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Q-Do the women in the group see that wor Q-Are there any conflicts within the group lot of time on-because that is the area the system is, like, destroy it because they're already destroyed.
Q-Has the group discussed the causes of these problems?
M-The thing is, you discuss things, but there is so much to be done that you don't have as much time as you would Q- Would the other women in the group re gard themselves as socialists?
M-I think that the idea of setting up that group wasn't mainly to change them into socialists-you let it develop in practice which is harder, so that attitudes change, and while you discuss things they can think clearer, about how things should be.
men are oppressed, as well as the chilK-Yes. They all know that. They all have struggles with the men. they haven't got any illusions in that.
To see yourself as a socialist is a long step away you know... it's a very slow thing... you're fighting the institutions, you're fighting the policesome of the illusions go, and maybe one day you're come to the stage where you think this whole society has to be changed.
M-And living in Britain doen't help groups like that very much... because the socialist groups are all split in different ways, so if you belong to a particular socialist group it's likely you'll want to see groups like ours as part of that one else is in another group and you'll have all this sectarian fighting and then that will affect the health of the whole 0-How have the men involved with the women reacted to them being in the group? Do they see it as a threat? M-Of course it's a threat. As soon as a woman starts leaving home, not finishing cooking and dashing off to get to a meeting or a picket line you're will make it a point of duty not to be nise some other babysitting rota. All men seem to be coping with it.
for example some people being more active than others?
see if tonight's a good night to leave home. But those that are active now have been through that stage.
volve men?
M-So far we haven't involved ourselves socialist group you're a part of and someyou go along. breaking the rules. Maybe some of them there for the babysitting so you have to either take your kid with you or orgathat type of problem is there but the woM-That's not a conflict. It just means that some people are more busy or are at a stage of development where they still see themselves as finishing the housework first before anything comes in, or checking the television programmes to group first?
very much with other black groups, except if we're having a meeting on a specific subject. But the only thing that comes out is the meeting point where that type of chauvinism and sexism comes out, and you have to fight it as Q-Do a lot of men feel hostile to the idea of women meeting separately? M-Yes, but I must say they are more the nationalists, who see the black thing as one big thing which you mustn't split. You have a handful of black men whose political level is quite high and they are really deeply involved in black struggle, so you talk politics with themand these are the ones who get up and say we don't have time to split men here, women there. But I don't see it as a contradiction because these are the ones you meet at conferences where you don't meet a lot of working class O-What is the specific function of meeting as a women's group?
M-It depends on what you're gearing it at. Our group meets around the issue of kids and it's the woman-they're the ones who are In court, they're the ones who go to the police station, they're the ones who bail the kids, they're the ones who know what's happening Q- Would you say it is easier for a black woman to get involved in a women's M-All we need is to get them together, and once we've got them together you don't need to raise their consciousness or aware ness about what is happening because it's already there.
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when it is young and you won't have any problems with them in the future,
Q-What is your relationship to other black groups, particularly groups which in-