"Kramer followed up, notebook in hand. The New Yorker, then led by William Shawn, was averse to polemical swashbuckling; it would never print a phone number as a kicker. But its writers could take their time. Kramer embedded with the Stanton-Anthony Brigade, the "founding cadre" of a set of revolutionary cells devoted to consciousness-raising, or C.R. She sat in as members shared intimate stories, seeking patterns of oppression and strategizing methods of resistance; she watched sisterhood blossom, then break down."
"Kramer's article, "Founding Cadre," was an outlier for the period. It wasn't a convert's plea, like Gornick's; or an insider's dishy dispatch, like Susan Brownmiller's movement roundup in the Times; or a bitingly confessional essay, like Sally Kempton's "Cutting Loose," in Esquire. But it wasn't dismissive, either, like "The David Susskind Show." Instead, it was icily observational, documenting the group's rich, clashing perspectives in granular detail. There were pages of dialogue, as in a play, and long block quotes resembling monologues."
In late 1969 Manhattan, second-wave feminism surfaced in liberal organizations and radical speak-outs. The Stanton-Anthony Brigade formed revolutionary cells focused on consciousness-raising (C.R.), where members shared intimate stories to identify patterns of oppression and develop strategies of resistance. Sessions generated deep sisterhood and also intense conflicts as differing perspectives clashed. Meetings featured extended dialogue and monologues that illuminated emotional and political stakes. The founding brigade dissolved within a year even as the broader movement continued to expand. Participants' identities were concealed with pseudonyms and altered details, though informed observers could sometimes recognize prominent figures.
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