Program Descriptions

Over the course of its existence the Chicago Women's Liberation Union initiated and supported over 90 programs, work groups, projects and chapters. In this section provide descriptions of some of these programs.

Descriptions of additional programs will be added as they become available. Currently available program descriptions are:

• Liberation School for Women was one of the first programs initiated under the umbrella of CWLU. Its slogan was 'What we don't know, we must learn. What we do know, we must teach each other.' The School was nearly a decade before any Women's Studies programs gained traction in colleges and universities.
• WOMANKIND was the mass circulation newspaper of the CWLU. It included articles on issues of women's liberation as well as other political topics. It was distributed to bookstores around Chicago, in junior colleges and at women's events.
• The Speakers' Bureau provided speakers on women's liberation for events small and large. Speaking engagements ranged from speakers at rallies at city hall to speakers at high school classes. Topics ran the gamut from reproductive justice, to employment rights to lesbian and gay issues.
• Health Care organizing was, in many respects, the central issue for much of CWLU organizing. 'Jane,' the Abortion Counseling Service, was one of the first groups to affiliate with CWLU. Pregnancy testing was also an early project. Other health organizing focused on sterilization abuse, the Chicago Maternity Center, and education on women's health. One of the projects on health care, the Health Evaluation and Referral Service (HERS), lasted well into the 1980s.