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Mexican American Women Grassroots Community Activists: "Mothers of East Los Angeles" Author(s): Mary Pardo Source: Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1, Las Chicanas (1990), pp. 1-7 Published by: University of Nebraska Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3346696 . Accessed: 16/04/2011 01:20
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Mexican American Women GrassrootsCommunityActivists: "Mothers of East Los Angeles" Mary Pardo
The relatively studiesof Chicana few politicalactivismshow a bias in the waypoliticalactivismis conceptualized social by scientists,who oftenuse a narrowdefinitionconfinedto electoralpolitics.' Most feministresearchuses an expandeddefinitionthatmoves acrossthe boundaries betweenpublic, electoralpoliticsandprivate,familypolitics;but feministresearch generallyfocuseson womenmobilizedaroundgender-specific constiissues.2For some feminists,adherenceto "tradition" tutes conservatismand submission to patriarchy.Both apof proachesexcludethe contributions working-classwomen, those of Afro-American women and Latinas,thus particularly failing to capturethe full dynamic of social change.3 The followingcase studyof MexicanAmericanwomen activists in "Mothersof East Los Angeles" (MELA) contributes anotherdimensionto the conceptionof grassrootspolitics. It illustrates how these Mexican American women transform "traditional" networksandresourcesbasedon faminto of ily andculture politicalassetsto defendthe quality urban life. Far from unique,these patternsof activismare repeated in LatinAmerica and elsewhere. Here as in other times and places, the women'sactivismarises out of seemingly "traditional"roles, addresseswider social and politicalissues, and capitalizeson informalassociationssanctionedby the comforce, Religion, commonlyviewed as a conservative munity?. is intertwined withpolitics.5 Often,womenspeakof theircommunitiesand their activismas extensionsof their family and householdresponsibility. centralrole of women in grassThe roots strugglesaroundqualityof life, in the ThirdWorldand in the UnitedStates,challenges conventional about assumptions the powerlessnessof women and static definitionsof culture and tradition. In general, the women in MELA are longtimeresidentsof East Los Angeles; some are bilingualand nativeborn, others Mexican born and Spanishdominant.All the core activists are bilingual havelivedin the community and overthirtyyears. All have been active in parish-sponsored groups and activities; some havehad experienceworkingin community-based watchassociations, groupsarisingfrom schools,neighborhood To gain an appreciation the group of and laborsupport groups. and the core activists, I used ethnographicfield methods. I interviewedsix women, using a life historyapproachfocused on their first communityactivities, currentactivism, household and family responsibilities,and perceptionsof commuOctober1989, nity issues. Also, fromDecember1987through I attendedhearingson the two currentlypendingprojectsof contention-a proposed state prison and a toxic waste in and incinerator-andparticipated community organizational The meetingsand demonstrations. followingdiscussionbriefly chroniclesan intense and significantfive-year segmentof community history from which emerged MELA and the of women's transformation "traditional" resources and experiences into political assets for communitymobilization7 The Community Context: East Los Angeles Resisting Siege Politicalscience theory often guides the political strategies used by local governmentto select the sites for undesirable commissioneda pubprojects.In 1984, the stateof California lic relationsfirm to assess the political difficultiesfacing the The reconstruction energy-producing of waste incinerators. port provideda "personality profile"of those residentsmost likely to organize effective opposition to projects: middle upper and socioeconomic possess strata better resources Middle higher and toeffectuate opposition. their socioeconomic not and strata should fallwithin one-mile the neighborhoods site. older five-mile of theproposed Conversely, people, radii or peoplewitha highschooleducation less are leastlikely to opposea facility!.

Mary Pardo is currentlycompletingher Ph.D. in the Departmentof Sociology at UCLA.She also teaches courses on the Mexicanfamily, the Chicanaand contemporary issues, and the Chicano adolescent in the Departmentof Chicano Studies at CaliforniaState University, Northridge. FRONTIERS XI,No.1 @ 1990FRONTIERS Collective Vol. Editorial

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The state accordinglyplaced the plant in Commerce,a preMexicanAmerican,low-incomecommunity. This dominantly holds throughout stateand the country:three out the pattern of five Afro-Americans Latinoslive neartoxic wastesites, and and three of the five largesthazardouswaste landfills are in communitieswith at least 80 percentminoritypopulationsY Similarly,in March 1985, when the state soughta site for the first stateprisonin Los Angeles County,GovernorDeukinstitutionin East mejian resolved to place the 1,700-inmate Los Angeles, within a mile of the long-establishedBoyle Heights neighborhoodand within two miles of thirty-four schools. Furthermore, violatingconvention,the statebid on zoned land withoutcomthe expensiveparcel of industrially impact reportor providinga public piling an environmental community hearing. According to James Vigil, Jr., a field for representative AssemblywomanGloria Molina, shortly after the state announcedthe site selection, Molina'soffice beganinformingthe communityand gaugingresidents'sentiments aboutit throughdirectmailingsand calls to leadersof organizationsand business groups. In spring 1986, after much pressurefrom the 56th assemthe of bly districtoffice andthe community, Department Correctionsagreedto hold a public information meeting, which was attendedby over 700 Boyle Heightsresidents.From this momenton, Vigil observed, "the tables turned,the community mobilized, and the residentsbegan calling the political and representatives requestingtheir presenceat hearingsand By meetings."'1 summer1986,the communitywas well aware of the prison site proposal.Over two thousandpeople, carrying placards proclaiming"No Prisonin ELA,"marchedfrom Churchin Boyle Heightsto the 3rd Streetbridge Resurrection linking East Los Angeles with the rapidlyexpandingdowntown Los Angeles." This marchmarkedthe beginningof one of the largestgrassrootscoalitionsto emergefrom the Latino communityin the last decade. of Prominent groupsis "Mothers East amongthe coalition's Los Angeles," a loosely knit group of over 400 Mexican MELA initiallycoalesced to oppose the Americanwomen.12 state prison constructionbut has since organizedopposition to severalother projectsdetrimentalto the qualityof life in the centralcity."3 second large targetis a toxic waste inIts cineratorproposedfor Vernon,a small city adjacentto East Los Angeles. This incinerator would worsen the alreadydebilitatingair qualityof the entire county and set a precedent dangerous for other communities throughoutCalifornia.14 When MELA took up the fightagainstthe toxicwasteincinerator,it becamemorethana single-issue groupandbeganworkAs ing with environmental groupsaroundthe state."5 a result of the communitystruggle,AB58 (Roybal-Allard), whichprovides all Californians with the minimumprotectionof an environmental of impactreportbeforethe construction hazardous waste incinerators,was signed into law. But the law's effectivenessrelies on a watchfulcommunitynetwork.Since its emergence, "Mothersof East Los Angeles" has become centrallyimportantto just such a networkof grassrootsactivists includinga select numberof Catholicpriests and two MexicanAmericanpoliticalrepresentatives. the Furthermore, group'svery formation,and its continuedspiritand activism, fly in the face of the conventionalpolitical science beliefs regardingpolitical participation.

Predictions the "experts" attribute low formalpolitithe by cal participation (i.e., voting) of Mexican Americanpeople in the U.S. to a set of cultural"retardants" includingprimary traditional kinshipsystems,fatalism,religioustraditionalism, cultural The values,andmothercountryattachment.16 core activists in MELA may appearto fit this description,as well as the state-commissioned profile of residentsleast likely to oppose toxic waste incinerator projects.All the women live in a low-incomecommunity. Furthermore, identifythemthey in selves as active and committedparticipants the Catholic Church;they claim an ethnic identity-Mexican American; their ages range from forty to sixty; and they have attained at most high school educations.However,these women fail to conformto the predicted Instead,theyhave politicalapathy. transformed social identity-ethnic identity,class identity, and genderidentity-into an impetusas well a basis for activism. theirexistingsocial networksinto grassAnd, in transforming rootspoliticalnetworks, themselves. theyhavealso transformed Transformation as a Dominant Theme Fromthe life historiesof the group'score activistsandfrom my own field notes, I have selected excerpts that tell two stories.One is a narrative the eventsthatled of representative to communitymobilizationin East Los Angeles. The other is a story of transformation, process of creatingnew and the betterrelationships empowerpeople to uniteand achieve that common goals.7 First, womenhavetransformed organizingexperiencesand socialnetworks into arisingfromgender-related responsibilities When I askedthe women aboutthe first resources.1" political not involvement could community, necessarily"political," they the recall, they discussedexperiencesthatpredated formation of MELA. JuanaGuti6rrezexplained: start It when Well,it didn't withtheprison, know. started you the Club mykidswentto school.I started joining Parents by andwe worked different on here problems in the area.Like to the peoplewhocometo the parks sell drugsto the kids. I gottheneighbors havemeetings. wouldgo knock the I to at stick doors,houseto house.AndI toldthemthatwe should Watch with and together theNeighborhood forthecommunity for the kids.19 ErlindaRobles similarly recalled: I wanted kidsto go to Catholic schoolandfromthetime my I one myoldest wentthere, wasthere every I usedto take day. one mytwo littleoneswithme andI helped wayor another. I usedto question mothers would things did.Andtheother they do theywouldaskme, "Why youdo just watchme. Later, that? to kids." say,"They I'd Theyaregoing takeit outonyour not."Andbefore knewit, we hada big group better of you mothers wereveryinvolved.20 that Partof a mother's"traditional" responsibilityincludesoverwith school seeing her child'sprogressin school, interacting staff, and supportingschool activities. In these processes, women meet other mothersand begin developinga network of acquaintanceships friendships basedon mutualconcern and for the welfare of their children.

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Althoughthe women in MELA carriedthe greatestburden in of participating school activities,ErlindaRoblesalso spoke of strategiesthey used to draw men into the enterpriseand into the networks:21 At the beginning, priestsusedto say who the president the of the mothers guildwouldbe; theyusedto pick 'um.But, we the so Then wanted we wanted elections, we gotelections. and that fathers be involved, the nunssuggested a father to or and wouldbe secretary be should president a mother be involved there[atthe schoolsite].22 Of course, this commentpiquedmy curiosity,so I askedhow the mothersagreedon the nuns' suggestion.The answerwas simple and instructive: Atthetimewethought wasa "natural" to getthefathers it way it involved because weren't involved; wasjustthemothers. they on [the being Everybody women] agreed them[thefathers] all be because president theyworked dayandtheycouldn't in involved a lot of dailyactivities foodsalesandwhatlike ever. the of committee mothers During week,a steering planned thegroup's But activities. nowthatI think about a woman it, couldhavedonethejob just as well!23 So women got men into the groupby giving them a position theycouldmanage.The men mayhaveheld the title of "president," but they were not makingday-to-daydecisions about work, nor were they dictating the direction of the group. ErlindaRobleslaughedas she recalledan occasion when the president insisted, against the wishes of the women, on scheduling a parents' group fundraiser-a breakfast-on Mother'sDay. On that morning,only the presidentand his wife were present to prepare breakfast. This should alert researchersagainstmeasuringpower and influenceby looking solely at who holds titles. Eachof the cofounders a historyof workingwithgroups had out of the responsibilities usually assumed by arising "mothers"-theeducation children the safetyof the surof and roundingcommunity.From these groups, they gained valuable experiencesand networksthat facilitatedthe formation of "Mothersof EastLos Angeles."JuanaGutierrez explained networksprogressively how preexisting expandedcommunity support: Youknownobody knewabout planto builda prisonin the until Gloria told thiscommunity Assemblywoman Molina me. knowwhatis hapMolina calledme andsaid,"You Martha The wantsto puta prisonin peningin yourarea? governor Watch So, BoyleHeights!" I calleda Neighborhood meeting at myhouseandwe gotfifteen Then,Father people together. and Johnstarted his informing peopleat the Church thatis of whenthe group two to threehundred started up showing on for everymarch the bridge.24 MELA effectivelylinked up preexistingnetworksinto a viable grassrootscoalition. Second, the processof activismalso transformed previously "invisible" women,makingthemnotonly visiblebutthe center of publicattention.Froma conventional perspective,political This meansthat activismassumesa kindof genderneutrality. but anyonecan participate, men are the expectedkey actors. In accordancewith this pattern,in winter 1986 an informal

group of concerned businessmen in the community began lobbying and testifying against the prison at hearings in Sacramento.Workingin conjunctionwith Assemblywoman at Molina, they mademanytripsto Sacramento theirown expense. Residentswho did not have the income to travelwere unableto join them. Finally, Molina, commonly recognized as a forcefuladvocatefor Latinasand the community,asked FrankVillalobos, an urbanplannerin the group, why there were no women coming up to speak in Sacramentoagainst the prison. As he phrasedit, "I was getting some heat from her because no women were going up there.""25 In responseto this comment,Veronica a Guti6rrez, law student who lived in the community,agreedto accompanyhim on the next trip to Sacramento.26 also mentionedthe comHe CatholicParish. ment to FatherJohnMorettaat Resurrection of Meanwhile,representatives the business sectorof the communityand of the 56th assemblydistrictoffice were continuand dataagainstthe East ing to compile arguments supportive Los Angeles prison site. FrankVillalobos stated one of the pressing problems: WefeltthattheSenators whomwe prepared thisfordidn't all that evenacknowledge we existed.Theykeptcallingit the "downtown" andtheyargued therewas no opposithat site, tioninthecommunity. I toldFather what Moretta, we have So, to do is demonstrate thereis a link(proximity) between that the BoyleHeights and community the prison.27 The next juncture illustrateshow perceptionsof genderspecific behavior set in motion a sequence of events that broughtwomen into the political limelight. FatherMoretta decidedto ask all the womento meet aftermass. He told them aboutthe prisonsite andcalledfor theirsupport.WhenI asked him abouthis rationalefor selecting the women, he replied: I feltso strongly what about issue,andI knewin myheart the a terrible that offense wasto thepeople.So, I wasafraid this we oncewe gotintoa demonstration situation hadto be very I and than careful. thought women the would cooler calmer be The themen.Thebottom is thatthe mencameanyway. line to were firsttimesoutthemajority women.Thentheybegan but it theirhusbands theirchildren, originally was invite and just women.28 FatherMorettaalso namedthe group.Quitemovedby a film, womenwho TheOfficial Story,aboutthe courageous Argentine demonstrated the returnof theirchildrenwho disappeared for he duringa repressiveright-wingmilitarydictatorship, transformed the name "Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo" into "Mothersof East Los Angeles."29 However, Aurora Castillo, one of the cofoundersof the of group,modifiedmy emphasison the predominance women: the Of course fathers work.Wealsohavemany, many grandof And They mothers. allthisIS withthesupport thefathers. makethe placards the posters; do the security and and they the when can.30 and they carry signs; theycometothemarches Althoughwomen playeda key role in the mobilization,they as the emphasized group'sbroadbase of activesupporters well as the otherorganizations the "Coalition in Againstthe Prison." Their intentwas to counterany notion thatMELA was composed exclusivelyof women or mothersand to stress the "inclusiveness"of the group. All the women who assumedlead

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roles in the grouphad long historiesof volunteerwork in the but of Boyle Heightscommunity; formation the groupbrought them out of the "private"marginsand into "public"light. Third, the women in "Mothersof East L.A." have transformedthe definitionof "mother"to includemilitantpolitical oppositionto state-proposed projectsthey see as adverse to the qualityof life in the community.Explaininghow she discoveredthe issue, AuroraCastillo said, Youknowif one of yourchildren's the safetyis jeopardized, mother Johngot the turnsintoa lioness.That's why Father We mothers. haveto havea well-organized, of strong group to mothers protect community oppose the and that things are detrimental us. You to knowthegovernor inthewrong is and the mothers in the right.Afterall, the mothers are haveto be right.Mothers forthechildren's are not interest, for selfthe is interest; governor for his own political interest?. The women also have expandedthe boundariesof "motherhood" to includesocial andpoliticalcommunityactivismand redefinedthe word to include women who are not biological "mothers."At one meeting a young Latina expressed her solidaritywith the groupand, almostapologetically, qualified herself as a "resident," a "mother," East Los Angeles. not of ErlindaRobles replied: When arefighting a better forchildren "doing" for life and you for them,isn'tthatwhatmothers So we'reall mothers. do? Youdon'thaveto havechildren be a "mother."32 to At criticalpoints, grassrootscommunityactivismrequires attendingmany meetings, phone calling, and door-to-door communications-all very labor-intensive work. In order to in keepharmony the "domestic" sphere,the coreactivistsmust creativelyintegrate familymembersinto theircommunityactivities. I asked ErlindaRobles how her husbandfelt about her activism, and she replied quite openly: doesn't getting like but me involved, hetakes beMyhusband causehe knowsI like it. Sometimes wouldhavetwo or we threemeetings week. Andmy husband a wouldsay,"Why areyoudoingso much? is reallygetting of hand." It out But he is verysupportive. he getsthere, enjoys andhe Once he it in starts arguing See, it'sjust thathe is not usedto it. too! He couldn't believe the things happened waythattheydo. He wasin theNavytwenty him yearsandtheybrainwashed that noneof thepoliticians could wrong. he hascomea long do So the and way.Nowhe comeshomeandparks caroutfront asks me, "Well,wherearewe goingtonight?"33 When women explain their activism, they link family and a communityas one entity.JuanaGutidrrez, womanwith extensiveexperienceworkingon communityand neighborhood issues, stated: Yocomomadre familia, comoresidente Estede Los de del y luchando descanso quese nosrespete. sin Angeles, seguird por Y yo lo hagoconbastante haciami comunidad. Digo carifio "micomunidad," me de a porque siento parte ella,quiero mi razacomoparte mi familia, si Diosme permite de y seguir6 luchando contra todoslos gobernadores quieran abusar que de nosotros. a mother a resident EastL.A., I shall and of (As

continue so And fighting tirelessly, we willbe respected. I will dothiswithmuch affection mycommunity. "my for I say combecause am partof it. I lovemy "raza" I as munity" [race] and I partof myfamily; if Godallows, will keepon fighting all that to of against thegovernors want takeadvantage us.)34 Like the otheractivists,she has expandedher responsibilities and legitimatedmilitantoppositionto abuse of the commuof nity by representatives the state. womenactivistsseldomopt to separate themWorking-class selves from men and their families.In this particular struggle for communityqualityof life, they are fightingfor the family unit and thus are not competitivewith men.35 course, this Of fact does not precludedifferentalignmentsin other contexts and situations.36 Fourth,the story of MELA also shows the transformation of class and ethnic identity.AuroraCastillo told of an incident that illustratedher growing knowledgeof the relationship of East Los Angeles to othercommunitiesand the basis necessary for coalition building: Anddo youknowwe havebeenapproached other by groups? her You that [Shelowers voiceinemphasis.] know Pacific Palisadesgroupaskedforourbacking. whattheydid, they But senttheirpowerful that of lobbyist theypaythousands dollars to getoursupport the in Palisades. So against drilling Pacific what didwastellthemto sendtheir we not grassroots people, their We're We want talk a highto to lobbyist. suspicious. don't we We salaried lobbyist; arehumble people. didourownlobbying.In one weekwe wentto Sacramento twice.37 The contrastbetween the often tedious and labor-intensive work of mobilizingpeople at the "grassroots" level and the work of a "high salariedlobbyist"representsa point of paid pride and integrity,not a deficiencyor a source of shame. If the two groupswere to constructa coalition, they mustcommunicateon equal terms. The women of MELA combinea willingnessto assertopposition with a critical assessmentof their own weaknesses. At one communitymeeting, for example, representatives of severaloil companiesattempted gain supportfor placement to of an oil pipelinethroughthe centerof EastLos Angeles. The exchange between the women in the audience and the oil was representative heated, as women alternated askingquestions about the chosen route for the pipeline: "Isit goingthrough CielitoLindo The ranch]?" oil [Reagan's "No." Another woman stood and answered, representative up not the Without thinkasked,"Why placeit along coastline?" the ingof theimplications, representative "Oh, responded, no! If it burst,it wouldendanger marine the life."The woman "You the life than retorted, value marine more human beings?" Hisfacereddened anger thehearing with and into disintegrated angrychanting.38 The proposalwas quickly defeated.But AuroraCastillo acthat knowledged it was not solely theiroppositionthatbrought about the defeat: Wewonbecause westside opposed it, so we united the was to withthem.You know there a lotof attorneys livethere are who andtheyalso questioned representative. the Believeme, no

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Ameriand we at thrown usbecause arelow-income Mexican can. We are luckynow thatwe havegood representatives, havebefore.39 whichwe didn't Throughouttheir life histories, the women refer to the disruptiveeffects of land use decisions made in the 1950s. As longtimeresidents,all but one sharethe experienceof losing a home and relocating to make way for a freeway. Juana Gutierrezrefers to the communityresponse at that time: Unade las cosasqueme caenmuymales la injusticia en y hemosvistomuchode eso. Sobretodo comunidad nuestra nos mas estaba dormida, creo antes, gente porque quenuestra los hicieron freeways menos.Enlos cincuentas atreviamos y de la asi, sin mis, nos dieron noticia que nos tenfamos que Y mudar. eso pas6dosveces.Lagentese conformaba porque el Recuerdo yo me enojaba queria lo ordeno gobierno. y que hacer nada. pero queria quelos demisme secundaran, nadia that me that (Oneof the things reallyupsets is the injustice Aboveeverything I we see so muchin ourcommunity. else, werelessaware; werelesschallengwe that believe ourpeople and ing.In the 1950s-theymadethe freeways just like that to That twice. that they usa notice wehad move. happened gave it. it the ordered I Thepeopleaccepted because government the to remember I wasangry wanted others backme that and to butnobody wanted do anything.)40 else The freewaysthat cut throughcommunitiesand disrupted of reminder sharedinjustice, are neighborhoods now a concrete of of the vulnerability the communityin the 1950s. The community'ssocial and politicalhistorythus informsperceptions of its currentpredicament; however,today'sactivistsemphasize not the powerlessnessof the communitybut the change in statusand progressiontowardpolitical empowerment. Fifth, the core activiststypicallytell storiesillustrating personal changeand a new sense of entitlementto speak for the the community.They have transformed unspokensentiments voice. Lucy Ramos of individuals a collectivecommunity into relatedher initial apprehensions: to I knowwhatwas going I was afraid get involved. didn't at after out I tocome ofthisand hesitated first. Right we started, Father Johncameup to me andtoldme, "I wantyouto be I I said, know what amgoing a spokesperson." "Oh I don't no, I havea nervous I I to say." wasnervous. amsurpriseddidn't then. breakdown Everytimewe usedto get in frontof the like TV cameras eveninterviews this,I usedto sit there and But andI couldfeelmyself shaking. astimewenton, I started usedto it. getting witha lot of them.They Andthis is whatI havenoticed wereafraid speak andsayanything. withthisprison to Now, up have and a issue, lotof them comeoutandcomeforward given theiropinions. used Everybody to be real "quietlike."4' She also relateda situationthatbroughtall her fearsto a climax, which she confrontedand resolved as follows: with Channel 13 WhenI firststarted working the coalition, to me called upandsaidtheywanted interview andI said me John nervous. I calledFather So OK.ThenI started getting He better overhereright andtoldhim, "You away." said, get it Then "Don't don't worry, worry, canhandle byyourself." you

way is justice blind. .

. Wejust don't want all this garbage

Channel calledmebackandsaidtheyweregoingto inter13 I heard andasked viewanother someone hadnever of, person, if it was OKif he cameto my house.AndI saidOKagain. What what ThenI began thinking, if thisguyis fortheprison? I and amI goingto do?AndI wasso nervous I thought, know whatI am goingto do! Since the meetingwas takingplace in her home, she reasoned out that she was entitled to order any troublemakers of her domain: I If thismantells me anything, amjust goingto chasehim out of my house.Thatis whatI am goingto do! All these 13 were my thoughts goingthrough head.ThenChannel walk intomy housefollowed six menI hadnevermet. And I by I Oh, thought, myGod,whatdidI getmyselfinto? keptsaythem withme I amthrowing ing to myself,if theyget smart ALL out.42 At this point her tone expresseda sense of resolve. In fact, the situation turned out to be neither confrontationalnor men"were also membersof the coaas threatening, the "other lition. This woman confrontedan anxiety-ladensituationby relyingon her sense of controlwithinher home and family-a for sourceof authority women-and transquite "traditional" formingthatcontrolinto the courageto expressa politicalposition before a potentialaudienceall over one of the largest metropolitanareas in the nation. as Peopleliving in ThirdWorldcountries well as in minority in communities the UnitedStatesface an increasingly degraded the to environment.3 Recognizing threat the well-beingof their families, residentshave mobilized at the neighborhoodlevel to fight for "qualityof life" issues. The common notion that environmental well-beingis of concernsolely to whitemiddleclass and upper-class residents ignores the specific way sufferfromthe falloutof the city working-class neighborhoods "growthmachine"geared for profit04 In Los Angeles, the culminationof postwarurbanrenewal and policies,the growingPacificRim tradesurplus investment, labormigrationfromThirdWorld and low-wageinternational countriesare creatingpotentiallyvolatileconditions.Literally palatialfinancialbuildingsswallow up the space previously densityand occupiedby modest, low-costhousing.Increasing developmentnot matchedby investmentin social programs, erode the quality of life, beginservices, and infrastructure in the core of the city45 Latinos, the majorityof whom ning live close to the centerof the city, must confrontthe distilled focused solely on profit. social consequencesof development in The MexicanAmerican community EastLos Angeles,much like other minority working-classcommunities,has been a repositoryfor prisons insteadof new schools, hazardousindustriesinsteadof safe work sites, and one of the largestconin of whichtranscentrations freewayinterchanges the country, ports much wealthpast the community.And the concernsof residentsin East Los Angeles may providelessons for other minorityas well as middle-classcommunities.Increasingenfrominadequate wastedisposal vironmental pollutionresulting plans and an out-of-control"need" for penal institutionsto containthe casualtiescreatedby the growingbipolardistribution of wages may not be limited to the Southwest.6 These

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conditionsset the stagefor new conflicts and new opportuniold into ties, to transform relationships coalitionsthatcan chalstate agendas and create new communityvisions47 lenge MexicanAmerican womenlivingeast of downtown AnLos geles exemplifythe tendencyof women to enterinto environmentalstrugglesin defenseof their community.Womenhave a rich historicallegacyof communityactivism, partlyreconstructed overthe last two decadesin social historiesof women who contestedother "qualityof life issues," from the price of breadto "DemonRum"(often representing domesticviolence)48 But somethingnew is also happening.The issues "traditionally" addressedby women-health, housing, sanitation, andthe urbanenvironment-have movedto centerstageas capitalisturbanization Environmental issues now fuel progresses. the fires of many political campaignsand drive citizens beyond the ratherrestricted,perfunctory politicalact of voting. of Instances politicalmobilization the grassroots at level, where women often play a central role, allow us to "see" abstract concepts like participatory democracyand social change as dynamic processes. The existence and activities of "Mothersof East Los Angeles" attestto the dynamicnatureof participatory democracy, as well as to the dynamicnatureof our gender,class, andethnic identity.The story of MELA reveals, on the one hand, and a how individuals groupscan transform seemingly"traditional"role such as "mother." the otherhand,it illustrates On how such a role may also be a social agentdrawingmembers of the community the "political" into arena.Studying women's as contributions well as men's will shed greaterlight on the networksdynamic of grassrootsmovements49 The work "Mothersof East Los Angeles" do to mobilize that people's political involvethe communitydemonstrates characteristics. mentcannotbe predicted theircultural These by of womenhavedefiedstereotypes apathyand usedethnic,gender, and class identityas an impetus,a strength,a vehicle for political activism. They have expanded their-and ourof understanding the complexitiesof a political system, and they have reaffirmedthe possibility of "doing something." They also generouslyshare the lessons they have learned. One of the women in "Mothersof East Los Angeles" told me, as I hesitatedto set up an interviewwith anotherwoman I hadn'tyet met in person, You lost. should seen ventured have know, nothing nothing You howtimid werethefirsttimewe wentto a public we hearing. and Now, forget I walkrightup andmakemyselfheard it, that'swhatyou haveto do.50

NOTES
On September 1989,another for versionof thispaperwas accepted presen15, tationat the 1990International SociologicalAssociationmeetingsto be held in Madrid, Spain, July 9, 1990. 1. See Vicky Randall, Women and Politics, An International Perspective of themes (Chicago: University ChicagoPress, 1987),fora reviewof the central and debatesin the literature. two of the few books on Chicanas,work, For and family, see Vicki L. Ruiz, Cannery Women,CanneryLives, Mexican and FoodProcessingIndustry, 1930-1950 Women, Unionization, the California Zavella, (Albuquerque: Universityof New Mexico Press, 1987),andPatricia Women's Work ChicanoFamilies(Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell UniversityPress, & 1987). 2. For recentexceptionsto this approach,see Anne WitteGarland,Women

Activists:Challengingthe Abuse of Power (New York:The FeministPress, and 1988); Ann Bookmanand SandraMorgan,eds., Women the Politics of TempleUniversityPress, 1987);KarenSacks, Empowerment (Philadelphia: Caringby the Hour (Chicago:Universityof Illinois Press, 1988). For a sowomensee ciologicalanalysisof communityactivismamongAfro-American Backthe Oceanwitha Broom,"TheBlack Gilkes, "Holding CherylTownsend Woman (BeverlyHills, Calif.: Sage Publications,1980). 3. For two exceptionsto this criticism, see SaraEvans,Bornfor Liberty, A Historyof Women America(New York:The Free Press, 1989),andBetin tina Aptheker, Women's and Work, Consciousness, Tapestries ofLife, Women's the Meaningof Daily Experience(Amherst:The Universityof Massachusetts Press, 1989). For a critique, see Maxine Baca Zinn, LynnWeberCannon, and Bonnie ThorntonDill, "The Costs of ExcluElizabethHigginbotham, sionary Practicesin Women'sStudies,"Signs 11, no. 2 (Winter1986). 4. For cases of grassrootsactivismamong women in Latin America, see Sally W. Yudelman,Hopeful Openings,A Study of Five Women's Developin ment Organizations Latin Americanand the Caribbean(West Hartford, Conn.: Kumarian Press, 1987). For an excellentcase analysisof how informal associationsenlargeand empowerwomen'sworldin ThirdWorldcounAstries, see KathrynS. Marchand RachelleL. Taqqu,Women's Informal sociations in DevelopingCountries,Catalysts Change?(Boulder,Colo.: for WestviewPress, 1986). Also, see CarmenFeijo6, "Womenin Neighbourhoods: From Local Issues to GenderProblems,"CanadianWoman Studies 6, no. 1 (Fall 1984) for a concise overview of the patternsof activism. 5. The relationship betweenCatholicism politicalactivismis variedand and In not unitary. some MexicanAmerican activism relies communities, grassroots on parishnetworks.See Isidro D. Ortiz, "ChicanoUrban Politics and the Politics of Reformin the Seventies,"The Western Political Quarterly no. 37, 4 (December1984): 565-77.Also, see Joseph D. Sekul, "Communities Organizedfor PublicService:CitizenPowerand PublicPowerin SanAntonio," in Latinosand the PoliticalSystem,editedby F ChrisGarcia(NotreDame, Ind.: Universityof Notre Dame Press, 1988). Sekul tells how COPS members challengedprevailingpatternsof power by workingfor the well-being of families and cites four formerpresidentswho were Mexican American women, but he makes no special point of gender. 6. I also interviewedother membersof the CoalitionAgainst the Prison and local politicaloffice representatives. a generalreference,see James For P. Spradley, Ethnographic The Interview and (New York:Holt, Rinehart Winston, 1979). For a review essay focused on the relevancyof the methodfor examiningthe diversityof women's experiences, see Susan N. G. Geiger, Life MethodandContent," "Women's Histories: Signs 11,no. 2 (Winter 1982): 334-51. 7. Duringthe last five years, over 300 newspaperarticleshave appeared on the issue. FrankVillalobosgenerouslysharedhis extensivenewspaper ar"L.A. PrisonBill 'LockedUp' in New chiveswith me. See Leo C. Wolinsky, Clash," Los Angeles limes, 16 July 1987, sec. 1, p. 3; Rudy Acufia, "The Fate of East L.A.: One Big Jail,"Los Angeles Herald Examiner,28 April 1989, A15; CarolinaSerna, "EastsideResidentsOppose Prison,"La Gente UCLAStudent Newspaper17,no. 1 (October1986):5; Daniel M. Weintraub, Who Left Sickbedto CastVote," Angeles Fee Los "10,000 Paidto Lawmaker Times, 13 March 1988, sec. 1, p. 3. 8. CerrellAssociates, Inc., "PoliticalDifficultiesFacingWaste-to-Energy Conversion PlantSiting,"ReportPrepared California for WasteManagement Board, Stateof California(Los Angeles, 1984): 43. 9. JesusSanchez,"TheEnvironment: WhoseMovement?" TomorCalifornia row 3, nos. 3 & 4 (Fall 1988): 13.Also see RudyAcufia,A Community Under UCLA, Siege (Los Angeles: ChicanoStudiesResearchCenterPublications, 1984). The book and its title capturethe sentimentsandthe historyof a community that bears an unfairburdenof city projectsdeemed undesirable by all residents. 10. JamesVigil, Jr., field representative Assemblywoman for GloriaMoPersonal 1989.Vigil Whittier, lina, 1984-1986, Interview, Calif., 27 September statedthatthe Department Corrections of used a threefoldstrategy: political pressurein the legislature,the promise of jobs for residents,and contracts for local businesses. J. 11.Edward Boyerand MaritaHernandez,"EastsideSeethesover Prison Plan," Los Angeles limes, 13 August 1986, sec. 2, p. 1. 12. Martha for administrative assistant AssemblyMolina-Aviles, currently womanLucilleRoybal-Allard, assembly fieldrepresen56th and district, former tative for Gloria Molina when she held this assembly seat, PersonalInterview, Los Angeles, 5 June 1989. Molina-Aviles,who grew up in East Los Angeles, used her experiencesand insightsto help forgestronglinks among the womenin MELA, othermembers the coalition,andthe assembly of office.

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of 13. MELAhas also opposedthe expansion a countyprisonliterally across the streetfromWilliamMeadHousingProjects, hometo 2,000 Latinos, Asians, and Afro-Americans, and a chemical treatmentplant for toxic wastes. 14. The firstof its kindin a metropolitan area,it wouldburn125,000 pounds per day of hazardouswastes. For an excellentarticle that links recentstrugin gles againsthazardouswaste dumps and incinerators minoritycommuniRaties and featureswomen in MELA, see Dick Russell, "Environmental cism: MinorityCommunitiesand Their BattleagainstToxics,"TheAmicus Journal 11, no. 2 (Spring 1989): 22-32. for 15. Miguel G. Mendivil, field representative AssemblywomanLucille 56th assembly district,PersonalInterview,Los Angeles, 25 Roybal-Allard, April 1989. 16. John Garcia and Rudolfode la Garza, "Mobilizingthe Mexican ImThe PolitiThe Role of MexicanAmericanOrganizations," Western migrant: cal Quarterly38, no. 4 (December 1985): 551-64. 17. This concept is discussed in relationto Latino communitiesin David T. Abalos, Latinos in the US., The Sacredand the Political (Indiana:Uniof versityof Notre Dame Press, 1986). The notion of transformation traditionalculturein strugglesagainstoppressionis certainlynot a new one. For a brief essay on a longer work, see FrantzFanon, "AlgeriaUnveiled,"The New LeftReader,editedby CarlOglesby(New York:GrovePress, Inc, 1969): 161-85. 18. KarenSacks, Caringby the Hour. 19. JuanaGutierrez,PersonalInterview, Boyle Heights,East Los Angeles, 15 January1988. 20. Erlinda Robles,Personal Interview, Boyle Heights,Los Angeles, 14September 1989. 21. Mina Davis Caulfield, "Imperialism, Family,and Culturesof Rethe sistance,"Socialist Revolution29 (1974):67-85. 22. ErlindaRobles, PersonalInterview. 23. Ibid. 24. JuanaGutierrez,PersonalInterview. 25. FrankVillalobos,architect urbanplanner,PersonalInterview,Los and Angeles, 2 May 1989. is 26. The law student,Veronica of Gutierrez, the daughter JuanaGutierrez, one of the cofoundersof MELA. MartinGuti6rrez,one of her sons, was a for field representative Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard also cenand tralto communitymobilization.RicardoGutierrez,Juana's husband,and almostall the otherfamilymembersarecommunity activists.They are a microcosm of the family networksthat strengthened communitymobilizationand the CoalitionAgainstthe Prison. See Raymundo Beatrice Reynoso, "Juana Gutierrez:La incansablelucha de una activistacomunitaria," Opinion, La 6 Agosto de 1989, Acceso, p. 1, and Louis Sahagun, "The Mothersof East L.A. Transform Los Themselvesand TheirCommunity," Angeles Times, 13 August 1989, sec. 2, p. 1. 27. FrankVillalobos, PersonalInterview. 28. FatherJohn Moretta,Resurrection Parish, PersonalInterview,Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, 24 May 1989. 29. The Plaza de Mayo mothersorganizedspontaneously demandthe to returnof their missing children, in open defianceof the Argentinemilitary For to dictatorship. a brief overviewof the group and its relationship other in women'sorganizations Argentina,and a synopsis of the criticism of the Ormothersthat reveals ideological camps, see Gloria Bonder, "Women's in Transition Democracy," Women Counter to in and ganizations Argentina's Cohen (New York:Black Rose Books, 1989):65Power,editedby Yolanda 85. There is no direct relationship between this group and MELA. 30. AuroraCastillo, PersonalInterview,Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, 15 January1988. 31. AuroraCastillo, PersonalInterview.

32. ErlindaRobles, PersonalInterview. 33. Ibid. 34. Reynoso, "Juana Beatriz Gutierrez,"p. 1. 35. For historicalexamples, see Chris Marin, "La Asociaci6n HispanoAmericanade MadresY Esposas: Tucson'sMexican AmericanWomenin WorldWarII," RenatoRosaldoLectureSeries 1: 1983-1984(Tucson, Ariz.: MexicanAmericanStudiesCenter,Universityof Arizona,Tucson, 1985)and Judy Auletteand TrudyMills, "SomethingOld, SomethingNew: Auxiliary Workin the 1983-1986 CopperStrike,"FeministStudies 14, no. 2 (Summer 1988): 251-69. 36. Mina Davis Caulfield, "Imperialism,the Family and Cultures of Resistance." 37. AuroraCastillo, PersonalInterview. 38. As reconstructed JuanaGutierrez,RicardoGutierrez,and Aurora by Castillo. 39. AuroraCastillo, PersonalInterview. 40. JuanaGutierrez,PersonalInterview. 41. Lucy Ramos, PersonalInterview,Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, 3 May 1989. 42. Ibid. 43. Foran overviewof contemporary ThirdWorldstruggles environagainst mentaldegradation, Alan B. Durning,"Savingthe Planet,"TheProgressee sive 53, no. 4 (April 1989): 35-59. 44. John Loganand HarveyMolotch, UrbanFortunes(Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress, 1988). Loganand Molotchuse the term in reference to a coalition of business people, local politicians, and the media. 45. Mike Davis, "Chinatown, Two?The Internationalization DownPart of town Los Angeles,"New Left Review,no. 164 (July/August1987): 64-86. 46. PaulOng, TheWidening and Povertyin Los Divide, IncomeInequality Angeles (Los Angeles: The ResearchGroupon the Los Angeles Economy, 1989). This UCLA-based studydocumentsthe growinggap between"haves" and "havenots"in the midstof the economic boom in Los Angeles. According to economists,the studymirrorsa nationaltrendin which rising employment levels are failingto lift the poor out of povertyor boostthe middleclass; see Jill Steward,"Two-Tiered EconomyFearedas Dead End of Unskilled," Los Angeles 7imes,25 June1989,sec. 2, p. 1. At the same time, the California prisonpopulationwill climb to more than twice its designedcapacityby 1995. See Carl Ingram, "New ForecastSees a WorseJam in Prisons,"Los Angeles limes, 27 June 1989, sec. 1, p. 23. 47. The pointthaturbanlanduse policiesarethe products class struggleof both cause and consequence-is made by Don Parson, "The Development of Redevelopment: PublicHousingand UrbanRenewalin Los Angeles,"International Journalof Urbanand Regional Research no. 4 (December1982): 6, 392-413.Parsonprovidesan excellentdiscussionof the working-classstrugof renewalin the 1950s, gle forhousingin the 1930s,the counterinitiative urban and the inner city revoltsof the 1960s. 48. Louise Tilly, "Paths Proletarianization: of of Organization Production, Sexual Division of Labor,and Women'sCollective Action,"Signs 7, no. 2 "Women's Social Mission,"Women Have 400-17;Alice Kessler-Harris, (1981): N.Y.: The FeministPress, 1981):102-35.For (Old Westbury, Always Worked a literature reviewof women'sactivismduringthe ProgressiveEra, see MarWomen'sRoles in PoliticalVolunilyn Gittelland TeresaShtob, "Changing and the AmericanCity, edited teerism'andReformof the City,"in Women by CatharineStimpsonet al. (Chicago:Universityof Chicago Press, 1981): 64-75. 49. KarenSacks, Caringby the Hour, arguesthatoften the significanceof women's contributions not "seen" because they take place in networks. is 50. AuroraCastillo, PersonalInterview.