Summer of Feminista: Organized Coraje

To close out Summer of Feminista, we welcome Linda Garcia Merchant. 

Linda is a documentary film maker and founder of Voces Primeras. She is currently working on "Chicana por mi Raza: Uncovering the Hidden History of Chicana Feminism (1965‐1985)," a public humanities project centered on the collection and digital preservation of archival materials, ephemera, and oral histories that document the development of Chicana feminist thought during the civil rights era.

This last June we interviewed two iconic figures of Latina activism from the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, Teresa Fraga and Raquel Guerrero as a part of an oral history project on Chicana Feminists entitled, Chicana Por Mi Raza. These women were a part of a group of incredible women making history in Chicago at a time when Latinos across the country were making history. Mrs. Fraga and Mrs. Guerrero, along with a number of organizations, spearheaded the movement that ultimately got the first Latino high school built in Chicago, Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen. One of the tactics used to get the attention of the Chicago Board of Education and its leader (at the time Joseph P. Hannon) was to stage a boycott—a school walkout not unlike the walkouts of East Los Angeles made famous by Paula Criostomo and the Brown Berets and Diana Soliz and the Partido Raza Unida in Crystal City Texas. In the early 1970s 90 percent of the student body of nine local elementary schools stayed home for three days. On the third day Mr. Hannon contacted the group spearheading the boycott, Pilsen Neighborhood Alliance, to have a meeting about building a new  high school in Pilsen.

Until that moment, all the protesting and meetings at City Hall, had done little to sway the opinion of Mr. Hannon and the board. What these women joined together to do was create a coalition of organizers to  make a very large statement. These women understood that by keeping their children out of school those schools could be in jeopardy of losing funding because of a lack of daily enrollment. It was a simple, non  violent and effective way to make their point.

As long as I work on the Chicana Por Mi Raza project, I never get tired of hearing all the different ways  women got together to tackle an issue. How these mothers, fought the long struggle to get their children the education they knew they deserved. How these mothers organized and collaborated with groups with very  different ideologies and missions, to create strength in numbers for this and other big fights. A woman we will be interviewing soon, Mary Gonzales Koenig, coined the phrase ‘organized coraje’ to describe how this  kind of collective strategy could work for so many issues. Mary talks about the general ‘coraje’, or anger that people felt about the economic, educational, and political oppression they were experiencing in Pilsen during this time. Latinos couldn’t get jobs with the public utilities, hospitals or retail chains, were denied  quality education in the local school system and certainly didn’t have a voice within government as the Latino voting group was considered a ‘captive vote’.

The beauty of Pilsen is and remains, the number of Latina activists engaging in this ‘organized coraje’ to make change happen. How women like Teresa Fraga and Raquel Guerrero, (Pilsen Neighborhood  Alliance), Mary Gonzales Koenig (Spanish Coalition for Jobs), Carmen Velasquez (Alivio Medical Center), Guadalupe Reyes (El Valor), Maria Mangual (Mujeres Latinas en Accion), and others found ways to work  together and with the community, to make change happen. The result of their work includes employment for Latinos at all public utilities, hospitals and retail chains and of course, the building of a number of Latino high  schools and grade schools beginning with Benito Juarez in the late 1970s. These women’s contributions are  not just the success of these movements. Their legacy is in the names of the aforementioned community organizations each one of them started in a storefront in Pilsen. Organizations that have grown to become nationally recognized institutions, employing hundreds of people moving those original missions forward.

What I find most encouraging about today’s movements is that I see the idea of ‘organized coraje’ is alive and thriving within this generation of Latina activists. I see Tania Urzueta (Chicago) and Dulce Juarez (Arizona) as quiet and humble leaders in the brilliant strategies of the immigration movement. I’ve asked each of them, if the women of the movements past, have had any influence on their ideologies. I told them about  ‘organized coraje’ which they both agreed was the only way to successfully create change.

As I write about these activist women, I do so on the anniversary of the Occupy Movement; the latest spark in the evolution of revolution. However we feel about the ideologies of the Occupy Movement we cannot  and should not ignore the two important elements that initially made it successful and has in many ways encouraged the rest of us. The first element was the organization around a collective emotion, in this case anger and frustration, about the oppressive nature of the status quo. The second element is the understanding that the ‘power of the people’ really does lie in those people taking a stand to exercise that power. I hope that in this election season, we take a cue from these women and this movement. I hope that we can step out from the comfort of our homes and apartments and become active in the process of defining government.  We each have a single power, a vote. The collective power that could look like 80 or 90% turnout, would certainly send a strong and clear message to the powers that we elect.

It doesn’t end there. Once we do elect this new season of representatives, we have to hold them  accountable for what they are supposed to be doing—representing! An email, tweet or Facebook entry to your State Representative or Senator, your city Alderman, the Mayor of your town or the Governor of your state, will let them know that we are each paying attention.

We are the landlord of this republic, and we should be angry. Let’s all be angry together and engage in an act of ‘organized coraje’, together, like Teresa and Raquel and Tania and Dulce. Let’s all make the next election and subsequent elected season about paying attention.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more about Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Action from Dissatisfaction

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes Dior Vargas. 
You can find her at her blog: diorvargas.tumblr.com 

I am also including this as part of Viva la Feminista's contribution to the Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice 2012.


Last election I was so hopeful about the idea of having Obama in office as did a lot of people. It warranted a completely different feeling than the one I have now. This time I’m disillusioned and not excited about what’s coming. The system is flawed and I don’t know if one candidate over the other will ensure the freedom and equality that we all deserve. If the Occupy Movement is any indication, people are not content with the way our country is being run. I’ve had to reexamine the country that I grew to love because democracy, the governmental structure that was supposed to work, has been corrupted.

Sure the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare, as it is now being referred to, is great. There are so many benefits for women. However, not all of it is true. Every woman cannot gain access to ALL birth control like it’s been advertised. If you have insurance, you have to wait for it to renew and then you can get generic birth control for free. Of course, if the one you’re taking has a generic. If not, then you’re forced to go to the doctor and find one that is equivalent to the one you’re using currently. That can be extremely difficult for some women. In addition, if you don’t have any insurance then you don’t benefit at all. What about all the people who don’t have health insurance? Most of them are women of color. This war on women has to stop. There have been numerous attempts to disenfranchise women. We are called sluts for taking charge of our own bodies and wanting the right to do with them whatever we want. We shouldn’t have to pass certain examinations or tests to get an abortion. Why? In order for them to deem our situation sufferable enough or deemed acceptable in their eyes? We can’t even use the word “VAGINA” or “MENSTRUATION” in certain venues. What happened to our freedom of speech? The government spends so much money on wars when we could be spending it on improved infrastructure, more educational opportunities, decrease the violence against women, and so many more worthy causes.

I want the candidates to sincerely care about the people who are going to elect the next president. I don’t want them to feign interest in the Latino population for their voting power. I want them to raise money for causes that help others. Not tear each other down to win a race that I think is not worth winning if they are not genuinely interested in the improvement of our country.

In the end, one thing that I am grateful for is the grassroots organizing that has come out of all the dissatisfaction. We aren’t going to let this continue without some type of action. I don’t have faith in the system but I have faith in the people who care about this country and who want equal rights for everyone. I have faith in myself.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: President Obama's Immigration Policy Threatens Campaigns in Battleground States

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes

Jacquie Marroquin, a feminist advocate who's worked in the violence against women movement for over 10 years.

You can find her at her blog, Facebook and Twitter.

At the end of May I began to receive phone calls from a Washington D.C. area code and some private numbers. At first it was just in the evenings, then I began to receive calls throughout the day. I don’t normally answer calls from numbers I do not recognize and they did not leave a voice message. Curiosity finally got the best of me in early July, so I answered a couple of those calls and learned it was the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and President Obama’s reelection campaign that had been calling me.

The call from President Obama’s campaign went something like this: An overly enthusiastic voice asked, “May I speak to Jacquie?” Jacquie, I am calling you because we are in urgent need of your support.” I patiently listened to the caller as she explained how crucial the November election was and how valuable my financial support would be to take the House of Representatives back from the Republican majority, keep the Senate majority and to ensure President Obama is reelected. I listened to her entire, well rehearsed, and urgently delivered script.

When she finally paused to ask how much I would contribute to President Obama’s reelection campaign, I politely explained that in spite of the President having my absolute support, I would not contribute financially to his campaign. Not because I was financially unable to (in fact I recently got a nice raise), but because I refused to financially support an Administration that has utilized the failed ‘Secure Communities’ (S-Comm) program that has normalized an indiscriminant mechanism for putting a record number of immigrants on the path to deportation with virtually no oversight from Congress and an ever increasing and unquestioned budget.

Since the federal immigration program S-Comm secretly began in 2008, the Obama administration has deported more undocumented people than President George W. Bush did in his eight years in office. Originally designed to detain and deport immigrants who commit serious violent crimes, it has ballooned to one of the most costly, inefficient and dangerous immigration enforcement programs we have seen.

With over 1 million people deported, at a taxpayer cost of $23,000 per person and thousands of immigrants detained in for-profit detention centers across the country at a taxpayer cost of $5.5 million per day, this program is easily and unquestioningly funded by Congress with little to no oversight in spite of report after report of its massive failure. It’s a failure because, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s own numbers, 70% of people deported do not fall under the original intent of the program. Instead, they are the immigrants who are arrested for minor crimes: misdemeanors, traffic violations and minor citations. It is important to note that the people arrested were not always convicted in a court of law as the U.S. Constitution guarantees. These are our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, students and victims and witnesses of crime. They are hardworking people who are the fabric of our communities—people, who, for all intents and purposes, are as American as any one born on U.S. soil.

For the last couple of years I have been receiving heartbreaking e-mails, text messages, tweets, and Facebook appeals asking for $5, for $10, or any possible amount to help bail out Undocumented and Unafraid DREAMers arrested for publicly denouncing S-Comm. Arrested for publicly saying what I believe so deeply at my core, “Stop separating families! Stop the destroying our communities! End S-Comm and 287(g) programs NOW!” To date I have contributed over $150 dollars to the organizations working to defend arrested DREAMers. Unfortunately there is no doubt I will continue to contribute more money as long as President Obama’s Administration continues to implement S-Comm across the entire country next year. And as long as that is the case – those are my hard earned dollars the President’s reelection campaign will not receive from me, no matter how many “urgent” phone calls and e-mails I receive.

As an immigrant there is no question where my financial contributions will go. Before I support a political reelection campaign, I will support my family. I will support my brothers and sisters on the No Papers No Fear tour whose goal is to travel through states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia to bravely “come out” as undocumented while on their way to the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina on September 3rd.

I will offer financial support to bail out the undocumented protesters arrested during Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Federal trail in Arizona that alleges he and his department have institutionalized racially profiling Latinos in their jurisdiction.

I will share the stories of undocumented youth who infiltrated detention centers after being arrested and are gathering and distributing the stories of countless other detainees who are supposed to be a low priority for detention and deportation.

There is no end in sight to these nightmares because of the insidious link between for-profit detention centers and federal immigration enforcement programs that funnel millions of taxpayer dollars into businesses that profit on the backs of detainees housed in their detention centers.

I have my own urgent message for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and President Obama: Until my family stops being the target of your failed immigration enforcement programs, I will not send you a dime. This is a message that the President and his advisors should take seriously because although you might take my vote for granted in California, you need my financial contribution for campaigns in battleground states like Florida, Nevada and Ohio where every dollar matters. While I firmly believe a Mitt Romney presidency would be a disaster to this country—the larger disasters are communities terrorized by immigration enforcement programs that deport innocent people. Therefore, defending my family will always be my first priority.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Strength in numbers vs. diversity: can we have both?

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes KJ Sanchez.
She is participating in the Yo Solo Festival. 
KJ is the founder/ CEO of American Records. 
She has produced national and international tours.



I’m in Chicago, preparing to open my play, Highway 47, as part of Teatro Vista and Collaboraction’s Yo Solo Festival, a festival Pan-Latina/o solo performances. As I’ve been watching my colleagues rehearse, the upcoming election has been much on my mind and one question has been nagging at me all week: How do we take advantage of increasing political leverage as the “Latino Vote” yet continue to make progress helping our fellow Americans – and our elected representatives – understand the diverse mosaic that is the Latina/o community?

Let’s look at the Yo Solo Festival as a microcosm of this issue: The festival has six performers, six VERY diverse shows. We are culturally diverse – we come from a wide range of cultures – Cuban, Mexican, Colombian, Dominican, just to name a few. Myself, I come from a crazy mash-up of Sephardic Jews and Pueblo Indians who settled in New Mexico in the early 1700’s and never left. As I explain in my show, “We never came to America, America came to us.” We (the Yo Solo Artists) are philosophically diverse as well - what we have in common is that each show is incredibly personal and comes from a vital issue in our own lives, but what that issue is and how we tackle it in our shows is very different. And last, all six shows are aesthetically diverse – from spoken-word dance, to direct address narrative, to hilarious and heartbreaking character study, to a landscape of poetry and imagery – it is remarkable how very unique each artist is.

And so it is with every Latino/Hispano/Chicano/Spanish speaker/non-Spanish-speaker/immigrant/non-immigrant/upper class/middle class/lower class/working class/intellectual/and any other “ism” individual in the US that would be lumped together as the “Latino Vote.” I have no answers here, but just one question to start the discussion:

How do we help our politicians understand that seeing us as a block, all with the same values and needs, is the worst kind of pandering and will, inevitably, be counter productive and how do we do this without loosing the most powerful tool we have: our strength in numbers?

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: The Latina Vote – Neither Beast nor Savior

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes 
Maegan "la Mamita Mala" Oritz, 
of Mamita Mala: One Bad Mami Blog 
and owner of VivirLatino.



It's that time a year again. Time to revive stale metaphors of poking napping mythical creatures from their dens. Time to dust off the old book of stereotypes and pandering, the one that makes it logical to parade around a Cuban in order to win the votes of Mexicans all while playing reggaeton in the background. Time for non-profits to have their own race about who will register more people, hold more twitter chats, and out message with celebrity cameos. I'll see you an America Ferrara and raise you a Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony.

It's presidential election time, 2012 edition.

During the last presidential election it was easy to caught up in the excitement. There was a man of color running who actually stood a chance. People were desperate and ate up slogans and promises of hope and change and believed that yes we can except now 4 years later, regardless of who we voted for, we are ALL left asking, did we?

At a forum claiming to represent what women wanted out of the 2008 race, I told people not to vote, especially if that was all they were going to do. Don't vote if they didn't consider how they had that right to vote and especially not to vote if they didn't consider the people in this land of the free, home of the brave who had to live under its laws but couldn't vote themselves. I was thinking of the incarcerated. I was thinking of the people of Puerto Rico. I was thinking of the undocumented. I haven't been asked to make any speeches this presidential election cycle and in a way I'm glad because I may end up stopping my speech after saying don't vote.

I am completely uninspired by this election. Electoral politics have never been my favorite thing because as I have written numerous times on my blog, electoral politics is not going to save our lives. It sure as hell hasn't hasn't stemmed the rising deportation, unemployment, poverty, or school crowding numbers in our communities. Violence, at the hands of the state like in Anaheim, or at the hands of individuals like in Aurora, hasn't been lessened. I don't feel safer, secure or any other s word that is attached to policy I am supposed to rally around. I, like many other Latinos are just tired.

Here's the thing, while Sofia Vergara is on the cover of Forbes playing up her Latin Stereotype Woman to prove to other people that they should be fighting for the Latino dollar, no one is really fighting for the Latino vote in a meaningful way. Instead what we have are references to us as sleeping giants and statistical possibilities as if apathy in and of itself is not a political choice. And really how many choices do we really have. We are asked to choose from the lesser of two evils or else. Is that really the best this political system can offer us? While more of us struggle to put food on the table and figure out how to keep ourselves healthy – because many of us still aren't sure if and how health care reform will help us and many of us will not be able to access it because of immigration status or work status- we are expected to rally behind an option that will hurt us less? No wonder people aren't lining up if this is the extent of political imagination.

Let me be clear. I will vote in this presidential election. I was mentored by a Young Lord who exemplified using every tool at our disposal to get what we need for our communities. In his memory I vote. But I am not a beast that needs to poked with a stick, provoked into action. I am not a playground amusement to be swung around once every four years only to be left rusting in the in-between times. I will not engage in zero sum games because I know better and I trust that my vecinos know as well when they choose to vote or they stay home in November.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista is headed to Blogher '12

I'm taking Summer of Feminista to Blogher!

I am loving all the blogger badges, but here are the ones that fit me:



Due to the last minute decision, I'll only be at Blogher on Saturday. But don't let that stop you from stopping me and saying hi.

The reason for attending Blogher (other than to see friends) is to be on a panel about Latinas in elected office:

Event Date:
August 4, 2012 - 9:30am - 10:45am

The demography couldn’t be more clear: Latinas are the new power brokers, politically and economically. Elected officials and analysts of electoral politics speak about the rising influence of Latinas in elected office, what they uniquely bring to the political process, and the role of social media in their 21st century political leadership. This panel takes a close-up look at the roles some key Latinas are playing in shaping politics. Ana Roca Castro moderates a discussion with blogger Veronica Arreola, Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, NYC Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito, and NH Representative Marilinda Garcia.

Mujeres, as you can see, I'm the lone non-elected Latina on the panel. I'm there to bring Summer of Feminista to Blogher. So if you are Latina, I would love to hear your thoughts on Latinas in elected office.

* Do we need more Latinas in elected office? If so, why?
* Are there issues that Latinas are best at addressing?

Summer of Feminista: Where is my money going?

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes Yvonne Condes. She is the Editor and Co-Founder of MomsLA.com, a community with more than 125 bloggers in Los Angeles. She is a Mom of 2 boys, former newspaper reporter, and occasional marathoner. Also find her at her personal blog YvonneInLA.com, on Twitter @YvonneInLA @MomsLA, and Facebook . She is PBS KIDS VIP and a member of PlayStation Family.

My son asked me a question during the last presidential election. He wanted to know why the Obama campaign was asking for money. I explained that it was how it was done; the candidates raised money to buy ads in the hopes that people will see the ads and vote for them.

“Why would you give money to someone who has lots of money and not to charity?”

Yes, why would I give lots of money to any campaign especially right now, 4 years later. I donate money to the public school my boys go to and I give my time. Without donations there isn’t enough money for the school to have PE, Art, a Nurse, or even enough teachers so the classes aren’t overcrowded.

Giving money to a candidate doesn’t seem like the best thing to do in this economy, but I worry what will happen if I don’t. I worry that if I don’t support the candidates I believe in (or as much as I can believe in anyone these days) that all of our choices will go away. Choice to make decisions over our bodies, choice for affordable healthcare, and choice about sending our kids to public school.

It seems like there are so many areas that need our money right now. There are so many people that need help.

Where else would I like to see my money go? How about to feeding the 2.5 million children in Los Angeles alone who aren’t getting enough food to eat. Or how about to a free clinic like the one at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles that is giving medical care and birth control to students who can’t get it elsewhere. I wish I knew where to give my money to help the mentally ill homeless man who lives on and off at the end of my street and yells at unseen figures and walks into traffic.

What I really wish is that I had confidence that the candidates would tackle issues that I care about instead of using the money to tear each other down. Obama raised $71 million in June and Romney raised $106 million. If only this money were going toward something bigger than just an election.

What will I tell my son if he asks me if I’m donating this year? I just don’t know.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Access and Affordability to Higher Education

This week Summer of Feminista welcomes 


Martha Carolina Preciado from www.martyness.com, music bloggera from Latin America, as she discusses what she wants to see from the 2012 Presidential Candidates.

As a Latina voter, an issue on President Barack Obama’s political agenda which resonates is access and affordability for underprivileged students to higher education institutions.

Specifically, a long term goal of Latino educational advancement. Latinos remain significantly underrepresented in enrollment and acceptance rates. For many, financing college is a hardship. Yet another major obstacle are social barriers in public education which continue to prevent economically and educationally disadvantaged students from pursuing higher educational opportunities. Limited funding allocation and poorly executed academic preparation programs are misconstruing guidance of students towards college. Question to consider towards President Barack Obama’s political stance on education: How will the federal government distribute funds in order to create, activate and effectively execute academic outreach programs for communities of color?

Transitioning from high school to college is a rocky and most probable, a first experience for many Latino families. Many Latino/a students of low-income backgrounds will become the first in their families to earn college degrees. However, many educationally and economically disadvantaged students in low performing schools are less likely to receive college preparation resources than more affluent students in the same scenario. Financial aid is an instrumental role in Latino/a youth and families. Socio-economic constraints within the Latino community serve as a determining factor towards college consideration. Students lack the preparation and information yet most important, financial aid. President Obama’s administration needs continuous and adequate sources of funding to programs which correlate the Latino/a community and the higher education system.

Several years ago, I attended a Latina symposium in Washington D.C where a very curious (to refrain from using “ignorant”) attendee asked: Why many Latinas contributed to a high rate of high school dropout and teen pregnancy? The answer to such question permeates the social and cultural fabric of Latino communities throughout the country who have been marginalized and disenfranchised. Latino students, specifically Mujeres; How are they given information about educational resources and opportunities if these are vaguely provided in our communities? It is a difficult matter for Latinas to aspire about college with limited information, lack of motivation and limited financial access. The federal government needs an action call to distribute funds to K-12 academic college preparation programs to undeserved communities throughout the United States to promote a quality life and the full potential of each student.

My main concerns are the opportunities, possibilities and resources my community will be able to access in order to pursue a higher education; thus improve a student’s academic endeavors. College is heavily promoted, yet, the consideration of such decision is indisposed when students and families do not have access nor college affordability.

How does all the aforementioned become enacted in legislative action? Electoral power. The power for those who have the privilege to vote, to do so. To keep my aspirations, desires yet most importantly my community in mind when voting. Outreach to Latino/as in the community to voice and use their electoral power. Exercise your vote to empower our communities; make our government accountable and make our voice heard.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Confessions of a Disgruntled Voter

This week we welcome Michelle from xishell words!

I have a confession: I haven’t been paying much attention to the upcoming presidential election. There, I said it. I consider myself to be a progressive Xicana Feminist, so it’s kind of embarrassing to admit it. But now that I have and that I’m thinking about it, I really haven’t paid much attention to any presidential election- possibly ever. I’ve read articles, watched some TV, but I’ve never done in-depth research into a candidate’s position on this or that because I know that I’m going to vote for the Democratic candidate. I’m not a Democrat. I’m most definitely not a Republican. I’m ideologically opposed to our current two-party system, what is the name for that? From my perspective, there isn’t much of a difference between the candidates when it comes down to it. What Republicans say frightens me, what they do terrifies me; what Democrats say sometimes encourages me, other times, confuses me and then what they do, frightens me. Either way, I’m frightened. Sometimes, based on actions alone, I can’t tell the difference between them. So what is a person like me to do? I want to participate in my civic responsibility but feel discouraged by it all.

I am disillusioned by the state of our “democratic” process and have been since I’ve been of voting age. How much does it really matter who is elected? If Gore had been elected in office, when 9/11 happened, would it have been handled very differently? I’m not trying to defend the Bush/Cheney office, I just don’t think it matters all that much who is the head when the body is a puppet being manipulated by corporate greed. And although I sound like one right about now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m just a Disgruntled, on the verge of Apathetic, Voter. Which is sad because the truth is I care a lot.

I care about education. I want to see children taught critical thinking skills and their imagination and interests encouraged. I wish for higher education to be available and accessible to everyone who pursues it. And if students are instead interested in vocational trades, I want them to be recognized for their skills and contributions as well.

I care about the economy and jobs. I would like to see all the different levels of work valued for their contributions to our economy. And for industries to be encouraged to operate from where they live because maybe then they will consider their impact and invest into the community more than floating multi-national corporations do (maybe?). That we cease our dependence on non-renewable resources so that by the time my child is an adult, he won’t be living in some post-apocalyptic dystopia.

I care about healthcare- from the inside out. I want to see holistic repairs of our minds, bodies, and emotions instead of one-size-fits-all pills. I want for our government to put as much effort and resources into preventing diseases as we do into pharmaceutical treatments. I hope that someday a person of any age, income, class, and immigration status can receive affordable, fair, and high quality care without worry or discrimination.

I care about immigration. I want humane and compassionate policies that recognize U.S. involvement and dependence on illegal immigration. There is no short cut solution- these are real people in real struggles trying to do the best they can for themselves and their families.

I care about health and safety for all, and given recent developments, women in particular. I want for all people to have access to health care, have autonomy over their bodies, to be protected from threats of and actual acts of violence and abuse, and valued for their full range of capabilities.

I care about our food system. I would like to see more locally based agriculture free of GMOs and pesticide, hormone, and antibiotic abuse/over use. I want the people who grow and harvest our food to be paid a living wage, have access to humane and just working conditions. I wish for healthy and whole foods to be available to everyone; ending corporate subsidies for corn and soy crops that make an ear of organic corn more expensive than a two liter of soda.

I care about our water supply. I want it to be protected from contamination and pollution- for it to be used and shared wisely as well. And I want clean, safe water to be accessible and affordable to all. Something it seems will become more of a “hot topic” in the future as our natural resources continue to dwindle.

I care about the safety of the cosmetic and home products we use everyday. I want to use products that are safe and non-toxic without having to do hours of research before hand. I don’t want to worry that my cumulative exposure to the toxins in these products may contribute to cancer, birth defects, pollution, asthma, hormone disruptions, etc.

I care about the environment. I have a young son and I want for him to be able to swim in the ocean, play in the rain, experience wildlife, and feel a connection to the natural world. I don’t want him to have to go to a museum to see photos of what the planet and its inhabitants used to look like.

I care about marriage equality. Which I kind of resent having to add here because why should the government be involved with who we choose to commit to? People who wish to be married, should be able to do it in whatever way is best for them: religious, spiritual, cultural, business, whatever. And those who don’t want to be married in any of those ways should not be deprived of benefits or privileges for their choice either. Relationships are too personal for legislation, in my opinion.

I care about the global community and our place in it. I want the U.S. to be seen as an accepting, compassionate, considerate, and fair county. A country that puts human rights above profits when it comes to international interventions.

So you see, its not that I don’t care. I just don’t know that our elected officials do. And if they did, I suspect and fear that corporate interests and bribes and threats and conflicts of interests and whatever else I don’t know about, have rendered them powerless to do anything substantially meaningful. I vote because I can, because it’s a privilege my immigrant family struggled for, but does it really matter? The only power through voting I see is in local politics, the national field just feels like a complete loss. Unless and until we find a way to remove corporate greed from our politics, we’re in over our heads, or maybe more accurate, out-resourced.

How do we create meaningful change within our current system? Voting is the existing tool and it just doesn’t seem to be working out very well. Is it just me who feels like this? Am I too impatient? With the way things are going, my prediction is that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Which frightens me a great deal. But come November, you will find me at the voting booth. Putting in my two cents, hoping for the best and bracing myself for the worst.

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: El poder de nuestra voz

We kick off Summer of Feminista en Espanol! Gracias a
Alejandra Ramírez-LaBonte.

Blog: http://www.thehermosas.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/theHermosas

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheHermosas

Este es un año electoral en varios países como México, Venezuela, Republica Dominicana y Estados Unidos, cada uno se encuentra en la lucha por quizás tener un nuevo presidente que los represente y los haga tener la esperanza de una mejoría en la política de sus respectivas naciones, también puede darse el caso como sucede en EUA, de que el actual presidente resulte nuevamente ganador, esto por el momento no lo sabremos, pero creo que existen grandes probabilidades, ya que en los últimos días el primer mandatario ha subido su popularidad al adoptar medidas que favorecen a los latinos, que en su mayoría prefieren no darse su paseíto por las urnas, y… ¿A que se deberá esto? Pues tal vez a la falta de fe en los candidatos, a la falta de motivación, falta de dinero para aplicar para la ciudadanía, falta de interés o al estatus migratorio.

Uno de los tópicos que más me llama la atención y donde me gustaría ver resultados, a pesar de saber que es casi imposible, es la inmigración ilegal, y no quiero decir con esto que crea que el país deba acoger y aceptar a todo el que sin estatus, pues cada país se reserva el derecho de admisión a su territorio, me refiero a las deportaciones masivas que cada día se llevan a cabo y por las cuales resultan miles y miles de niños separados de sus padres, que no por ser deportados son delincuentes y donde en la mayoría de ocasiones pierden total contacto y no se vuelven a reunir como familia por la falta de recursos que presentan o por la mala comunicación entre las mismas instituciones del estado que toman decisiones burocráticas que ponen de lado el bienestar emocional de los afectador.

Como mujer, latina e inmigrante que soy de este país, creo que es sumamente indignante que niños sean puestos en adopción cuando sus padres los aman y los quieren junto a ellos, sobretodo cuando el departamento de migración se basa en la premisa de “MANTENER LA UNIDAD FAMILIAR”, unidad que dejan echan a un lado en estas circunstancias. Entiendo que el estado tiene que proteger a sus ciudadanos, especialmente a los menores de edad, pero a la vez estoy convencida de que cada hijo necesita a sus padres y cada padre a sus hijos, en especial si dichos padres luchan contra el gran gigante para que les devuelvan a sus hijos.

No es justo, que por una ley que se traduce a un simple papel exista tanto sufrimiento y tanta falta de humanidad. Este es solo uno de los motivos por el que como mujeres y latinas residentes de EUA debemos votar, siempre y cuando sea posible, a la vez que incitemos a nuestros hijos, esposos, demás familiares, vecinos y amigos a que acudan en masa a las mesas electorales. En Estados Unidos las mujeres tenemos ese derecho desde 1920 y debemos ejercerlo, aunque suene a cliché “No podemos dejar que otros tomen decisiones por nosotros”. Y es que a todos los partidos políticos les importa mucho la opinión de nosotras las mujeres, ya que en cuanto a población somos más, somos más las mujeres cabeza de familias que los hombres, la mayoría de las decisiones importantes en nuestros hogares las tomamos nosotras y el voto latino decidirá quien será el ganador. Si nos unimos lograremos importantes cambios donde nos tomen más en cuenta como comunidad y si esa es la única opción que como individuos tenemos para cambiar los designios de este país, pues adelante ¡vamos a votar!

Por nuestras familias, por nuestros hijos, por nosotras ¡Votemos!

Summer of Feminista 2012 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts about Election 2012. Viewpoints can be liberal, moderate or conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

It's Back! Summer of Feminista 2012

La verdad, mujeres? This almost didn't happen. It's been a tough year for this feminista. I have another summer project in mind and was going to let this fall away quietly. Then I attended the Top Bloguera Retreat and one bloguera asked what this summer's theme would be. Then I received a tweet from another feminista. I looked up at the Goddess and said, "Ay, I hear you!" So here we are. Drum roll please!.....

The theme for this summer is simple. Election 2012.

Prompts to choose from:

a. As a feminist and/or Latina, what key issues are you following? What does President Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney have to do or say to earn your vote?

b. What are you doing to get Latinas registered and to the polls in November?

I know this is biased towards Latinas who can vote and I know there are many out there who cannot vote for many reasons. I want to hear from you too. Address this anyway you want: If you could vote, what you could say to those of us who can vote, anything.

I welcome contributions from all political points of view.

The How:: 

1) Sign up for a week.
2) The Monday of that week, email me your post and I'll post it sometime that week here.
3) If you want, you can repost on your blog, but it's not a requirement.
4) In fact, if you feel that you need to be anonymous, that's ok. Just select that option on the form.
5) Yes, I am asking for Latinas who identify as feminists, Chicana feminists, womanists, etc, to respond.

Now, andele! 

Need a refresher on what we talked about last year? Here's a wordle of Summer of Feminista 2011

The End of Summer of Feminista

Today we welcome the Autumn Equinox and that of course means the end of Summer of Feminista.

I want to thank all the fabulous Latinas who took the time to contribute to the project! I know we are all busy mujeres and the fact that you took time means so much to me.

People often ask me to summarize what Summer of Feminista means. This summer I asked Latinas to give their opinion about Latinas being public intellectuals. Some mentioned well-known Latinas like Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor as proof that there are Latinas who are sharing their opinions with the world at large. But if I had to summarize the whole conversation we had here, it would be with this quote from Mala:

While we all wait for one leader to be baptized, one thought queen to be crowned, there are many unsung members across communities reclaiming and redefining Latin@ experiences across the diaspora.

Many of the Latinas who contributed firmly stated that they are not going to wait for ONE Latina to be THE public intellectual. Rather they are finding their niche and are either ready or getting ready to stand up and own their expertise. I asked everyone to own an expertise because for me, this is the first step to being a public intellectual. If you cannot own an expertise, how will you be courageous enough to send in that op-ed, make a speech or organize your neighbors?

Latinas are a diverse group of people. Some of us were born in the USA, some of us moved here with big dreams. Some of us speak Spanish, others are still learning. What connects us is a passion for life and for many of us a passion to share that passion. And I believe this means that we will never have ONE Latina public intellectual, but many with a variety of ideas on every topic. To this I say:

VIVA!

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Crossing to the other side

My name is Kaluz and I am an expert on women’s health and nutrition because I’ve read many books on the topic and I like reading and writing about it.

I decided to write a post about women who suffer vulvodynia, like me. Maybe you haven’t heard about it either, but more women than you imagine suffer it silently, and many of them without even knowing. What has this to do with embracing the role of public intellectuals? As Veronica said in her call for posts, women voices rarely make it to op-ed pages, and not only women voices are neglected but also women’s specific concerns. Intellectuals should talk about women’s health too. I was surprised to find out that few gynecologists know how to treat women suffering vulvodynia. Apparently it’s such a mysterious thing. On the other hand, finding your voice and talking about vulvar pain is not that easy either.

I’ve been actively trying different treatments, reading to learn more about chronic vulvar pain, and I now talk to my mom about it. We both realized that more information earlier on would have been helpful, but also an environment that celebrates women’s body and encourages sexuality, that invites you to explore your body and love it….When I was diagnosed with vulvodynia, started physical therapy, and started looking down there, I couldn’t tell if my vulva was irritated or not, because I had never observed it when I was healthy. I even felt weird calling my thingy ‘vulva.’

It has been a difficult rite of passage for me. I want to embrace the role of Latina public intellectual by letting my voice be heard and talking about an issue that has been neglected and misunderstood. I want that the path I’ve walked empower other women, especially those with few resources and those having troubles finding information. This post is my first step towards connecting with other Latinas and women of color navigating this difficult ailment. I want to be a bridge to help other Latinas cross to the other side, a place free of pain and full of hope.

Kaluz is proudly Mexican and calls the United States home. Besides being a full-time feminist at work and school, she writes a food blog in English and Spanish where she experiments with healthy ingredients to move towards a healthier life.

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Latina Public Intellectual-In-Training

My name is Amanda Reyes and I am an expert scholar because the pursuit of knowledge is my passion. In my ever evolving vision of the future, I am one of many Latina public intellectuals, a philosopher, activist, teacher, artist. I want to connect the academy, the arts, and the people, enriching each by bringing them together.

Philosophy is the search for and development of truths. I want my scholarship to combine Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa’s “theory in the flesh,” theories built on the lived experiences of Latinas and women of color, and academic philosophical thought. I want my writings to contribute to the progression of philosophical and feminist scholarship, influence public policy and social justice, and empower people, especially Latinas and women of color, through their pursuit of knowledge and truths. I want to share the works of other intellectuals and artists of color and help to reify our contributions to the United States intellectual and artistic canons. As an artist, I want to manipulate the conventions of filmmaking to tell the stories of our lives as U.S. women of color in all their complexity. I want my films to be personal, experimental, and liberating.

My activism, as a Latina public intellectual, will be to devote myself to intellectual and artistic accomplishment, yet it is also to share what I’ve learned so that it may benefit my students and our communities. Though I want them to be intellectually challenged, I hope to make feminism, philosophy, and art accessible to my students. I want them to know how to read scholarship and art and understand them in the context of their lives and the lives of others. I want them to read, see, and hear the lived experiences of others. I want them to know that non-white artists exist. I want them to know that theory is vital to their lives.

Amanda Reyes is a first-year Master’s student in Women’s Studies at the University of Alabama. She recently began The Feminist Type, a blog where she publishes book reviews in her research areas, Wikipedia contributions, and editorials on Alabama politics.

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: A Latina Hybrid

My name is Dulce and I am an expert guide in helping others chart their own course because I am a psychologist.

My journey started in a working-class suburb of Chicago, a middle child of Mexican immigrant parents. My parents left the beet and lettuce fields of California and Texas to work in the factories of Chicago. A choice made, they later told me, to give their children a better life; a life not filled with calluses and back-breaking work, but a life filled with more opportunities than they could never dream of for themselves.

My mother loves to use dichos; sayings that are common in my family as in many Mexican families; they are manifestations of a family's values, a reflection of familial cultural mores. One of my mother's favorite dichos is: "Cada cabeza es un mundo". This simple idiom literally means that each mind is a world in itself. As a psychologist I am compelled to look closer at this expression. It asks fundamental questions: Who am I? Is a person a product of the environment he/she inhabits? How is a person defined? I looked for answers from a variety of places; books, music, art, social activism, relationships. As an undergraduate, my interest in how social, cultural, biological variables intersected was sparked by Gloria Anzaldúa's book “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza”. In this seminal work on culture and identity, she articulated my experience living in a world of ambiguity. Being a child of immigrants, I occupy a world that is tinted by shades of belonging. I am an American who is not quite an American, a Mexican who is not quite a Mexican—a hybrid.

Being a Chicana lesbian, I occupy a world that is molded by rigid gender and racial identities. I am woman who doesn’t conform to traditional gender or cultural roles. So I created my own world. Mi mundo is filled with people who can quote Derrida while eating tacos de carne quisada , who dance between worlds, cultures, genders; who deny the existence of God but pray to la Virgen . I am a lesbian who was raised by a wild pack of jotos, who enjoys the politics of drag and gender illusion. My world is a place where my compañera and I live sin vergüenza of living a life of multiple identities. I am also a feminist who understands the impact of the dominant culture's influence on personal identity. In order for feminism to survive, it must be a hybrid, a place where we move away from the binary and into a place in which we build bridges between communities/ identities/spiritualties. Feminism must be a place where we live “sin fronteras/be a crossroads”.

Dulce Benavides is Chicago born and bred; Tejana Chicana Washingtonian who will receive her doctorate in Psychology this fall and you can find her at http://flavors.me/dcdulce

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: Latinas in Publishing

My name is Dior Vargas and I am an expert in publishing because I have been interning, volunteering, and freelancing in the industry for the past 4 years. I also have a master’s degree in publishing. I have noticed that there aren’t many minorities in publishing as employees in a publishing house nor as writers in the industry.

I am aware that there are some standout writers such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Sapphire, Ntozake Shange, Esmeralda Santiago, Sandra Cisneros, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Junot Diaz, and others. In the past other authors included Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, and Gloria Anzaldua. However, there aren’t enough writers currently working in the industry considering the amount of books being published every year.

Why are there not enough people of color in publishing? According to Michael Garry’s article written in 1988, there are few if any large publishing companies that are actively recruiting minorities. These conditions haven’t changed very much despite the number of years that have gone by since that article was written.

There are a lot of industries where the only way you get into it is through who you know. More so for publishing. A lot of the people who work in publishing have gone to prestigious schools and have made many connections through networking. This is usually not the case for minorities because most aren’t given the necessary and adequate preparation to gain admission to these programs.

In my experience, I’ve realized that unless you work in a publishing press that is focused on the writings of people of color, you will not find many books that are written by minorities. The only times when there were more women of color was when I interned for Meridians, an interdisciplinary journal about feminism, race and transnationalism, and for The Feminist Press. Even then, there weren’t that many. This is because these presses don’t have the resources that other larger publishing presses have. Publishing high profile people like George W. Bush, Ann Coulter, and others brings money but these are the last people that liberal independent presses would publish.

Publishing is an industry where choosing which book to publish can be very risky. There is a lot of money that a publishing house can lose if the book doesn’t sell. Therefore, the publisher will only look for books that will sell. There are a plethora of books about Latinos and African Americans but most that are about subjects that further the stereotype of these cultures. Most writers are pigeon holed into writing books that stay within that subject and therefore will sell.

Based on the direction that publishing is going - digital, this excludes and narrows the opportunities that minorities have to find a place in publishing - even as consumers. Many don’t have the education or the skills to work in this new section of publishing. In addition, many minority consumers don’t have the resources to buy eBooks or eReaders.

Thankfully with the start of self-publishing, many individuals have the opportunity to publish works that otherwise never would have been read by others. Blogging is another venue where people can discuss topics and create a discussion about any topic. Yet, self publishing deviates from the norm and many people don’t view self publishing as legitimate as they would if the book was published by a well known publisher. In addition, unless it’s a blog that is well known, blog posts aren’t as respected either.

There have been instances where the media has noticed this disparity. One example is an article by GalleyCat where they noticed that in Publisher’s Weekly’s Notables of 2010 in book publishing, there were no women and very few people of color.

Recently an article was published by the Associated Press about how students are preparing to get a job in publishing. I found it very interesting that they said the students are overwhelmingly female. Yet the students they featured were all Caucasian.

This is ironic but I believe that in the past, there were more opportunities for people of color in certain parts of publishing. During the second wave of feminism, women of color were a lot more present in publishing and they started collectives and publishing presses that were rooted in consciousness raising and were extremely grassroots.

The Feminist Press was established in 1970 by Florence Howe because she believed there was a need for feminist books in high school and college classrooms. When Howe started the press, she thought it was going to be a temporary project because she assumed that other publishers would realize the importance of their work. It is evident that publishers still have not caught on to the notion that there are works that are still not being given the credence they deserve. It is therefore the responsibility of the press to continue their work of making sure all voices are heard. A similar organization, Kitchen Table Press, was established ten years later by Barbara Smith among Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, and others. They shared the same sentiment that there was a great need for the voices of women of color to be heard and respected. Even though the Kitchen Table Press is no longer in existence there are other similar presses such as The Feminist Press, Seal Press, Red Bone Press, and others.

I don’t believe there are enough people of color concerned with publishing and the lack of people of color being represented in comparison to those in the past. I think there needs to be a return to the grassroots movements of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Perhaps there are not a lot of people of color interested in the industry. Yet their circumstances don’t make the process any easier.

As far as publishing goes, I don’t think there is a single stand out Latina public intellectual. I think there should be a group of Latina public intellectuals in publishing. More so for book publishing since there are more opportunities for them in interdisciplinary journals like WSQ and Meridians, and magazines like Latina Magazine, Urban Latino, Essence, VIBE, and Ebony. If there could be a Latina public professional in publishing, I think that this Latina should use her influence for social justice rather than just educating people about our culture. Using that power to influence change in the lives of Latinas is of the utmost importance. There are some Latinas that are making strides such as Galina Espinoza, the co-president and editorial director at Latina Media Ventures. Last year she teamed up with Planned Parenthood Federation of America to discuss Latinas and their sexual health. Sandra Guzman is another Latina who is raising awareness with her book, The New Latina’s Bible [P | I]. The book inspires Latinas and gives them greater self esteem. This is extremely important since statistically, Latinas attempt suicide at a higher rate than other races.

In the future, I could embrace the role of a public intellectual. It would be my goal to start a press that is dedicated to publishing works about women of color, feminism, GLBTQ issues, and social justice. I had the privilege of getting a master’s degree in the industry which many told me was not necessary. However, I felt that it would give me an edge and as a woman of color I believe it is necessary in order to get into the industry.

Publishing is important to our society because it is the means to give visibility to those who have something important to say. Who better than Latinas?


For further articles pertaining to this topic:

http://www.juliushonnor.com/catalyst/default.aspx.locid-0hgnew0u0%26RefLocID=0hg01b001006001.Lang-EN.htm

http://kenyonreview.org/blog/?p=11785

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.

Summer of Feminista: When we are all experts, everyone's voice is heard

My name is Mala and I am an expert in Mami’hood because it is where I live, work, struggle, survive and thrive and have for the last 14 years.

I dislike the word intellectual as much as I dislike the word feminist. It’s not that I am against intelligence, study, engagement, learning, or teaching just like I am not against equal rights and access to all women. I am against the way the word intellectual has been co-opted to mean one thing to the exclusion of many just as feminism has been. There is no such single definition of an intellectual. Who and what an intellectual, especially in the context of the United States has been dependent on what point of history we find ourselves in and what is the most regarded value. Is an intellectual a scholar? A person who has spent years inside universities with no experience in the real world? Is it someone who conducts research within the real world but forever maintains a safe distance between us and them, the classic anthropologist if you will? Is it someone with a foot firmly planted in each world or would someone who has little formal schooling qualify just as well? With this in mind, and using the same sort of questioning, what does it mean to have A Latina public intellectual and if we need A public Latina intellectual?


Just as there is a struggle to name a Latina leader, the trouble with attempting to find a Latina intellectual is that it assumes that there is one Latina experience. Latinidad, as I define it, as a shared history rooted in colonialism and survival across the Americas, has many faces. To ask for one Latina intellectual is to engage in simplistic demands for a cult of personality – a figure to rally around and behind and perhaps even hide behind as the defining example of what we as Latinas are supposed to be. Hell, many of us can’t even agree to use the word Latina. Some use Hispanic, others hyphenated Americans, others are rooted in their regions, and some a hybrid of all of the above. If we cannot and do not share a common vocabulary – hell we don’t even share a common language really - how can we expect to have one common intellectual or expert among us?


While we all wait for one leader to be baptized, one thought queen to be crowned, there are many unsung members across communities reclaiming and redefining Latin@ experiences across the diaspora. This means elevating the work that has been pushed into the casitas and alleys, the work of the mami, the puta, the poeta, and of course the mami puta poeta. There is knowledge within pockets of our communities that was never meant to be shared – put into words. I am thinking of the power between the fingertips of curanderas, healers, and matronas, weavers, painters, scribes who have no sense or need for letters. There are intellectuals – people who know- all around us : your lover, your hija, your ti@, your vecina, that lady who sells ice cream on the corner, y tu mama tambien.


My name is Mala, I am an expert in my vida as you are an expert in yours. I share my knowledge and with my hij@s my herman@s – biological and chosen. Sometimes through words, sometimes, action, sometimes through silence. Choose your mediums, your methods. Choose your movement(s).

Summer of Feminista 2011 is a project where Latinas are sharing their thoughts on Latinas as Public Intellectuals. Liberal. Conservative. Academic statements. Personal stories. Learn more or how you can join the Summer of Feminista. This is a project of Viva la Feminista. Link and quote, but do not repost without written permission.