Conferencia de Mujeres por la Raza

La Conferencia de Mujeres por la Raza (or the National Chicana Conference) was held in Houston, Texas between May 28 and May 30 in 1971. The conference marked the first time Mexican-American feminists came together within the state from around the country to discuss issues important to feminism and Chicana women.[1] It was considered the first conference of its kind by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.[2]

About

The conference took place between May 28 and May 30, 1971 and was held at the Magnolia Park YWCA in Houston.[1] It was held as part of the International Decade for Women.[3] Chicana women faced three different kinds of discrimination: racism, classism and sexism.[4] The conference was meant to address these issues.[4] Prior to this national conference, regional groups had met to start planning for the bigger event.[5] The head organizer was Elma Barrera.[6] Other major organizers included Yolanda Garza Birdwell and Gloria Guardiola.[7] Anglo women working at the YWCA helped plan and organize the event as well.[6] During the planning, there been a miscommunication about places to stay for the conference and many women from outside of Houston were without a place to stay.[8]

There were over six hundred Chicana participants at the conference.[9] People who came to the conference included members of the local community, activists, community organizers, students, various professionals and nuns.[1] However, around 80 percent of the women were between the ages of 18 to 23 and were college and university students.[10] Organizations attending the conference included La Raza Unida Party, labor unions, the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO), and Las Hermanas.[1]

On the conference's first day, several workshops addressed gender issues, sexual liberation, family planning and ways in which women have been oppressed within the Chicano community.[7] On the second day, topics relating to how Chicana women fit into a broader framework of women's liberation was discussed.[11]

There was a walkout on the third day of the conference.[11] About half of the conference attendees left because they felt that the assembly should focus on racism instead of sexism.[6] The group was angry that the conference was being held in a "Gringo" institution.[12] The walkout started while Bertha Hernandez was speaking at the 3rd day's General Assembly.[1] Four women, including María Elena Gaitán, walked on stage and took the microphone from Hernandez, calling for a walkout.[1] Gaitán accused conference organizers of using tactics that were "counterproductive to the Chicano Movement," and criticized logistical issues.[1] Those who walked out continued their own conference at a park nearby, where they created their own resolutions.[1] Some of the workshops on day three were cancelled because of the walkout.[12]

Conference attendees had two sets of resolutions to review because of the split.[1] It was intended that all attendees review these before the second Conferencia de Mujeres por La Raza.[1] Individual communities would then be able to comment and a vote on the resolutions would be taken at the next conference in 1972.[13]

Legacy

The conference raised the issue of feminism within the Chicano community.[14] It led to the creation of resolutions from two of the largest workshops, "Sex and the Chicana" and "Marriage--Chicana Style" which addressed women's rights, access to birth control and abortions and for Chicana women to denounce machismo, discrimination in education, double standards for men and women and "the repressive ideology of the Catholic Church."[9][15] Resolutions were also created regarding the importance of childcare centers.[15]

After the conference the number of articles published about Chicana issues increased significantly.[16] Barrera has continued to speak about her experience with the conference.[17]

The Lucy R. Moreno Collection at the University of Texas at Austin contains materials and clippings from the conference.[18]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bueno, Marianne M. (2015). "Conferencia de Mujeres por La Raza". In Wayne, Tiffany K. Women's Rights in the United States: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Issues, Events, and People. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9781610692151.
  2. ↑ "Equal Rights Called Goal of U.S. Women". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 1971-05-30. p. 30. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Blackwell, Maylei (2016-06-27). ¡Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement. University of Texas Press. p. 215. ISBN 9781477312667.
  4. 1 2 Marino, Katherine (6 June 2012). "Liberating the Chicana Feminist Archive". The Clayman Institute for Gender Research. Stanford University. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  5. ↑ Roth, Benita (2004). Separate Roads to Feminism: Black, Chicana, and White Feminist Movements in America's Second Wave. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780521529723.
  6. 1 2 3 Acosta, Teresa Palomo (2010-06-12). "Conferencia de Mujeres por La Raza". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  7. 1 2 Rodriguez 2014, p. 41.
  8. ↑ Villarreal, Mary Ann (2006). "National Chicana Conference (1971)". In Ruiz, Vicki L.; Korrol, Virginia Sánchez. Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia. 1. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 512–513. ISBN 0253111692.
  9. 1 2 Flores 2008, p. 81.
  10. ↑ Cotera 1997, p. 155.
  11. 1 2 Rodriguez 2014, p. 42.
  12. 1 2 Cotera 1997, p. 156.
  13. ↑ Vidal 1971, p. 2.
  14. ↑ Ruiz, Vicki L. (2008). From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199888405.
  15. 1 2 Vidal 1971, p. 3.
  16. ↑ Flores 2008, p. 82.
  17. ↑ "Conference celebrating Chicana/Chicano activism returns to STC Feb 24 to 26". South Texas College. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  18. ↑ "Lucy R. Moreno Collection, 1971-1997". Texas Archival Resources Online. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2017-09-13.

Sources

  • Cotera, Marta (1997). "La Conferencia De Mujeres Por La Raza: Houston, Texas, 1971". In García, Alma M. Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415918015.
  • Flores, Lori A. (Spring 2008). "A Community of Limits and the Limits of Community: MALDEF's Chicana Rights Project, Empowering the 'Typical Chicana,' and the Question of Civil Rights, 1974-1983". Journal of American Ethnic History. 27 (3): 81–110 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Rodriguez, Samantha M. (Fall 2014). "Carving Spaces for Feminism and Nationalism: Texas Chicana Activism during the Chicana/O Movement". Journal of South Texas. 27 (2): 38–52 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Vidal, Mirta (1971). Chicanas Speak Out -- Women: New Voice of La Raza. New York: Pathfinder Press.
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