was in operation. The building, which has also been a welfare center, is almost ideal for a community center. It is large and divided into areas suitable for group activities. The city claims that the building is not structurally sound, but a woman architect who went over the plans assured the sisters that its girder-reinforced construction was sound. The wiring is in good shape and the glass can easily be repaired with new glass (already donated to the women).The only thing in need of major repair is the plumbing. An investigation found that the plumbing job would cost about $10,000, but it would cost about $50,000 for the city to have the building torn down. Project in exile The women are demanding that the TPF get out of the building and return it to them. They are also demanding a lease and money for essential services and utilities. On Saturday, January 16, 500 demonstrated in support of these demands near the site of the building. The demonstration lasted two hours despite the sub-freezing weather. Although the pigs prevented anyone from picketing in front of the building, everyone's spirits were high. After the demonstration, sisters met in the Ikon storefront to establish a Fifth Street Women's Community in Exile. During the meeting women formed small groups to continue projects begun in the building. For the next two weeks, the center will be working out of the storefront. The food co-op will have its first sale January 23. Other projects will be underway as soon as equipment and space are available. HAPPY BIRTH RAT 3 is different than 2 is different than 1 One: if you want it done, you do it. Two: a division of labor one is good at some things, and sort of likes to do them. one is neither, and doesn't like to do a whole lot at all if there's a way around it. Three: Three exacerbates and defines what two didn't know (had forgotten - didn't want to know) existed. Three defines a division of labor that was realized in an unspoken way, and probably accepted there. We grow up learning how to be 2 Never learning about 3 or 4 or more. Perhaps it is because there is a 2 and a 1. P.S. Perhaps not. [photo] We are a collective of eight women functioning as a world wide conspiracy of Radical Lesbians. [photo] Ain't I A Woman is published every three weeks by the Angry Independent Amazon Women P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240. If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN'T I A WOMAN?, send 15¢ per copy. Minimum bundle: 20 copies ain't I a woman? FEBRUARY 19, 1971 page 9