Latinas: Gender, Race, and Class-Struggles in 21st Century USA, Vol. 2 celebrates the spirit and resilience of Latinas navigating the complex intersections of class, race, and gender that shape their lives. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly illuminated the extraordinary challenges Black, Indigenous, and working-class Latinas face as essential workers on the frontlines and within their homes.
Featuring thirty-five contributors -authors, poets, activists, and artists- this compelling collection delves into the rich tapestry of Latina experiences. At its core is the concept of "intersectionality," emphasizing the interconnected nature of systemic oppression and the urgent need for collective action to achieve meaningful change. Exploring both new themes and historical legacies, the volume amplifies the activism of Latinas in ongoing battles for women's rights, economic and racial justice and struggles against colonialism and imperialism.
The anthology documents Latina experiences in today's turbulent political climate, engaging with issues and concerns that resonate across borders and boundaries.
Latinas: Gender, Race, and Class-Struggles in 21st Century USA, Vol. 2 is a testament to power of storytelling, feminist collaboration, and the enduring pursuit of freedom and justice.
Selections from contributors:
"I will untangle the cobwebs of history and memory-of beauty and betrayal." ANGÉLICA MARIA YAÑEZ, Chicana professor and poet
"Violence is climate change and child labor, it is femicide and food insecurity, deforestation and defunding of public schools." LOLA ROSARIO, Puerto Rican freelance journalist and poet.
"The process of organizing ... highlighted the urgency of rebuilding a strong anti-imperialist, internationalist struggle in the United States." CLAUDIA DE LA CRUZ, Dominican mother, popular educator, organizer, and theologian.
"What is the fuel that will sustain us and our organizing toward a fundamental transformation of society?" PAULA X. ROJAS, Chilean-born community organizer, midwife, and social justice trainer.
Compiled and edited by:
Iris Morales is a lifelong activist, educator, filmmaker, author, and editor of several anthologies. She is a graduate of New York University Law School and holds an MFA in Integrated Media Arts.
Karina Hurtado-Ocampo is a filmmaker and (screen)writer. They have supported grassroots organizations and public television in social justice programming.
List of Contributors (In alphabetical order)
Natasha Acevedo, Soledad Aguilar Colon, Gammy Álvarez, Andrea Bolívar, Mili Bonilla, Tiffany Joy Butler, Ana Sofía Campos Calderón, Gisele Castro, Rosa Alicia Clemente, Karla Cordero, Molly Crabapple, Claudia De la Cruz, Susi Durán, Karina Hurtado-Ocampo, Mar Erazo Petroff, Ximena Leyte Escalante-Dávila, Marisa Franco, Magdalena Gómez, Lucia Martínez, Iris Morales, Zoila Morell, Lenina Nadal, Myrna Nieves, Sandy Plácido, Yvette Ramírez, Aisha Aurora Rivera, Carmen Rivera, Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Paula X. Rojas, Danielle Rodriguez, Lola Rosario, Irene Franco Rubio, Gia Santos, Keala Uchoa, Gabby Womack, and Angelica M. Yañez.
IRIS MORALES is a lifelong activist, educator, feminist, and author. From her early days as a tenant organizer to her current work, she has organized with movements for economic and racial justice, women's rights, and the decolonization of Puerto Rico. Morales' love of community and history led her to media production as a tool for social change and to forming organizations training and empowering young people to become storytellers. In 1996, she produced and wrote the award-winning documentary ¡Palante, Siempre Palante! Nationally televised, it portrays Puerto Rican social justice movements of the late 1960s and early 70s in the United States, and it continues to be screened in classrooms and community venues across the United States and the Caribbean. A leading member of the Young Lords Party for over six years, she served as deputy minister of education and co-founded the Women's Caucus and Women's Union. Today, as the founding director of Red Sugarcane Press, Morales collaborates with writers and activists to create books and projects, amplifying BIPOC voices with a particular emphasis on the Puerto Rican experience. Notably, Morales is the editor of the anthologies Voices from Puerto Rico: Post-Hurricane María and Latinas: Struggles and Protests in 21st Century USA, featuring the writings of community activists and poets. Morales is the author of Revisiting Herstories: The Young Lords and Through the Eyes of Rebel Women and co-author of Vicki, A Summer of Change, a bilingual English-Spanish children's book. Currently, Morales serves on the advisory board of the Instituto de Formación Política of Mijente, a Latinx organization dedicated to racial, economic, gender, and climate justice. A native New Yorker, Morales holds a JD from the New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden Scholar, and an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College in New York.
KARINA HURTADO-OCAMPO is a filmmaker and (screen)writer of place-based, genre-bending stories. Growing up in 1990s Queens, New York at the Colombian corner of the spacetime continuum, they create in the traditions of immigrant communities resisting assimilation into the American dream and contributing to Native, Black, and Neuroqueer imaginaries that confront the US nightmare. Hurtado-Ocampo came into movement as a youth producer with Global Action Project in 2004 where they grew into an educator, designing media programming with grassroots organizations and for public access television. During this time, they also supported housing, education, and anti-police brutality campaigns as an organizer. In 2017, they founded macorina media: a small production company engaging artists with hyper-local to regional coalition work, including Just Transition, Cancel Rent, Amazon Out of Queens, DC Tenant Strike, Emergency Response Planning, and Alternatives to Policing. Hurtado-Ocampo holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA from Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. At Feirstein, they were a founding member of the BIPOC Film Collective, which moved the administration to adopt more equitable policies, positively affecting its working-class students of color. Their scripts have been awarded in industry-recognized competitions, such as the Launchpad Pilot Competition, Cinestory TV Writing Competition, and ScriptPipeline TV Writing Contest. Their short films have been screened at film festivals, such as Rooftop Films, the Official Latino Film and Arts Festival, and the Montreal Independent Film Festival. They are currently co-producing their first feature-length documentary, Resistance to Fort Apache, the Bronx.
