‘We who strive for the foundation of a principle’: feminism and suffrage in the biography of Bessie Parkes Belloc

ABSTRACT

Bessie Rayner Parkes (later Belloc, 1829–1925) was a central figure in British women’s rights activism during the 1850s and 1860s. She was founding editor of the feminist English Woman’s Journal and one of the organisers of the pioneering 1866 petition for women’s suffrage. She lived long enough to witness some women gaining the vote in 1918, by which time her children, Marie Belloc Lowndes and Hilaire Belloc, were themselves public figures who had taken up opposing positions on women’s suffrage. This article takes as its starting point 1866, a pivotal moment in nineteenth-century agitation for women’s suffrage and in Parkes Belloc’s individual biography, before moving to a longer view of her feminist life before and after this date. It demonstrates the value of a biographical approach to exploring the diversity of perspectives and experiences of women within first-wave feminism and the suffrage movement.     

Under a temporary roof and in the classroom: Service agencies for youth who are homeless while enrolled in community college

Youth experiencing homelessness are part of the large, diverse student population served by community colleges in the United States. These students, who are often unsupported in college environments, turn to housing agencies to provide critical resources. This qualitative study included interviews with 20 students, ages 18–24, attending community college while homeless. Students in this study accessed critical services and social supports in homeless service agencies; however, the requirements of some agency policies were a barrier to reaching academic goals. Housing agencies provided participants with necessary resources; however, participants described facing unique obstacles as they navigated agency eligibility requirements while attending college.