REVIEW: Chicana Power! Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement
Maylei Blackwell, ¡Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement Austin: University of Texas Press, 2011.
Reviewed by Miroslava Chávez-García
Until now, no one has published a history of the struggle of Chicanas in the Chicano movement—the mass political mobilization of Mexican American peoples in the Southwest US in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The glaring omission is somewhat perplexing, says author Maylei Blackwell, given that Las Hijas de Cuahtemoc (The Daughters of Cuahtemoc, the last emperor of the Aztecs), the first and leading feminist organization of the Chicano movement, emerged alongside other well-known organizations, such as the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), and that women served as the backbone of the student movement. The oversight is due, in part, she says, to the historical dominance of men in the fields of Chicana/o History and Studies, their implicit disinterest in issues of gender and sexuality, and their explicit marginalization of women in the movement. Blackwell suggests too that stereotypes of Chicanas as malinchistas (traitors), vendidas (sell-outs), and agringadas (white-women wannabes), as well as Chicana scholars’ fear of confirming these negative images, has kept many away from this field of study. Thus, Blackwell’s genealogy of Chicana feminists in the twentieth century is a breakthrough in our knowledge about these mujeres (women).
L.A. 10/8: “Angels of Change” Trans Youth Fundraiser
Bamby Salcedo writes:
Our 2012 Angels of Change calendar release and runway show is taking place on Saturday October 8th 2011 starting our VIP reception at 5:00 PM follow by our runway show at 6:00 PM at The Hollywood Arena located at 6655 Santa Monica Blvd LA CA 90038 in the corner of Santa Monica and Las Palmas. Kelly Mantle and Kalil Cohen are our MC’s and they are AMAZING!!
Please come enjoy a wonderful show and support our event to raise funds for our transgender youth clinic at Childrens Hospital LA supported by the CHAMPION Fund. This year we are having a bigger and better show!! Come and see the new 12 feature trans youth models walking the runway!!
Please get your tickets as soon as possible at www.angelsofchange.net and please share it with your friends and social networks and contacts for them to come too. Hope to see you there!!!
Filed under Announcements | Comment (0)MUJERES TALK Pensamientos from the “Field”: On Mexican Women Caring for North Americans
by Maria Ibarra, Ph.D.
I am an anthropologist who studies the labor of Mexicana elder care providers. Every year I spend time in the field, in my long-standing research site of Santa Barbara, and I record women’s stories and experiences about work. I am always affected by the many types of violence that are inherent to the lives of Mexicanas on either side of the border. How many times have I put down my pen and held a woman’s hand, stroked her forearm, while she cries and tells me how much it hurts?
Essay continues at Mujeres Talk
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Update on Betita Martinez’ health from Tony Platt
Veterana Scholar-Activist Betita Martinez (a bio here) is increasingly frail, and has been moved from her Mission District Apartment to a residential care facility in SF by friends and family. Several MALCSistas have suggested that local MALCS honor Betita’s accomplishments and hold a fundraiser for her medical needs…..
This post will be updated regularly and includes:
- The original letter by Tony Platt letting us know about Betita’s condition, and explaining how to visit
- An update by Maria Cotera about how to offer support to Betita
- A recent Colorlines feature on Betita by journalist Yvonne Yen Liu
If you can offer direct financial support, please send to: Tony Platt, Prof Emeritus CSUS, 1607 Josephine Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
Filed under General News, Members in the news | Comments (4)Belated obituary: Shifra Goldman, 1926-2011
“I was never in the mainstream, never in all my life. I was born on the margins, lived on the margins, and have always sympathized with the margins. They make a lot more sense to me than the mainstream.” - Shifra M. Goldman, September 1992
Shifra Goldman (1926-2011), a pioneer in the study of Latin American and Chicana/o Art, and a social art historian, died in Los Angeles on September 11, 2011, from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 85. Professor Goldman taught art history in the Los Angeles area for over 20 years. She was a prolific writer and an activist for Chicana/o and Latino Art. In Dimensions of the Americas: Art and Social Change in Latin America and the United States, one of her award winning publications, she stated that part of her life’s work was to “deflect and correct the stereotypes, distortions, and Eurocentric misunderstandings that have plagued all serious approaches to Latino Art history since the 50s.” Continue reading »
Filed under General News | Comments (3)2012 NACCS Award for Fiction (Tejas Foco only)
ANNOUNCING 2012 NACCS TEJAS AWARD FOR FICTION
National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies—Tejas Foco
Description of Award
NACCS-Tejas invites nominations and submissions for its 2012 NACCS-Tejas Fiction Award. The 2012 NACCS Tejas Award for Fiction Committee will consider any novel or collection of short stories published in 2011 in Texas or elsewhere. We will recognize an outstanding work of fiction that best represents a significant topic related to the Mexican American experience in Texas. The award will be presented at the NACCS-Tejas annual conference to be held at Teas State University in San Marcos, Texas in March 2012. There are no restrictions on the number of nominations per press. Authors may also self-nominate. Poetry, personal narrative, autobiography, reprints, re-editions of previously published works, translations, or books previously nominated for this award, are not eligible.
Nominations will be reviewed by a committee of NACCS-Tejas members.
Procedure for Nominations
Publishers or authors wishing to submit books for consideration should send three copies of the book, one to each of the three committee members at the addresses below by the deadline of November 20, 2011. Nominations should include a submission letter, including the name of the author, the title of the book, and the date of publication.
All nominations must be received (not postmarked) by November 20, 2011.
For additional information, you may contact the committee chair Marci R. McMahon at mcmahonmr@utpa.edu
2012 AAHHE Outstanding Dissertations Competition
So sorry, folks….this deadline has already passed. Perhaps take note for next year?
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