In the decades following the Second World War, women from all walks of life became increasingly frustrated by the world around them. Drawing on long-standing political traditions, these women bound together to revolutionize social norms and contest gender inequality. In Montreal, women activists inspired by Red Power, Black Power, and Quebec liberation, among other social movements, mounted a multifront campaign against social injustice.

Countercurrents looks beyond the defining waves metaphor to write a new history of feminism that incorporates parallel social movements into the overarching narrative of the women’s movement. Case studies compare and reflect on the histories of the Quebec Native Women’s Association, the Congress of Black Women, the Front de libération des femmes du Québec, various Haitian women’s organizations, and the Collectif des femmes immigrantes du Québec and the political work they did. Bringing to light previously overlooked archival and oral sources, Amanda Ricci introduces a new cast of characters to the history of feminism in Quebec. The book presents a unique portrait of the resurgence of feminist activism, demonstrating its deep roots in Indigenous and Black communities, its transnational scope, and its wide-ranging inspirations and preoccupations.

Advancing cross‐cultural perspectives on women’s movements, Countercurrents looks to the history of women’s activism in Montreal and finds new ways of defining feminist priorities and imagining feminist futures.

Amanda Ricci is assistant professor at York University.

Amanda Ricci's profile page

• Short-listed, Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History prize
• Winner, Canadian Committee on Women's and Gender History English-Language Book Prize

“Amanda Ricci's history of diverse Montreal feminist groups gives us a new perspective on contemporary feminist activism, expanding the history of feminism by giving sustained attention – if not pride of place – to minority or racialized women activists and organizations heretofore neglected in scholarship. Clear and complex, Countercurrents shows that the roots to this vast social movement run deeper than we thought, and that its aspirations and struggles go well beyond the borders of Quebec.” Denyse Baillargeon, Université de Montréal

“Countercurrents is a rich monograph that co tributes to the interlocking histories of gender, race, and self-determination in contemporary Quebec. The book’s specific interest in space and place makes it useful for urban historians too.” Urban History Review

« Ricci propose une histoire politique et une histoire des femmes renouvelée, complexe et ambitieuse. Sous la plume de Ricci, ces femmes se voient restituer leur juste place dans l’histoire en tant qu’actrices de changement, organisatrices politiques et militantes qui ont bâti le Québec moderne. Grâce au choix méthodologique judicieux de l’histoire croisée, Ricci réussit aussi à montrer les tensions qui traversent les mouvements féministes de l’après-guerre et à y restituer des parcours demeurés dans l’oubli. [Ricci place] les femmes, leurs réseaux, leurs actions au cœur du politique et au cœur des transformations sociales qui ont fait Montréal, le Canada et la francophonie internationale. » Jury du prix de l’Assemblée nationale de l'IHAF