USF Center for Latino Studies in the Americas (CELASA)

As the school year comes to an end, we are reflecting on our amazing Latine Voces Vivas speaker series.

We are so grateful to our amazing guests Alan Pelaez Lopez, desmarie jackson, Myriam Gurba Serrano, Rafael Dumett, and Marcel Pardo Ariza / Studio for joining us this semester and sharing their wonderful work with us!

We would also like to thank our sponsors at CELASA, the University of San Francisco Latin American Studies Program, and USF Critical Diversity Studies for helping make this series possible.

¡Que vivan las voces Latines!

I've helped organize a panel (online & in person) for Latin@ students interested in learning more about graduate school. Please share with anyone that might be interested! Greatly appreciated! We'll also be raffling two copies of Profe Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales' book, The Latinx Guide to Graduate School School!

Register using the link shown below. All are welcome! https://shorturl.at/puxAU

Wrapping up week two of Women's History Month we celebrate Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist and Nobel laureate, Rigoberta Menchú.

Rigoberta Menchú was born on January 9, 1959 to a poor Indian peasant family and raised in the Quiche branch of the Mayan culture. In her early years she helped with the family farm work, either in the northern highlands where her family lived, or on the Pacific coast, where both adults and children went to pick coffee on the big plantations.

Rigoberta Menchú soon became involved in social reform activities through the Catholic Church, and became prominent in the women’s rights movement when still only a teenager. Such reform work aroused considerable opposition in influential circles, especially after a guerilla organization established itself in the area. The Menchú family was accused of taking part in guerrilla activities and Rigoberta’s father, Vicente, was imprisoned and tortured for allegedly having participated in the ex*****on of a local plantation owner. After his release, he joined the recently founded Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC).

In 1979, Rigoberta, too, joined the CUC. That year her brother was arrested, tortured and killed by the army. The following year, her father was killed when security forces in the capital stormed the Spanish Embassy where he and some other peasants were staying. Shortly afterwards, her mother also died after having been arrested, tortured and r***d. Rigoberta became increasingly active in the CUC, and taught herself Spanish as well as other Mayan languages than her native Quiche. In 1980, she figured prominently in a strike the CUC organized for better conditions for farm workers on the Pacific coast, and on May 1, 1981, she was active in large demonstrations in the capital. She joined the radical 31st of January Popular Front, in which her contribution chiefly consisted of educating the Indian peasant population in resistance to massive military oppression.

In 1981, Rigoberta Menchú had to go into hiding in Guatemala, and then flee to Mexico. That marked the beginning of a new phase in her life: as the organizer abroad of resistance to oppression in Guatemala and the struggle for Indian peasant peoples’ rights. In 1982, she took part in the founding of the joint opposition body, The United Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG). In 1983, she told her life story to Elisabeth Burgos Debray. The resulting book, called in English, I, Rigoberta Menchú, is a gripping human document which attracted considerable international attention. In 1986, Rigoberta Menchú became a member of the National Coordinating Committee of the CUC, and the following year she performed as the narrator in a powerful film called When the Mountains Tremble, about the struggles and sufferings of the Maya people. On at least three occasions, Rigoberta Menchú has returned to Guatemala to plead the cause of the Indian peasants, but death threats have forced her to return into exile.

Over the years, Rigoberta Menchú has become widely known as a leading advocate of Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.
The Nobel Peace Prize 1992
NOBELPRIZE.ORG
The Nobel Peace Prize 1992
The Nobel Peace Prize 1992 was awarded to Rigoberta Menchú Tum "for her struggle for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples".

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1992/tum/biographical/

The Nobel Peace Prize 1992 The Nobel Peace Prize 1992 was awarded to Rigoberta Menchú Tum "for her struggle for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples".

Today is International Women's Day during the Women's History Month and we would like to showcase a Latina powerhouse, Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

A native of New York, Sonia Sotomayor has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since October 1998. She has been hailed as "one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting" for her thoughtful opinions,i and as "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity"ii for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project.
Her American story and three decade career in nearly every aspect of the law provide Judge Sotomayor with unique qualifications to be the next Supreme Court Justice. She is a distinguished graduate of two of America's leading universities. She has been a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator. Before she was promoted to the Second Circuit by President Clinton, she was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush. She replaces Justice Souter as the only Justice with experience as a trial judge.
Judge Sotomayor served 11 years on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most demanding circuits in the country, and has handed down decisions on a range of complex legal and constitutional issues. If confirmed, Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed for the Court in the past 70 years. Judge Richard C. Wesley, a George W. Bush appointee to the Second Circuit, said "Sonia is an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind. She brings a wealth of knowledge and hard work to all her endeavors on our court. It is both a pleasure and an honor to serve with her."
In addition to her distinguished judicial service, Judge Sotomayor is a Lecturer at Columbia University Law School and was also an adjunct professor at New York University Law School until 2007.
An American Story
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has lived the American dream. Born to a Puerto Rican family, she grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. Her parents moved to New York during World War II – her mother served in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps during the war. Her father, a factory worker with a third-grade education, died when Sotomayor was nine years old. Her mother, a nurse, then raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, Juan, now a physician in Syracuse. After her father’s death, Sotomayor turned to books for solace, and it was her new found love of Nancy Drew that inspired a love of reading and learning, a path that ultimately led her to the law.
Most importantly, at an early age, her mother instilled in Sotomayor and her brother a belief in the power of education. Driven by an indefatigable work ethic, and rising to the challenge of managing a diagnosis of juvenile diabetes, Sotomayor excelled in school. Sotomayor graduated as valedictorian of her class at Blessed Sacrament and at Cardinal Spellman High School in New York. She first heard about the Ivy League from her high school debate coach, Ken Moy, who attended Princeton University, and she soon followed in his footsteps after winning a scholarship.
At Princeton, she continued to excel, graduating summa cm laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. She was a co-recipient of the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor Princeton awards to an undergraduate. At Yale Law School, Judge Sotomayor served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and as managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order. One of Sotomayor’s former Yale Law School classmates, Robert Klonoff (now Dean of Lewis & Clark Law School), remembers her intellectual toughness from law school: "She would stand up for herself and not be intimidated by anyone." [Washington Post, 5/7/09]
A Champion of the Law
Over a distinguished career that spans three decades, Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system – yielding a depth of experience and a breadth of perspectives that will be invaluable – and is currently not represented -- on our highest court. New York City District Attorney Morgenthau recently praised Sotomayor as an "able champion of the law" who would be "highly qualified for any position in which wisdom, intelligence, collegiality and good character could be assets." [Wall Street Journal, 5/9/09]
A Fearless and Effective Prosecutor
Fresh out of Yale Law School, Judge Sotomayor became an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan in 1979, where she tried dozens of criminal cases over five years. Spending nearly every day in the court room, her prosecutorial work typically involved "street crimes," such as murders and robberies, as well as child abuse, police misconduct, and fraud cases. Robert Morgenthau, the person who hired Judge Sotomayor, has described her as a "fearless and effective prosecutor." [Wall Street Journal, 5/9/09] She was cocounsel in the "Tarzan Murderer" case, which convicted a murderer to 67 and ½ years to life in prison, and was sole counsel in a multiple-defendant case involving a Manhattan housing project shooting between rival family groups.
A Corporate Litigator
She entered private practice in 1984, becoming a partner in 1988 at the firm Pavia and Harcourt. She was a general civil litigator involved in all facets of commercial work including, real estate, employment, banking, contracts, and agency law. In addition, her practice had a significant concentration in intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright and unfair competition issues. Her typical clients were significant corporations doing international business. The managing partner who hired her, George Pavia, remembers being instantly impressed with the young Sonia Sotomayor when he hired her in 1984, noting that "she was just ideal for us in terms of her background and training." [Washington Post, May 7, 2009]
A Sharp and Fearless Trial Judge
Her judicial service began in October 1992 with her appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush. Still in her 30s, she was the youngest member of the court. From 1992 to 1998, she presided over roughly 450 cases. As a trial judge, she earned a reputation as a sharp and fearless jurist who does not let powerful interests bully her into departing from the rule of law. In 1995, for example, she issued an injunction against Major League Baseball owners, effectively ending a baseball strike that had become the longest work stoppage in professional sports history and had caused the cancellation of the World Series the previous fall. She was widely lauded for saving baseball. Claude Lewis of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that by saving the season, Judge Sotomayor joined "the ranks of Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams."
A Tough, Fair and Thoughtful Jurist
President Clinton appointed Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1998. She is the first Latina to serve on that court, and has participated in over 3000 panel decisions, authoring roughly 400 published opinions. Sitting on the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor has tackled a range of questions: from difficult issues of constitutional law, to complex procedural matters, to lawsuits involving complicated business organizations. In this context, Sotomayor is widely admired as a judge with a sophisticated grasp of legal doctrine. "’She appreciates the complexity of issues,’ said Stephen L. Carter, a Yale professor who teaches some of her opinions in his classes. Confronted with a tough case, Carter said, ‘she doesn’t leap at its throat but reasons to get to the bottom of issues.’" For example, in United States v. Quattrone, Judge Sotomayor concluded that the trial judge had erred by forbidding the release of jurors’ names to the press, concluding after carefully weighing the competing concerns that the trial judge’s concerns for a speedy and orderly trial must give way to the constitutional freedoms of speech and the press.
Sotomayor also has keen awareness of the law’s impact on everyday life. Active in oral arguments, she works tirelessly to probe both the factual details and the legal doctrines in the cases before her and to arrive at decisions that are faithful to both. She understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts. For example, In United States v. Reimer, Judge Sotomayor wrote an opinion revoking the US citizenship for a man charged with working for the N***s in World War II Poland, guarding concentration camps and helping empty the Jewish ghettos. And in Lin v. Gonzales and a series of similar cases, she ordered renewed consideration of the asylum claims of Chinese women who experienced or were threatened with forced birth control, evincing in her opinions a keen awareness of those women’s plights.
Judge Sotomayor’s appreciation of the real-world implications of judicial rulings is paralleled by her sensible practicality in evaluating the actions of law enforcement officers. For example, in United States v. Falso, the defendant was convicted of possessing child po*******hy after FBI agents searched his home with a warrant. The warrant should not have been issued, but the agents did not know that, and Judge Sotomayor wrote for the court that the officers’ good faith justified using the evidence they found. Similarly in United States v. Santa, Judge Sotomayor ruled that when police search a suspect based on a mistaken belief that there is a valid arrest warrant out on him, evidence found during the search should not be suppressed. Ten years later, in Herring v. United States, the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion. In her 1997 confirmation hearing, Sotomayor spoke of her judicial philosophy, saying" I don’t believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it." Her record on the Second Circuit holds true to that statement. For example, in Hankins v. Lyght, she argued in dissent that the federal government risks "an unconstitutional trespass" if it attempts to dictate to religious organizations who they can or cannot hire or dismiss as spiritual leaders. Since joining the Second Circuit, Sotomayor has honored the Constitution, the rule of law, and justice, often forging consensus and winning conservative colleagues to her point of view.
A Commitment to Community
Judge Sotomayor is deeply committed to her family, to her co-workers, and to her community. Judge Sotomayor is a doting aunt to her brother Juan’s three children and an attentive godmother to five more. She still speaks to her mother, who now lives in Florida, every day. At the courthouse, Judge Sotomayor helped found the collegiality committee to foster stronger personal relationships among members of the court. Seizing an opportunity to lead others on the path to success, she recruited judges to join her in inviting young women to the courthouse on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and mentors young students from troubled neighborhoods Her favorite project, however, is the Development School for Youth program, which sponsors workshops for inner city high school students. Every semester, approximately 70 students attend 16 weekly workshops that are designed to teach them how to function in a work setting. The workshop leaders include investment bankers, corporate executives and Judge Sotomayor, who conducts a workshop on the law for 25 to 35 students. She uses as her vehicle the trial of Goldilocks and recruits six lawyers to help her. The students play various roles, including the parts of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, Goldilocks and the jurors, and in the process they get to experience openings, closings, direct and cross-examinations. In addition to the workshop experience, each student is offered a summer job by one of the corporate sponsors. The experience is rewarding for the lawyers and exciting for the students, commented Judge Sotomayor, as "it opens up possibilities that the students never dreamed of before." [Federal Bar Council News, Sept./Oct./Nov. 2005, p.20] This is one of many ways that Judge Sotomayor gives back to her community and inspires young people to achieve their dreams.
She has served as a member of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and was formerly on the Boards of Directors of the New York Mortgage Agency, the New York City Campaign Finance Board, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (from the White House Archive)

A Day in the Life of a Supreme Court Justice | The Daily Show

Sonia Sotomayor - A Day in the Life of a Supreme Court Justice | The Daily Show Sonia Sotomayor discusses her children’s book “Just Ask!,” her lifelong battle with diabetes and what people may not understand about the day-to-day duties o...

Day four of Women's History Month we celebrate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is an American Democratic Socialist who made headlines in 2018 by beating a 10-term New York Democrat incumbent in a congressional primary, before becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an American Democratic Socialist who made headlines in 2018 when, at the age of 28, she beat out a 10-term New York Democrat incumbent in a congressional primary.

Today is the first day of Women's History Month and all month we'll be celebrating, remembering and highlighting the work and lives of our powerful Latinx Women.

We beging with Gloria E. Anzaldúa who was a q***r Chicana poet, writer, and feminist theorist. She earned her BA from the University of Texas–Pan American (now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) and her MA in English from the University of Texas at Austin. Her poems and essays explore the anger and isolation of occupying the margins of culture and collective identity. Anzaldúa was awarded the Lambda Le***an Small Book Press Award, a Sappho Award of Distinction, and an NEA Fiction Award, among others. She is the author of several books of poetry, nonfiction, and children’s fiction. Her book Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987) and her essay “La Prieta” are considered groundbreaking works in cultural, feminist, and q***r theories. With Cherríe Moraga, Anzaldúa co-edited the landmark anthology This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981).

Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Poet & Feminist Theorist | LiteraryLadiesGuide Gloria E. Anzaldúa (September 26, 1942 – May 15, 2004) was a q***r Chicana poet, feminist theorist, and writer from the Texas-Mexican border.

Over the last couple of decades, Latino college enrollment had been rising. Latino graduation rates at the high school and college levels also were going up.

There was reason to believe education might finally start to deliver for Latinos as the great equalizer.

Can Latino students get 'educational equity' after the Covid pandemic? As Latino educators met, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona touted Biden's Build Back Better legislation. “We’ve often heard ... that education is the great equalizer. Well, now’s our chance to prove it. "

In a landmark decision, the court decriminalised abortion procedures up to 24 weeks of gestation, paving the way for greater abortion access in the largely Catholic country.

Colombia decriminalises abortion following regional ‘green wave’ Following a trend across Latin America, Colombia decriminalises abortion – making it legal up to 24 weeks.

Are you a community college faculty member in upstate New York? We want to fund your curricular development around themes of racism, dispossession, and migration! Apply by February 22.

You can also join us for upcoming virtual events, including a public lecture on the Freedom on the Move project and a symposium exploring borders, captivity, and memory. Check out our full event listing.

Apply by February 22

Enhance your community college curriculum on racism, dispossession, and migration with a year-long professional development fellowship from Migrations. Selected applicants will receive $1,000 and be matched with partners, such as corresponding scholars and/or content resources.

Community College Professional Development | Migrations | Cornell University Deadline: February 22, 2022 Enhance your community college curriculum on racism, dispossession, and migration with a year-long professional development fellowship from Migrations. Open to community college faculty of any discipline at two-year institutions in upstate New York, selected applicants wi...

A coalition of grassroots immigrant groups and advocates are calling on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to push for immigration reform, after the group failed to embrace the issue in congressional negotiations last year.

In an open letter to the CHC, 31 groups led by Angelica Salas, president of the CHIRLA Action Fund and Gustavo Torres, president of CASA in Action, bemoaned the role of Hispanic Democrats in immigration policy negotiations leading up to the House vote on the Build Back Better bill (BBB).

Grassroots groups 'dismayed by lack of leadership' from Hispanic Caucus on immigration A coalition of grassroots immigrant groups and advocates are calling on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to push for immigration reform, after the group failed to embrace the issue in congressional negotiations last year.

Support is growing in Congress for the “Day Without Immigrants” protest planned for Monday, February 14. The rationale behind the protest led by TikTok star Carlos Eduardo Espina is that immigrant labor underwrites Valentine’s Day every year.

“At a time when many industries say they can’t find workers, this ‘Day Without Immigrants’ sends the message that our economy can’t do without immigrants,” said Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) in a statement on Wednesday.

https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/02/10/dwicongress/

Webinar on COVID and it's impact on Latina Women, 2/25 at 7pm, Scan or register here:
[https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-igpjwqGNfEEggH8zmjWhDJ5KMxZzkR](https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-igpjwqGNfEEggH8zmjWhDJ5KMxZzkR)