MISSION: Southwest Research and Information Center is a multi-cultural organization working to promote the health of people and communities, protect natural resources, ensure citizen participation, and secure environmental and social justice now and for future generations

Chicanas: Sustainers of Grassroots Activism

"How do we discover our voices and use them to shape the larger world around us?"

— Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe (2002)
Hopes Edge: The Next New Diet for a Small Planet

During a presentation in a college women's studies class, I held high a picture of Cesar Chavez and asked the audience to identify the person by a show of raised hands. More than half the class responded. Next, I held a photo of Dolores Huerta and asked members of the audience, "Who is this person?" Confusion set in, foreheads wrinkled, followed by a shake of one head. Empty answers, students did not know who she was.

Why is it that most students were able to identify and later specifically talk about the accomplishments of Chavez, more so than of Huerta? Did Cesar Chavez achieve more in his fight to protect the rights of agricultural workers by executing a boycott of grapes in 1968-70. Certainly as co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, Dolores Huerta played a key role in the negotiation of collective bargaining for California farmworkers. The point is Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta are influential leaders who each did and do their share of work that resulted in the largest successful food boycott in the history of the United States.

Why highlight Chicana activists? The answer is to elevate efforts of women who, like Dolores Huerta, have dedicated their lives to making positive changes in their communities for the betterment of a social whole. These women are grandmothers, community residents, and family members who operate within a broad context of environment. They are resisters, agitators, and reformers who strive toward justice. Eclipsed from mainstream environmentalism and feminism, these Chicanas demonstrate a counter discourse to the Chicano canon and contribute to educational theory. While these women may not receive the same notoriety as their male counterparts, they deserve acknowledgement as models in environmental social change and as educators for the environment. Equally important, to uncover their knowledge and experiences lays claim to an alternative history and adds to an overall historiography of activism in the United States. Simply put, these women are worthy of praise and recognition.

My graduate work parallels my professional work as a research associate/community liaison for Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC). Academic dialogues surrounding environmental issues can benefit from individuals who have the experience and expertise of working alongside and on behalf of grassroots people. Something unique I bring to the table is that, as a woman of color, I am obtaining a degree in higher education and in tandem work for a non-profit organization. The results reflect both my formal education and community knowledge bases, and highlight the complexities of contemporary environmental issues to a larger audience that includes academia for an extensive understanding of environment and education. Ways to achieve this outside the scope of work at SRIC includes classroom instruction, publications, and attending and presenting at conferences that focus on education and research related to the environment.

This spring I have been invited to present my research and do just that -- celebrate the women participants in a paper entitled "Chicanas Echo Justice for the Earth" at the American Educational Research Association's (AERA) annual conference to be held in San Diego, California April 12-16, 2004. The special interest group (SIG) of the conference I am a member of is Environmental Education: Pedagogy, Practice and Research. The panel will include individuals from universities such as New Zealand, England, Canada and the United States. Over the years AERA has increasingly attracted international scholars and the SIG, Environmental Education is no exception. One aspect that makes for a more interesting presentation and one I look forward to is preparing for a diverse audience.

Chicana struggles are connected to global issues of environmental education. I intend to trace the similarities as well as highlight some of the unique differences among rural/urban Chicanas and women/people of color activists throughout the nation and the world. One example of how people in other countries are influenced by social change in the United States can be found in Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe's book Hopes Edge. Lappe's interviews with activists in South America revealed that landless agricultural workers look to this country - and the essence of Chavez and Huerta's work -- in their concerted efforts toward land ownership. The communal management of land has also led individuals to worker rights in a safe and dignified manner and agriculture rights for the benefit of the entire community. Thus, the work of women activists in this country assists to mobilize the efforts of social movements worldwide. This is change. The environmental movement is waves of change that influence environmental laws and policies in this country and assists grassroots activism in locations throughout the world.

Highlighting Chicana activists in the southwestern United States paves a way toward exploration of women and their struggle to protect and preserve respective communities and surrounding natural resources. These contributions provide value and cognizance to women of color in their battles toward environmental justice. The findings build upon and contribute to the growing need to address varied pedagogies and conceptual approaches to environmental problems in a culturally diverse and contemporary society.

The next issue of Voices from the Earth will feature three women activists facing a myriad environmental problems where each woman will offer specific examples as they drive toward solutions.

Environmental Education: Pedagogy, Practice and Research American Educational Research Association (AERA) San Diego, California April 12-16, 2004 Tuesday, April 13, 2004 8:00 Chris Eames (University of Waikato), Rachel Bolstad (New Zealand Council for Educational Research), Bronwen Cowie (University of Waikato) Abstract Title: An Evaluation of the Practice of Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools Michael K. Summers (Oxford University), Graham J. Corney (Oxford University, UK), Ann C. Childs (University of Oxford, UK) Abstract Title: Student Teachers' Conceptions of Sustainable Development: The Starting Points of Geographers and Scientists Jutta Nikel (University of Bath) Abstract Title: Student Teachers' Views and Understandings of Education and Sustainable Development in Denmark, England and Germany Leo J. Elshof (University of Ottawa) Abstract Title: Confronting the Nature of Consumption and the Consumption of Nature: Worldview Challenges for Beginning Teachers Frances T. Ortega (University of New Mexico) Abstract Title: Chicanas Echo Justice for the Earth Richard V. Kahn (UCLA) Abstract Title: The Animal Problem in Freire: Towards a Non-anthropocentric, Eco-Justice Pedagogy Julie Newman (University of New Hampshire) Abstract Title: Higher Education and Rational Choice: Does Marketlike Behavior Lead to an Interpretation of 'Weak Sustainability?"