An earlier version of this article was delivered as the Chair's Address at the Opening General Session of the CCCC Convention in New York, March 2003. I review the current mission and position statements of the organization by calling attention to the ways in which our current social and political climate challenges our ability to meet our goals and support our positions. I weave into my text the "voices" of historical black women who called for response in their own time and even in ours. (Contains 10 notes.)