Leadership Authenticity
Dr. Josie Danini Supik notes that "Leadership is about being authentic, staying true to what is inside you and letting that spirit and humanity shine through, unfiltered by others' expectations or the fear of change." (2). All four activists have been risk takers and have remained true to their convictions in the face of conflict. Part of this involves a strong sense of self-identity. All five women know who they are, are proud of their cultural heritage and are passionate about their work. Courage, creativity, the love of self and others are additional characteristics of an authentic leader (Cardenas 2).
No Personal Agenda - Our Community Matters More
Intimately tied to leadership authenticity is the lack of a personal agenda in each of the activists examined, thereby excluding position and power. Further, this theme helps us to differentiate the politics between Chicano and Chicana activists. In his book The Illusion of Inclusion: The Untold Political Story of San Antonio, Rodolfo Rosales draws this distinction:
Simply focusing on position and power only gets at individual achievement. It does not get at the current that flows beneath the various descriptions of San Antonio politics. It is there below where Chicanas are forging a politics that begin with community and remains connected to that community's issues, sometimes at the expense of electoral politics or otherwise personal achievements. That is not to say that there are Chicanos who go beyond the personal agenda model of politics in their efforts to connect back the community, but it is Chicana politics which presents this model more clearly (160).
For Berriozabal, this meant voting against major capital improvement projects such as the Alamodome and tax abatements. She questioned the value of these projects because they unduly burdened poor and working class people; generally they were investments industries that would bring low wage jobs. Because she favored social programs that would ultimately improve the status of the disadvantaged, she was perceived as "anti-business." This cost her politically in her mayoral bid against Nelson Wolff in 1991.
Graciela Sanchez, a pioneer in promoting improved racial relations in San Antonio, has also had close ties to her community. As mentioned earlier, she has focused on discrimination and sexism as it affects marginalized, voiceless groups such as low-income women, immigrants and homosexuals. Under her leadership, the Esperanza has received support from diverse segments of San Antonio such as progressive Whites.
Viola Casares and Petra Mata, of Fuerza Unida have tenaciously continued their struggle for garment workers' rights that began with the Levis-Strauss plant closing in 1991. While their efforts began with local Levi workers, it expanded to include Levi employees nationally similarly affected by plant closings. For the last decade, Fuerza Unida has built alliances with other workers' organizations including women in maquiladoras along the border, county public workers and environmental and economic justice groups. In short, "Networking with other organizations is not merely tactical; Fuerza Unida sees the political and economic links between their experiences, other plant closures and other women's struggles." (Martinez 85) The efforts of Fuerza Unida have now moved into a much wider context. Ruben Solis veteran of the 1960's Chicano movement observes, "Fuerza Unida's strength has not been simply to capture the moment as Levi's victims but to capture the essence of class, gender and national solidarity. That adds up to a movement. Nonetheless the organization still maintains close connections to the San Antonio community. Displaced low-income Latina women can rely on Fuerza Unida for emotional and in some cases monetary support through it local women's center. "We are always available to lend a helping hand to any woman who needs it", says Viola Casares.
A primary reason why most Chicana activists go beyond a personal agenda is due to their "gendered experience in a male dominated political and social reality" (Rosales 139). They not only bring different concerns, but also different ways of addressing them. Rosie Castro notes, "Chicanas do bring with them a distinct philosophical view on politics because of their experience as women. Even those who seem to out-compete their male at his own game maintain their connection to the community" (Rosales 139).
During the Chicano movement, Castro refused to accept male domination of Chicana women and pushed for greater female visibility. However, she also believed that Chicanas needed not only to fight for equality within the movement, but also had to make sure they also fought for the rights of all Chicanos. She also refused to be co-opted by the White feminist movement, which in her eyes neglected discrimination of Chicana women as a minority group.
Castro's view of politics also demonstrates a deep desire to promote the common good. She states:
I love politics, and people think politics is bad, but to me politics is really about a democratic process. It's the best system for trying to figure out how you distribute resources in such a manner that the common good is served. We forget that. What politics supposed to be about is the common good. Not the individual good. (De Los Santos 109)
Merging Spirituality with Activism
It is worth mentioning once again Yolanda Tarango's quote related to Hispanic women's spirituality: "In essence, I believe that Hispanic women's religious experience is characterized less by pious practices and holy thoughts and more by a piety of concrete acts of love and justice" (Tarango 14). This was a very important theme present in the work of all four activists, whether or not they professed their spirituality outwardly. Further, all four women displayed "concrete acts of love and justice" at great personal sacrifice.
For Maria Antonietta Berriozabal, the most religious of these activists, the church has always played a very important role in her personal life. During her ten-year tenure on the city council, she continued to listen to her community, particularly those who were devalued by the system. In subsequent years, Berriozabal went through a period of deep introspection to determine how else she could serve the community. She noted in an interview with Maria Durand of the San Antonio Express-News:
I believe you have to look deep inside before going out again. There's a time for everything. To do things quietly is what I need to be doing…There is not only one way to serve. I'm doing this for the first time in my life. It's time for me to replenish myself so I can do better.
For Berriozabal, "doing things quietly" means not seeking elected office and working closely with grassroots organizations as she says "where the people are" such as her local Catholic parish, her neighborhood association, and non-profits like the Esperanza Center and she continues her talks at various educational institutions and her mentoring of young people on an individual basis. In addition, Berriozabal likes to perform spiritual rituals such as moments of reflection and prayer when she makes presentations before groups of community activists. She wants to combine spirituality and activism to "narrow the bridge between the mind and the heart." She says,
I want to be part of a group of people who are trying to better understand that we are spiritual beings and that we have a lot that occurs in our experience that we don't yet comprehend, such as our connectedness with the environment, our interdependence with all creatures and how our spirits can communicate in positive ways for peace. I would like to help integrate that understanding and spirituality that we all possess with activism and work for justice.
Mata and Flores of Fuerza Unida have a fervent dedication exploited female workers and other oppressed groups. Like Berriozabal, they are women of deep religious faith, which has helped them to continue their struggle even in the face of financial ruin. "God always provides," says Viola Casares. It has been 12 years since Fuerza Unida was established. Members have come and gone, yet Viola and Petra have remained to keep the organization alive. When one talks with them about their work, there are moments when both are emotionally overcome when they retell their story. Nevertheless it is evident that both women are truly happy and energized by their work. That can only come from a deep sense of commitment and love for others. Martinez notes, "Somehow their chants didn't sound tired, and their slogans didn't go stale" (83).
Rosie Castro takes a more practical approach to spirituality. In her youth, she recalls that the teaching of the gospel merged with her concern for Chicano civil rights. While she doesn't feel the need to attend religious services, she does have a deep appreciation for theology even though she can not always live in accordance with its tenets. She notes,
The face of God changed some years ago… I am still a Catholic but not one who adheres to everything the bishops and the popes would preach. (De Los Santos 108).
Still, what interests Castro the most is the doctrine of Hispanic Women's Liberation Theology as espoused by Yolanda Tarango and Maria Isasi-Diaz which calls for the liberation of the sexes rather than their equality.
People are looking not for the equality of the sexes, but instead their liberation. We're free from having to look at each other in terms of role constraints. I really like that concept. The vestiges of sexism remain in the workplace and in particular through sexual harassment… I just don't see how anyone can believe that inherently, a woman is intellectually, physically or spiritually inferior to a man.
This doctrine also denounces all forms of patriarchy, whether they are in the Catholic Church or in other institutions. Graciela Sanchez has fought against patriarchy for most of her life. She believes that all racism and other forms of oppression stem from a male dominated system.
Empowerment
All of the activists' leadership involve the empowerment of others, particularly women and marginalized groups. During her tenure city council, Maria Antonietta Berriozabal appointed 102 women to municipal boards and commissions; Hispanic women filled 82 of these positions. This opportunity provided valuable experience for talented women to gain leadership skills. For most, it was their first appointment, "then they ran with it,." says Berriozabal. In 1983, Berriozabal established Hispanas Unidas, a networking organization for Latina women. The group still exists today. Berriozabal takes great pride in these efforts.
When you take all of us together after 15-20 years, I look back and what I see is that we learned we had authority and power. When one looks at the names on steering committee lists of Hispanias Unidas Conferences we had in the late 80's to the mid 90's, one notes that these women are now elected officials, heads of non-profit groups, business and political leaders, university and college administrators and faculty. They are all still helping other women. Hispanas Unidas now has new leadership, They continue to pave new ground to make life better for Latinas, particularly young girls.
At the grassroots level, Berriozabal taught her constituents how to organize to obtain needed services for their neighborhoods. They learned by doing; this included filing petitions, personally contacting city council members and other officials and making their voices heard at city council meetings.
Graciela Sanchez has also taken this same approach. One of the purposes of Esperanza is to give groups who have been oppressed in the past a voice. Through many of its arts programs such as MujerARTES, women have not only received artistic training, but have also the opportunity to "tell their personal stories through art" (Sanchez). This increased their self-esteem, helped them to promote their culture through artistic expression, provided extra income. Sanchez also believes strongly in collective leadership and power sharing. She dislikes being the sole spokesperson for Esperanza and frequently relies on others who have the expertise she lacks to speak about specific issues. In the present lawsuit against the city regarding Esperanza's defunding due to a controversial film festival, Sanchez and other key individuals have implemented highly effective community organizing strategies to build public support for Esperanza's cause. For example prior to the federal court case against the City of San Antonio, there were mock trials to prepare for the trial, street theater and public education forums. These strategies mobilized and excited Esperanza's constituents and gave them cause for optimism. The campaign also included the theme Todos somos Esperanza (We are ALL Esperanza).
Rosie Castro strongly believes in empowering other women. Long after her fervent activist days with Raza Unida, she continues to fight for greater opportunities for women, particularly in the workplace. However unlike Maria Antonietta Berriozabal, she believes that women can make the greatest impact in politics so that they can effect public policy. She notes:
Women tend to deal with the soft issues such as social services and education Well, if those are really "soft" services, then we're all in trouble. We need more women in that political pipeline, in the decision-making process to help steer the vision from brick and mortar issues. It shouldn't be an either/or situation, but it is. There's so much emphasis on the building of arenas with millions of dollars involved when you have downtown UTSA needing $50,000,000 to do some programs. Women could really do a lot to change that emphasis…We're not as tied up with whether we're going to have a basketball team in town as whether we're going to have adequate education and health care. We need to nurture women who will run for public office, lead this city and decide how resources will be allocated (Castro).
Finally, the story of Fuerza Unida under the leadership of Petra Mata and Viola Casares is all about the empowerment of low-income women of color. On one level this empowerment is a personal transformation in which women become social agents of change in a wider context. Mata explains:
When we used to work for Levi's, they would lecture us, blah,blah,blah. And we would say, "Yes, sir, whatever you say, sir." Now we say, "Wait a minute, is that fair? Is that right?" At the beginning of the boycott we tried to hide our faces behind the picket signs. Now we show our faces proudly. After losing our jobs, we discovered a whole big world out there we met so many good people who care about us and our struggle, just as we care about them and their struggles (Martinez 86).
Advocating for other Levi-Strauss workers across the country and forming alliances with a variety of social justice grassroots organizations has played an important role in this process; it demonstrates a keen awareness of the political and economic links between Fuerza Unida's experience and other women's struggles (Martinez 85).
In the midst of losing their jobs, Mata and Casares have consistently helped exploited Latina women help themselves. In her book, De Colores Means All of Us, Elizabeth Martinez observes:
Fuerza Unida has also met the difficult challenge of how to keep going. It has created a center for low-income women and continued its earlier programs, as well as teaching grassroots organizing, building leadership and business skills for women, and teaching them workers' and civil rights. With its overall goal of empowering working-class women and women of color, Fuerza Unida has grown to be an invaluable resource in that Texas city named for the patron saint of the poor (90).
In conclusion, these Chicana activists - Graciela Sanchez, Maria Antonietta Berriozabal, Rosie Castro, Petra Mata and Viola Casares - are authentic in their leadership, selfless in their deep concern for their community, spiritual in their relationships with others and tenacious in their desire to empower others rather than themselves. Their work serves as an inspiration to others who struggle for social justice. There's an old adage that says "You can't change the world". While this may be true, these courageous women have managed to change a small part of it. Fuerza Unida's powerful slogan says it all: La mujer luchando; el mundo transformando!