Woods Sylvia Womens Movement 1

Sylvia Woods was born on January 30, 1942 in Knoxville, Tenn. In the 1970s, she became active in the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the Democratic Party. Her husband was a member of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Area Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and she began participating in the organization through the Office and Professional Employees International Union and eventually served as the Financial Secretary-Treasurer. She has served on many boards of organizations in Knoxville, including the Family Crisis Center, the Community Mediation Center, the Knoxville Women’s Center, and the Knoxville Council of PTAs. Here Woods describes her involvement in civic organizations, the Women’s movement, and the labor movement. She also describes in depth her family history and what she learned from her mother’s experience of domestic violence and divorce.