Our January 2017 Cohort enjoying a happy hour at Ceres Gallery in NYC
The story of Feminist Camp
In 2005, Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner were touring the United States in support of their new book, Grassroots. All across the country, they met countless passionate young feminists who knew how to do big things on their campuses—but didn't know what to do after graduation. They needed help and guidance.
Through Soapbox, the feminist speakers' bureau they founded, Amy and Jennifer had extensive experience helping colleges and universities bring leading feminist speakers to inspire their communities. So they decided to invert that idea: instead of sending speakers out, let's bring all these incredible feminists together in one place. We'll introduce them to all the amazing folks we know doing feminist work on the ground every day. They will see exactly what that Women's Studies degree is good for, and learn about some of the ways feminism can be applied beyond theory and classrooms.
And so Feminist Camp was born in New York City.
After hosting 1-2 camps per year since 2006, Feminist Camp now runs its flagship, one-week-long New York City program at least twice a year (January and June). Over the years, we’ve developed the program in different cities (Seattle, San Francisco, Richmond, New Orleans) and even different countries (Zambia, England). We’ve adapted the program to virtual formats, working with gender studies consortiums to create immersive programming at a distance and expand our community of participants. Feminist Camp hosts alumni events online and in-person, and continues to dream up ways to bring more folks to the experience around the world.
“One of my favorite things about Feminist Camp was that we discussed a wide range of feminist issues, and we were able to talk about those issues in great depth. For example, we talked about some of the hardships that women in prison face, which is a topic that I haven’t explored before. We also learned about doulas, which was totally new to me! Feminist Camp broadened my understanding of social justice issues, and after the week was over I felt like a more well-rounded activist. ”