EVELYN Reed, a long-time leader of the Socialist Workers Party (USA) and one of the foremost Marxist writers on women's oppression, died of cancer in New York City on 22 March. She was aged 73.
At a meeting held in New York on 8 April, five hundred people paid tribute to Evelyn's life and work. Messages were received from all parts of the world; from sections of the Fourth and Evelyn's outstanding work feminist, and a fighter for the working class.
At the meeting $7,591 contributed to the Evelyn wnere selected SWP(USA) engage in an intensive study of Marxism.
As a young woman in the 1920s, Evelyn — a promising artist — sought to live on her own terms and not those imposed by adopting a way of life that she thought would give her the freedom to make her own way.
She learned that in a myriad of ways society was structured to destroy her as an individual rebel, and force her into the assigned role of her class in her generation. She came to realise that there are no personal solutions; no utopian life-styles that can liberate an individual.
Convinced that It. was humankind to be free under capitalism, Evelyn became a Marxist and gave energy, talents, wealth to building the revolutionary workers® party in the USA. For forty years Evelyn was a tireless activist and builder of the SWP(USA).
Evelyn was specially concerned for women, particularly revolutionary party, and helped the party to orient to the growing struggles of working class women. She helped them develop as leaders, as thinkers, speakers, theoreticians.
Tour It was through her contributions to the struggle for women's liberation, together with her publications and speaking tours during the past decade, that Evelyn was primarily known internationally. Just two years before her death she made a successtui promote Women's Evolution: From Matriarchal Clan to Patriarchal Family, and to discuss the struttle for women's liberation.
jampacked days conferences, gave press, interviews and talk-ins, BBC's Nationwide on International Women's DaY Evelyn addressed public meetings, lectured to university and college classes, discussed with anthropologists, and lectured at a day school organised by the International Marxist Group.
At a meeting in London on International Women's Day, Evelyn, spoke to over liberationists and their supporters on Women Are Oppressed'. One of the speakers was Irene Brennan.
Communist Party, who valued Evelyn's work on the matriarchy.
Selfless The tour extended from London to several major cities in England and Wales, and Evelyn carried out the heavy schedule enthusiastically and vigorously in a disciplined and selfless way. She presented her ideas very clearly.
Her aim was to convince everyone she spoke to of the necessity for a materialist approach to women's oppression. This was because Evelyn was convinced that it was only in this way that women would understand that tne ignt lor women's liberation is an integral part of the struggie lor sociansin, and inalIt was helessary to build a powerful women's allied to the struggles of the working class — in order to bring about an end to sex oppression.
Evelyn was always genuinely in individual feminists concerned to recruit them to the revolutionary party. She knew this to be the way they would the tight for women's liberation through to a victorious end.
Internationalist Through her tour in Britain, and similar tours in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, Evelyn internationalist understanding and commitSocialist Challenge 5 July 1979 the origins of individuals. who valued Marxist, was pledged and Reed Scholarship members can society, impossible for her strength, intelligence and her personal recruits socialism, and Her ICH Britain IO she held press radio, and TV and appeared live on alongside other a leader of the class Evelyn's work Ima-tain centuly.
women occupied positions patriarchal society division in anthropological evolutionists and anti-evolutionists.
goes into closest to human life anthropology, socio-biology and primatology.
breed prejudice against and Lionel Tiger conclusions.
Evelyn points
consistently method of century anthropologists on t the new higher stage of socialism.
oppose Marxism questions of social origins.
false data, which This theoretical level passage to class society. She were system that also innumerable other discriminations and degradations, projects thạt liberation struggle.
of teaching, to join to discover find what they are looking for is a vital contribution to this end — regularly £1.90; special offer £1.45 Clip and post to: The Other Bookshop, 328 Upper Street, London NI society, which divided humanity into property owners and workers.
the evolutionary approach of most of the founders of the then newly-formed science of anthropology in the Two of their most important discoveries were that primitive society was collectivist and egalitarian; that it was matriarchal, and that of leadership. in productive and social life and were held in high esteem. The sharp contrast with present-day brought about a deep circles between In her last book, Sexism and Science, which is a supplement to Woman's Evolution, Evelyn these questions exposes the anti-woman bias that permeates the sciences - biology, sociology the sciences She reveals that the social pressures which women today lead anthropologists such as Claude Levi-Strauss male supremist out that in the field of anthropology, as in other scientific fields, evolutionist materialist thought has revolutionary implications. She notes how Marx and Engels drew upon the materials provided by the 19th extend and substantiate their materialist interpretation of history. She concluded that just as primitive collectivism had been destroyed by class society so, in turn, would class society be replaced by Unwilling to accept these conclusions, reactionary anthropologists were obliged not but to reject the findings and the theoretical heritage of the 19th century anthropologists on the important Evelyn explains how these anti-evolutionists and anti-materialists have reduced their science to a patchwork of unrelated facts and has not only retarded its growth but also reduced it to an infantile Evelyn Reed has made a major contribution to a scientific understanding of humanity's establishes that women's inferiority is the product of a social produces and fosters inequalities, , inferiorities, and she perspective for the women's By her writings and her example, Evelyn gives women confidence and has inspired them the struggle for a world without exploitation and oppression, and so help to create a new society in which everyone is equal.
Evelyn was not able to complete the work she had undertaken on women's evolution. She knew that it was essential and urgent for women their own hidden history, and was convinced that women will continue their own intellectual course and explorations until they the truth about women's evolution. Evelyn Reed's work TOTAL.
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Fund, a special fund to help establish a school Photo: Q.M. COOKBON
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