The Radical Histoy Of Black Girls’ Groups (Duke University Press Blog)

"After poring through Chicago Defender newspaper articles about Oececa patriotic revues, mimeographed reports on the cabin funds, and brief news features lauding Camp Fire standouts like Ruth Reese and Lenora Grady, I realized just how radical black participation in children’s organizations was for the time. Black girls participating in Camp Fire was more than a simple fulfillment of a childhood pleasure; it was a powerful articulation that their girlhood was as valuable as that of whites. Long before the world saw black girls like Ruby Bridges and Elizabeth Eckford bravely integrate schools in the Civil Rights era, there were scores of girls in khaki outfits and carefully pinned beanies who were so radical as to say that they were girls too."