As a socialist Black feminist organization, the collective emphasized the intersections of racial, gender, heterosexist, and class oppression in the lives of African-Americans and other women of color. Like other black feminist organizations at the time, Combahee articulated "many of the concerns specific to black women, from anger with black men for dating and marrying white women, to internal conflict over skin color, hair texture, and facial features, to the differences between the mobility of white and black women...also attacking the myth of black matriarch and stereotypical portrayals of black women in popular culture."[16] Additionally, the collective worked on issues such as "reproductive rights, rape, prison reform, sterilization abuse, violence against women, health care, and racism within the white women's movement."[17] The collective was deliberately structured to avoid hierarchy and provide members with a sense of equality; this structure was cited in a memo authored by Smith as essential to ensuring that "black feminism [survives] as a radical movement."[18] Combahee members organized retreats to discuss issues within the Statement, ways to incorporate black feminism into the consciousnesses of black women, as well as pressing issues in their own communities.[19] But the organization lost momentum, as conversations of lesbianism and educational advancement alienated some members from participating. As a result, leadership conflict and interpersonal disputes, membership in Combahee declined and the last meeting was held in February 1980.[20]