National Congress of Neighborhood Women

The National Congress of Neighborhood Women (NCNW) is a United States grassroots support and leadership organization focused on poor and working-class women, neighborhood leaders, and community-based women's organizations. Rather than functioning as a conventional consumer brand or commercial enterprise, NCNW operates as an advocacy, education, organizing, and capacity-building network. Its work has centered on helping women develop leadership skills, gain access to education and employment opportunities, and participate more effectively in campaigns concerning housing, childcare, community development, racial and economic justice, and gender equality. The organization's origins lie in the community activism of Jan Peterson, who moved to New York City in 1969 and became involved with the Conselyea Street Block Association in Brooklyn's Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods. She also volunteered with the Congress of Racial Equality in Harlem and participated in anti-poverty and feminist initiatives. These experiences led her to explore a multiethnic and interracial organization rooted in the needs of poor and working-class neighborhoods. In 1973, Peterson met other grassroots activists and professional women through an event sponsored by the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs. The group organized a national conference of working-class women in Washington, D.C., in 1974. At a second conference the following year, participants established what was described as the first national federation of blue-collar and neighborhood women, giving formal shape to NCNW. Based in Brooklyn, the organization initially addressed practical and structural issues affecting women and their communities. Its concerns included women's access to community leadership, affordable childcare, college programs for adult women returning to education, legislation for displaced homemakers, neighborhood revitalization, redlining, senior centers, shelters for battered women, affirmative action, and support for labor and consumer campaigns such as the J. P. Stevens textile boycott. NCNW's first major program, launched in 1975, was a community-based higher-education initiative developed with Empire State College and community colleges. It helped adult women active in their communities obtain knowledge and skills relevant to leadership. This educational work was linked to Project Open Doors, an employment initiative that provided apprenticeship experience with community organizations in New York City. During the 1980s, NCNW broadened its educational and organizing activities. It offered pre-college instruction in mathematics, literacy, English as a second language, and General Educational Development preparation. In 1986 it opened You Can Community School, an alternative education, pre-employment, and leadership-training program for young people. The Leadership Training and Support Program provided workshops at regional and national meetings, connecting affiliated organizations and creating spaces where neighborhood women could exchange experience and analyze the effects of class inequality, racism, and sexism on community leadership. The organization also underwent a mid-1980s restructuring that strengthened its national programming. Local and national functions were more clearly differentiated when Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg/Greenpoint was formed in 1986 to administer local activities. NCNW expanded its relationships with women’s groups in Appalachia, the Pacific Northwest, Puerto Rico, and Native American communities. Its international work developed after representatives attended the 1985 United Nations Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi. Concerned about the limited participation of poor and working-class women in international forums, NCNW collaborated with other grassroots organizations to establish GROOTS International, or Grassroots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood. NCNW subsequently became GROOTS' North American representative and also developed ties with the Huairou Commission. In the 1990s, NCNW obtained consultative status with the United Nations and established an office at United Nations headquarters. Its continuing Leadership Support Group has remained a central mechanism for sharing practical skills, experiences, and organizing strategies among women from different communities. The organization's broad purpose has been summarized as uniting women across differences to pursue decent employment, fair wages, housing, and other basic necessities. Its archival records are held in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, documenting the organization's role in grassroots women's activism.

NCNW developed from neighborhood organizing in Brooklyn and from the broader anti-poverty, civil-rights, feminist, and working-class women's movements of the late 1960s and 1970s. Jan Peterson's involvement with the Conselyea Street Block Association in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, together with her volunteer work with the Congress of Racial Equality and other social-justice organizations, shaped an approach that combined local community development with national networking. In 1973, Peterson and other activists encountered professional women and grassroots organizers through a National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs event. Their collaboration produced a national conference of working-class women in Washington, D.C., in 1974. A second conference in 1975 resulted in the formation of a national federation and the emergence of NCNW. The organization was created to amplify the voices of women whose communities were often underrepresented in mainstream women's organizations and public policy debates. Its agenda included access to affordable childcare, adult education, employment, neighborhood revitalization, protection from redlining, support for displaced homemakers, senior services, shelters for battered women, affirmative action, and labor-related consumer activism. Its first program was a community-based higher-education project developed with Empire State College and community colleges. The project was intended for adult women already active in their neighborhoods who sought additional knowledge and skills for community leadership. Project Open Doors complemented the educational program by offering apprenticeships with community organizations in New York City. NCNW expanded its educational portfolio during the 1980s. Its pre-college programs covered mathematics, literacy, English-language instruction, and GED preparation. You Can Community School, opened in 1986, added alternative education, employment preparation, and leadership development for young people. The Leadership Training and Support Program became a national mechanism for workshops, conferences, and peer support. Through these activities, participating organizations examined the combined effects of economic inequality, racism, and sexism and exchanged strategies for strengthening neighborhood leadership. A restructuring in the middle of the decade helped separate local service delivery from national training and advocacy. Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg/Greenpoint was formed in 1986 to administer local programming, while NCNW developed a wider network involving groups in Appalachia, the Pacific Northwest, Puerto Rico, and Native American communities. This expansion reflected the organization's effort to connect distinct local struggles without abandoning neighborhood-based organizing. NCNW's international profile grew through participation in the 1985 United Nations Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi. Its representatives observed that poor and working-class women were insufficiently represented in international women's forums. NCNW therefore collaborated with other grassroots organizations to form GROOTS International, later serving as the network's North American representative. It also partnered with the Huairou Commission. In the 1990s, NCNW gained consultative status with the United Nations and opened an office at United Nations headquarters, extending its ability to bring grassroots perspectives into international policy discussions. The Leadership Support Group has remained the organization's principal program for facilitating peer exchange, practical training, and mutual support. NCNW's work has consistently linked women's leadership to broader questions of jobs, wages, housing, childcare, education, and community power. Its records, donated to the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College beginning in the 1980s, provide an institutional archive of this history.

• 1990

  United Nations consultative role

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  NCNW gained consultative status with the United Nations and opened an office at its headquarters.

• 1986

  Local programming and youth education broadened

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg/Greenpoint was formed, You Can Community School opened, and NCNW expanded national and regional training.

• 1985

  International grassroots women's collaboration expands

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  NCNW representatives attended the United Nations women's conference in Nairobi and helped create GROOTS International.

• 1975

  National federation formed

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  A second conference established the federation that became NCNW, alongside the organization's first community-based higher-education project.

• 1974

  First national conference of working-class women

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  The emerging network held a national conference in Washington, D.C.

• 1973

  Grassroots network begins to take shape

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Peterson met allied grassroots activists and professional women through an event connected with the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs.

• 1969

  Jan Peterson begins Brooklyn neighborhood activism

  [1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Peterson moved to New York City, joined the Conselyea Street Block Association, and became involved in civil-rights, anti-poverty, and feminist activism.

A grassroots, intersectional support and organizing network for poor and working-class women and neighborhood-based women's organizations.

• Adult education · 1975

  Community-based higher-education program

  Launched in 1975 with Empire State College and community colleges, this program supported adult women already engaged in neighborhood work. Its purpose was to provide academic knowledge and practical skills that could strengthen women's effectiveness as community leaders.

• Employment and apprenticeship · 1975

  Project Open Doors

  An employment initiative linked to NCNW's education work. It provided participating women with apprenticeship experience in New York City community organizations, connecting leadership development with practical work experience.

• Leadership development

  Leadership Training and Support Program

  A national workshop and conference program that brought affiliated organizations together to exchange organizing skills and examine how class inequality, racism, and sexism affect women's participation in community leadership.

• Youth education and workforce preparation · 1986

  You Can Community School

  An alternative education program opened in 1986 for young people. It combined pre-employment preparation with leadership training and educational support.

• Peer support and organizing network

  Leadership Support Group

  NCNW's continuing central support mechanism, designed to help women from different communities share experiences, skills, and strategies for advancing grassroots leadership.

• J. P. Stevens textile boycott

  United States

  NCNW supported the J. P. Stevens textile boycott as part of its broader labor, racial-justice, and working-class advocacy.

  Source
• Displaced Homemakers advocacy

  United States

  The organization advocated for legislation addressing the economic and social needs of displaced homemakers.

  Source
• Neighborhood anti-redlining and revitalization advocacy

  United States

  NCNW included elimination of redlining and neighborhood revitalization among its stated community priorities.

  Source

• 1986

  Separate local administration from national programmingStrategy

  Background

  NCNW was expanding beyond its Brooklyn base and needed a structure that could support local services while developing national training and advocacy.

  Action taken

  Neighborhood Women of Williamsburg/Greenpoint was formed to administer local programming, allowing NCNW to concentrate more heavily on national work.

  Aftermath

  NCNW expanded its network into Appalachia, the Pacific Northwest, Puerto Rico, and Native American communities.

  Source

• 1985

  Build an international grassroots women's networkStrategy

  Background

  NCNW representatives identified limited participation by poor and working-class women in the United Nations women's conference in Nairobi.

  Action taken

  NCNW collaborated with allied grassroots women's organizations to form GROOTS International and later represented North America within the network.

  Aftermath

  The organization strengthened its international partnerships, including ties with the Huairou Commission.

  Source

• 1986

  You Can Community School opens[1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  NCNW established an alternative education, pre-employment, and leadership-training program for young people.

• 1985

  NCNW expands international grassroots women's organizing[1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After participating in the United Nations conference on women in Nairobi, NCNW worked with allied grassroots organizations to create GROOTS International and later served as its North American representative.

• 1975

  National federation of neighborhood women established[1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following national gatherings of working-class women in 1974 and 1975, participants formed the National Congress of Neighborhood Women as a national federation for blue-collar and neighborhood women.

• 1975

  NCNW launches community-based higher-education and employment initiatives[1]National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization began an adult education project with Empire State College and community colleges and connected it with Project Open Doors, an employment and apprenticeship program for women working with community organizations.

1. 1National Congress of Neighborhood Womenen.wikipedia.org
2. 2National Congress of Neighborhood Women recordsfindingaids.smith.edu