Ruiz 1

Lucia Ruiz Amador

Oscar Casteñeda

CHSTU 254 A

12 June 2021

Hidden history: Latinas in the Pacific Northwest

It is repetitive in nature and seen many times throughout history, woman’s

accomplishments not being heard of or celebrated. While it is already difficult as it is to learn

about BIPOC history without it being twisted or distorted, learning about BIPOC women’s

accomplishments is more complicated and not as talked about compared to their male

counterparts. There is a deep history of Latinx and Chicanx history in the Pacific Northwest, so

why is there a lack of Latina and Chicana accomplishments missing compared to their male

counterparts? This is not discrediting any work Chicanos or Latinos have done, but a simple

observation. While El Movimiento era in the Pacific Northwest does have prominent female

activists that were crucial in various projects and protests there is still a disconnect and lack of

acknowledgment about present Chicana and Latina accomplishments. This being especially odd

since the 21st century is full of various platforms where these accomplishments can be share, as

well as history. So why is it not and what is preventing them from being shared?

To put into context, there is a fair share of Latina and Chicana accomplishments in the

Pacific Northwest. Most notably during El Movimento era where female activists played a

crucial role in the formation of El Centro de la Raza. These notable women are Gloria Rivera,

Graciela Gonzalez, Theresa Aragon, and Estela Ortega. They were prominent activists in
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Seattle’s Chicanx community in the early 1970s. However, there was an active minimization of

Chicana efforts during this era. As Aguirre mentions, the mural painted in El Centro de la Raza,

named An Explosion Chicano Creativity, was created by the painter DeSiga to “pay homage to

women who were involved with the takeover [of old Beacon school that would later become El

Centro de la Raza]” (Aguirre, 174). Yet it this very same mural would play a part in Chicanx

politics, as it would give Chicanos voice and would “minimize Chicanas active participation”

(Augrrie, 174). It is interesting to see this pattern repeat itself throughout history, even if there

are accomplishments they are minimized or there is some form of erasure. This would later be

fixed in 1997 when the DiSiga revisited the mural and would expand upon it to include more,

most noticeably women’s labor.

As Chicanas became involved with activism, they also had to balance their lives at home.

One such Chicana was Gonzalez, who would have conflicts with her husband, who also

participates in activism, and would express his displeasure with her participation as if affected

their home routine. Gonzalez would manage this by “[taking] her children with her to movement

events, and counseled her husband” (Aguirre, 185). As women in a patriarchal dominating

society, even with the most “woke” partners, there can still be traces of sexism.

Especially if it disrupts a previously established routine. This could be a potential factor

as to why Chicana’s accomplishments are not as shared. Although it is no longer the 1970s or

1990s, any disruption to routine is not taken lightly. If minimizing Chicana’s participation in

activism, that could lead to accomplishments, is routine. Then a disrupting the routine could lead

to backlash instead of positive feedback. This can also be seen as far as Chicanx and Latinx

education or the lack of.

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An additional factor that contributes to the lack of acknowledgment of Chicana or Latina

accomplishments is the lack of Chicanx and Latinx history taught in public high schools. The

little that is spoken about always revolve around the Zoot Riots, which was a majority of men, or

history not around the area.

From personal experience, when talking a Spanish class (called “Heritage Spanish” for

Spanish speakers) taught history, the teacher would focus on Spaniard history. Additionally, the

Spanish taught would be completely different compared to what most students knew. Many

students being Chicanx themselves, or Central Americans spoke Spanish native to their parent’s

country. It did not make any sense for the Spanish to be taught to be Castellano instead of the

more commonly used Spanish.

A student who expressed her concern about the lack of Latinx history, Jayline Gomez,

criticized her school district, the New Haven school system, which “prides itself on celebrating

diversity yet students only learn about Hispanic and Latinx history during Hispanic Heritage

Month” (Peak). While this school district may be on the east side of the country, nowhere near

the Pacific Northwest, it still applies nationwide. The U.S has a history of erasing, distorting, or

diluting BIPOC history in order to make it more digestible for White Americans. Simply put,

“the past is made into history - constructed into analysis, narrated into interpretation, fashioned

into stories…. Remain[ing] susceptible to the professional historian’s influence or control” (Eley,

527). Most historians are predominantly white, meaning that history will be written and has been

write by the myopic white lens that is heavily rooted in white supremacy.

To remedy this, history can be approached in a different manner by a different type of

historian, activists. Greenhouse takes note that “noted Chicana feminists such Gloria
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Anzaldùa…as well as Black feminists… turn to children’s literature or youth-centric literature as

a means to confront social injustice in American society” (Greenhouse). However, this approach

could potentially be applied to historians when talking about BIPOC history. Approaching it in

such a manner that also acknowledges the injustices as a way to start the conversation. From

there, the distortion is lessened and could potentially make that conversation easier to have. In

turn, this could allow for narrative unheard of or minimize, to be heard.

Media also plays a major role in the acknowledgment of Chicana and Latina

accomplishments. But much like history, most media is heavily rooted in white supremacy and

colonialism. While Cordes speaks more about the Indigenous aspect, due to the

misrepresentation of Indigenous lifes in various events around the U.S (a football mascot being

one of these gross misrepresentations), her main argument still stands. That is that “anticolonial

media literacy can support students [and people] in detecting colonial logics within media

representations” (Cordes). Once people obtain anticolonial media literacy, not only are there

more people willing to learn about Chicanx and Latinx history, the barriers are removed.

Revealing more narratives the previously anticipated.

The lack of representation and acknowledgment for their accomplishments, Latinas in the

Pacific Northwest according to the 2000 census would, despite the region being over 7.8 percent

Latinos, the “historiography of Latinas in this area remains almost nonexistent” (Ruiz, 25). This

would contribute heavily to the lack of acknowledgment of Latina and Chicana accomplishments

since there are none to acknowledge. But even then, in the work palace, Latinas can not seem to

celebrate their victories. In a study investigating the relationship between Latina teachers (both

bilingual) and their white colleagues, it would be discovered that “the participants’ competence
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stirred jealousy and fear among the colleagues who displayed emotionally drive responses, such

as microaggressions” (Amos). Even when the participants, specifically the Latina teachers, were

willing to establish positive relations with their colleagues, there was a “white radical frame

throughout their school systematically alienated them” (Amos). This can even be seen in a

teacher education program in Utah, which is predominantly white. That there is a “choque”

between “Chicana/Latina prospective teachers’s definition of being a maestra and their programs

decontextualized” (Martinez). Much like Amos’s study, Latina/Chicana teachers expressed their

feelings of being alienated and marginalized. It is apparent that even in the workplace, there can

not be any acknowledgment of Chicanas/Latina’s accomplishments because they do not have

time to be congratulated or acknowledged without being alienated.

Most of these factors that contribute to the hidden history of Latinas and Chicanas are

based on barriers that start at a much larger scale. One can not try to fix this disconnect without

acknowledging the patriarchal society that contributes to the microaggressions delt by Latinas

and Chicanas. One must acknowledge that no amount of “wokeness” can prevent backlash for

something out of routine, but one can acknowledge the existence of said routine. It is a simple

task to understand that these barriers exist, however, the work comes in being able to

acknowledge and work to get rid of these barriers. The history of Latinas and Chicanas in the

Pacific Northwest is only “hidden” due to society’s failure to acknowledge decades-long barriers

that gave the impression that there was no history and offer no remedy. This failure has caused

ripples of consequences which has lead to distortion of history, gross misinterpretations, and

alienation in their profession.

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Works Cited

- Aguirre, Michael D. “Excavating the Chicano Movement: Chicana Feminism,

Mobilization, and Leadership at El Centro de La Raza, 1972-1979.” In Chicana Movidas:
New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era, edited by Dionne
Espinoza, Maria Eugenia Cotera, and Maylei Blackwell, 174-188, University of Texas
Press, 2018
- Amos, Yukari Takimoto. “‘Are You Gonna Take My Job Away?’: Latina Bilingual
Education Teachers’ Relationships With White Colleagues in a White Racial Frame.”
Urban Education, vol. 55, no. 4, 2016, pp. 640–666., doi:10.1177/0042085916656900.
- Cordes, Ashley, and Leilani Sabzalian. "The Urgent Need for Anticolonial Media
Literacy." International Journal of Multicultural Education, vol. 22, no. 2, 2020, p. 182+.
Gale Academic OneFile,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A637123499/AONE?u=wash_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid
=ada7809e. Accessed 12 June 2021.
- Eley, Geoff. “The Past Under Erasure? History, Memory, and the Contemporary.” Journal
of Contemporary History, vol. 46, no. 3, 2011, pp. 555–573. 
- Greenlee, Elizabeth G. Homeplaces and Spaces: Black and Brown Feminists and
Girlhood Geographies of Agency, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ann
Arbor, 2019. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/homeplaces-spaces-black-brown-feminists
-girlhood/docview/2182962158/se-2?accountid=14784.
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Líneas:1RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2 Experiences of Chicana/Latina Prospective Teachers
in a Predominantly White Teacher Education Program in Utah, The University of Utah,
Ann Arbor, 2018. ProQuest,
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/em-entre-líneas-experiences-chicana-latin
a/docview/2490599286/se-2?accountid=14784.
- Peak, Christopher. “Latina Student: What About Our History?” New Haven Independent,
New Haven Independent, 13 Nov. 2019,
www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/latin-american_history_curricul
um/.
- Ruiz, Vicki L. and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical
Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press, 2006.