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| Women of Color Resource Center | |
|---|---|
| Name | Women of Color Resource Center |
| Formation | 1990 |
| Founder | Frances Beal; Margo Okazawa-Rey |
| Dissolution | 2010s |
| Type | Nonprofit advocacy organization |
| Location | Berkeley, California |
Women of Color Resource Center was a US-based advocacy organization founded to advance the rights of women of color through research, organizing, and policy advocacy. It operated at the intersection of race, gender, immigration, and labor, engaging with activist networks, academic institutions, and policy forums. The center worked with community groups, civil rights organizations, legal advocates, and health coalitions to address systemic inequalities affecting African American, Latina, Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander women.
The center emerged in the context of 1980s and 1990s activism involving leaders associated with National Organization for Women, Black Panther Party, African National Congress, Asian American Political Alliance, and feminist scholars connected to Howard University, Spelman College, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. Founders included activists and scholars linked to movements such as the Combahee River Collective, Third World Women's Alliance, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, and activists influenced by figures like Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Patricia Hill Collins. Early collaborations brought the center into contact with policy entities including Congressional Black Caucus, United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, U.S. Department of Justice, and advocacy groups like ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and National Council of La Raza.
The organization’s stated mission aligned with advocacy priorities of groups like SisterSong, Vera Institute of Justice, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Service Employees International Union, SEIU Local 1199, and National Alliance on Mental Illness chapters focused on women of color. Activities included research dissemination similar to work by Pew Research Center, community training modeled after Community Catalyst, and public education campaigns comparable to efforts by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, and Kaiser Family Foundation. The center produced policy briefs used by lawmakers in offices such as those of Representative Maxine Waters, Senator Barbara Boxer, and staffers advising Senator Kamala Harris during early California policy debates.
Programs connected with reproductive justice networks like National Network of Abortion Funds, civic engagement initiatives resembling Rock the Vote, and economic justice campaigns similar to Raise the Wage and Jobs with Justice. Initiatives ranged from anti-violence work resonant with National Coalition Against Domestic Violence to immigrant rights efforts like United We Dream and legal support partnerships with organizations such as Immigrant Legal Resource Center and American Immigration Lawyers Association. Health-related programs interacted with institutions including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, and community clinics modeled after Planned Parenthood clinics and Family Planning Associates.
Leadership comprised activists, scholars, and organizers with ties to African American Policy Forum, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Latina Action Network, and Native leadership networks including National Congress of American Indians and Native American Rights Fund. Advisory boards drew on expertise from faculty at University of Michigan, Harvard University, Yale University, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, and community organizers affiliated with Catalyst Project, Center for Constitutional Rights, and Color Of Change. Organizational structure paralleled nonprofit models used by Ford Foundation grantees and community-based groups funded by Open Society Foundations and W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
The center contributed research and testimony that informed policy discussions alongside advocates from SisterSong, National Women's Law Center, Direct Action Welfare Committee, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Its advocacy intersected with campaigns addressing mass incarceration led by The Sentencing Project and criminal justice reform efforts with Equal Justice Initiative and Campaign Zero. The center influenced public discourse in venues like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, and academic journals associated with Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society and Meridians. Grassroots organizing amplified work by local groups such as Black Women’s Blueprint, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, and Filipina Women’s Network.
Partnerships included collaborations with civil rights organizations like NAACP, labor unions such as AFL–CIO, faith-based networks including National Council of Churches, and health coalitions connected to American Public Health Association. Funding sources mirrored those of similar nonprofits, drawing on foundations like Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The Atlantic Philanthropies, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and government grant programs administered by Office on Violence Against Women and state agencies in California. The center also engaged in fundraising with philanthropic intermediaries such as Funders for LGBTQ Issues and pooled campaigns with groups like Women Donors Network.
Critiques paralleled debates faced by peer organizations including concerns raised about alliances with mainstream institutions like Democratic National Committee affiliates, tensions over funding from large foundations such as Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, and disagreements about strategic priorities similar to controversies within National Organization for Women and NOW PAC circles. Internal critiques invoked discussions common to movements around representation highlighted by scholars like Patricia Hill Collins and activists connected to Black Lives Matter, Million Women March, and grassroots collectives. Legal or governance disputes echoed issues addressed by nonprofit oversight bodies such as Internal Revenue Service regulations and reporting practices monitored by GuideStar.
Category:Defunct organizations based in the United States