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WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING: FACTORS THAT SUSTAIN U.S. WOMEN'S LIFE-LONG PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISM SUSAN MCKEVITT A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August, 2010 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING: FACTORS THAT SUSTAIN U.S. WOMEN'S LIFE-LONG PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISM prepared by Susan McKevitt is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: ________________________________________________________________________ Laurien Alexandre, Ph.D., Chair Date ________________________________________________________________________ Jon Wergin, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ________________________________________________________________________ Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ________________________________________________________________________ Bettina Aptheker, Ph.D., External Reader Date Copyright 2010 Susan McKevitt All rights reserved Dedication This study is dedicated to all the peace and social justice activists who have been, now are, and are yet to be. For those who have been, know that your struggles were not in vain for they bore fruit of which you never could have dreamed. For those currently in the fray, know that the role you play in the continuum of creating peace and social justice is honoring of those who have come before and critical for those yet to come. You, too, may not see the fruits of your labors, yet you persist anyway. And, for those who are contemplating joining this glorious community of activists, know that your participation will feed your souls, lighten our hearts, and help us to keep going as your vitality and exuberance will strengthen us. Take care of yourselves and enjoy a life-long commitment of the highest order. This study is further dedicated to all the women of the world, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, and nieces who continue to live under oppressive and abusive circumstances. In the face of such circumstances, you choose to challenge those who would dehumanize you. With persistence and courage, with respect and dignity, you stand up insisting on actualizing a just and peaceful world. We are all the better humans because of you. Acknowledgements Appreciation goes to the NH Department of Education members who offered financial support for my continuing educational work in this Ph.D. program. Particular gratitude goes to Bev Muse, my co-worker, who assisted me through the maze of Excel issues, creating charts and tables and transforming documents into Word. Your patience with my bungling was endless. To my friends, Dr. Christy Hammer, Dr. Joan Schwartz, Vicky Morton, Dr. Eleanor Levine, and Ph.D. cohort members Susie Erenrich and Kathleen Roberts for suffering the piloting of numerous versions of the survey instrument used in this study and for cheering me on in the work. To my friend, Dr. Donna San Antonio, appreciation is expressed for agreeing to be my data checker on Chapter V. Your gentle and supportive sharing of your research expertise helped in formulating my analysis. I look forward to the day we once again paddle on the Alagash and sing Avanti Popular to the rising sun! To my dear and life-long friend, Dr. Eleanor Levine, who not only piloted the survey but was also with me every step of the way on this dissertation journey, thank you. Your supportive comments and energy, your expressions of joy when I felt successful, and your probative intelligent conversations added to my understanding in ways that might otherwise not have happened. You have been a role model for me and enabled me to even contemplate entering a Ph.D. program, for you showed me that one can hold this esteemed title while at the same time avoiding elitism. Gratitude is expressed to Eleanor, Joann, and Victoria, the three women whose friendship prompted the question fleshed out in this dissertation. I send heartfelt gratitude to the women and men who supplied me with names so I could find the participants for this study and for those women who agreed to take the i survey and to be interviewed. Knowing there are so many peace and social justice activists in this country keeps the hope alive of us actualizing a more just and peaceful world for our children and grandchildren seven generations on. Thank you! Enormous gratitude goes to my Ph.D. advisor, dissertation chair, and fellow social justice traveler, Dr. Laurien Alexandre. Your delight in the subject and in me fed my spirit. Knowing you were there was an enormous help in getting over the hard times and moving to completion of this study. I look forward to our continuing friendship over the long haul! Appreciation goes to the rest of my intelligent, compassionate, passionate, and supportive dissertation committee, Dr. Jon Wergin, Dr. Philomena Essed, and Dr. Bettina Aptheker. Your wisdom and guidance has made this document as good as it is. Deepest heartfelt gratitude goes to my dear and trusted partner, Tom, who continues to open the space in our relationship for me to actualize myself, and who is my biggest cheerleader, encouraging my growth in what ever direction fulfills me. You are always there to hold me when I doubt, rejoice with me when I succeed, and, in all ways, willing to walk with me on this life’s journey. Thank you!! ii Abstract This dissertation is a mixed methods sequential study on the factors that sustain U.S. women’s life-long peace and social justice activism. The specific cohort of women sought for this study was those who entered their social justice activism during the late 1950s through the early 1970s and were active in the U.S. civil rights struggles, the anti- Vietnam war movement, or participated in the second phase of the women’s liberation movement. Through utilizing a snowballing process, fifty-seven participants were obtained for the quantitative survey phase of the study from which the ten participants (five White, five women of Color) were selected for the qualitative or interview stage. Based on the survey and interview data, four factors emerged as sustaining life-long peace and social justice activism: historical perspective, relationships, gender and race, and having a personal spiritual belief. The study also offers definitions for activist, social justice, long-term (or life-long), explains how peace is looked at herein, and briefly addresses adult development, feminist standpoint, and essentialist theories. This study begins to fill the gap in research on social justice and peace activist by including women, focusing on sustainability factors, and by extending the concept of life-long or long-term activism. Further research opportunities are suggested as this study is an entry into the subject matter, along with some suggestions to current and future peace and social justice activists on how to sustain their activism for the long haul. The study concludes with some personal reflections. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication iv Acknowledgements i Abstract iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vii List of Figures viii Chapter I: Introduction 1 Why Focus on Women 2 Why Focus on Sustaining Lives of Activism 4 Why this Cohort of Women 5 Purpose of the Study 6 Placement of the Researcher 7 Scope, Delimitations, and Ethical Considerations 9 Ethical Considerations 13 Preview of Dissertation Chapters 16 Chapter II: Literature Review 19 Activist/Activism 19 Activism Defined by Student Cohort 20 Activist by Association With an Organization 22 Activism Behavior by Political Involvement Scale 24 Activism Defined 26 Feminist Concept of Activism 27 Social Justice 30 Commutative Justice 33 Distributive Justice 36 Feminist Contribution 38 Peace 40 Negative Peace 41 Positive Peace 43 Inner Peace 44 Adult Development 48 The Feminist Critique of Adult Development Theory: Relational Theory 51 Long-term Commitment to Peace and Social Justice Activism 58 Boundaries of Time—The Generational Cohort 69 The 1960s and 1970s 70 Essentialism and Feminist Standpoint Theory 78 Conclusion 86 Chapter III: Methodology 89 Purpose 89 The Method 89 Quantitative Phase: Non-experimental Descriptive Research 91 Qualitative Phase: Semi-structured Interviews 93 iv The Research Process 94 Quantitative Instrument: My Survey 97 Qualitative Methodology 98 Member Checking and Follow-up Processes 101 Addressing Researcher Bias 104 Ethical Issues 106 Delimitations of the Study 107 Chapter IV: The Survey Data 109 General Demographics of the Participants 111 Summary of the General Demographic Data 119 Beyond General Demographics 119 Activities and Issues 123 Meaning Making of the Activities and Issues Data 124 Gender and Race Related to Participation and Sustainability 125 Ebb and Flow of Activism 126 Causes Involved in During Most Active Times 128 Burnout 129 Fear 129 Hardship 130 Selected Comparative Analysis 131 Factors that Sustain Long-Term Peace and Social Justice Activists 133 Summary 136 Chapter V: The Interviews—Exploring the Factors That Sustain 139 A Brief Reminder of the Selection Process 139 Profiles of the 10 Interviewees 144 The Interviews 153 Preparing for the Interviews 154 Overview of Interview Analysis Process 155 Checking for Researcher Bias 157 Findings and Analysis 157 Historical Perspective or a View of the Long Haul 158 Gender and Race as Factors that Sustain
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