The Rise Up! project aims to create a digital archive of original publications, documents, flyers, posters, and many other materials representing feminist activism from the 1970s to 1990s. Our goal is to help preserve the diversity, vibrancy and radical legacy of this era and to make it accessible online to new generations of activists, students, and researchers.
When our volunteer collective first came together in the fall of 2014, our intention was modest – to digitize three Toronto-based feminist publications from our personal history and collections: Cayenne, Rebel Girls’ Rag and the International Women’s Day Committee (IWDC) Newsletter.
However, the project rapidly grew into something much more ambitious when we decided to invite others to dig into their own boxes of memorabilia and share their stories as well. We pictured an online archive of feminist activism built by those who had been directly involved.
It’s been a challenging and an exciting road. We are encouraged by all those who have already contributed to the Rise Up! project, yet we know the website barely scratches the surface of feminist activism and must continue to be a work in progress. Many different voices and struggles are still missing and incomplete, and we encourage others to contribute materials and to help fill in these many pieces. If you have questions, ideas, or concerns to share, we would also like to hear from you.
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Solidarity Statement
Rise Up! acknowledges that our work takes place in a context of ongoing colonialism, racism, heteropatriarchy, class inequalities, ableism and other forms of structural violence and oppression.
The material included on this site records resistance to these interlocking oppressions, as well as efforts to create alternatives to harmful social and economic structures. However, we are aware that our archive is incomplete and imperfect. A central goal is to fill these gaps, to highlight histories and voices pushed to the margins, and to do so in the spirit of solidarity and justice. Working with an archive is an engagement with the present just as much as it is with the past. As we undertake our work, we commit ourselves to learning from movements against colonialism and racism, and to engaging in conversations that advance the commitments articulated here.
Project Supporters
The Rise Up! collective is deeply grateful to the many, many people who have supported us to get this project off the ground.
Meet the organizing group
Who are we? We are many interesting women – find out more about us.