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Fronteras: Feminists Navigating Structural Racism, Sexism & Classism In The Chicano Movement

Originally aired April 12, 2019

Chicana feminists faced obstacles entirely their own during the Chicano movement. Fellow Chicanos and white feminists upheld a racial, sexist and classist barrier between them, but many remained determined to make their voices heard. Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era is a new collection of essays that shares the stories of these lesser-known activists. 

Credit Norma Martinez / Texas Public Radio
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Texas Public Radio
Norma Cantú, Professor of the Humanities at Trinity University’s Department of Modern Languages & Literatures, uses 'Chicana Movidas' as part of her curriculum.

Dolores Huerta is one the most well-known female activists from the Chicano movement. But the stories of other women engaged in that era are finally being pushed to the forefront in Chicana Movidas. Chicana scholars and activists wrote about the women who made important movidas – moves – in the 1960s and 1970s. From poet and scholarGloria Anzaldúa to welfare activist Alicia Escalante, a multitude of women fought to advance their unique brand of feminism.

Maria Eugenia Cotera, associate professor of American Studies and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is one of the book’s co-editors. She shared the inspiration for the book as well as some of her favorite characters featured.Norma Elia Cantú, the Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Trinity University’s Department of Modern Languages & Literatures, uses the book in her classes. Cantú says the compiled documents give these women their long deserved attention and will have a lasting impact on generations to come.

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1 and Lauren Terrazas can be reached at lauren@tpr.org and on Twitter @terrazas_lauren.

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1
Lauren Terrazas can be reached at lauren@tpr.org and on Twitter at @terrazas_lauren