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In this world we do not have the luxury to
decide which oppression is more important
- Graciela Sánchez
When one first meets Graciela Sánchez, a petite woman in her early 40's, one receives the impression that she is shy and soft-spoken. Sanchez however, has been making her voice heard for over 15 years in speaking out against racism, sexism, homophobia, and poverty while championing women's empowerment, gay/lesbian liberation, and environmental issues as the head of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Established in 1987, Esperanza's mission is to provide a venue of expression for marginalized groups "whose voices have been muted or strangled" in the past (Noboa 1). While Sanchez and her work at the Esperanza have won praise from many of San Antonio's progressive leaders, she and her organization have also provoked controversy, from more conservative groups. Sanchez remains unflinching and undaunted by the often visceral attacks. Through her leadership the Esperanza has offered highly acclaimed programs in film (Out at the Movies, a gay/lesbian film festival), art (MujerArtes a Latina women's art cooperative) video (Youth Media Program) performance art, music and special presentations which have included a Turkish journalist who discussed freedom of the press in his native country.
Profound influences from Sanchez's family background and Mexican-American culture have contributed to the thrust of Esperanza's mission. Her role models are her parents who instilled the values of sharing and compassion for fellow human beings, the worth of the extended family, the importance of contributing to the community, pride in her Mexican heritage and above all, respect, or respeto for all individuals regardless of their backgrounds and points of view. Reflecting on her youth she states:
Violence wasn't something I understood, and it's been a shock to me to feel the anger and wrath that comes from the very sexist society that we live in which growing up I didn't feel and know. It has only been in my work as an adult that I've seen the ramifications of speaking your mind and being pushed down and squashed by this very male-centered society. Those formative years allowed me to be a strong person and to know what I wanted and needed.
Sanchez rejected male superiority at an early age. While her mother was a housewife and fulfilled traditional roles within the home, she was not submissive. Instead, she was her husband's equal and spoke her mind when she disagreed with him. Her mother was also an activist in the PTA and an advocate for children from single parent households. Her husband, also active in the community, supported her work. Sanchez's father was raised by women and thus supportive of them. Sanchez recalls, "Matriarchy prevailed when my dad was growing up."
Taking her cue from her parents, Sanchez found she could also speak her mind and challenge her father as well as her four brothers. In short, there was "freedom in the family."
Through nightly conversations at the dinner table, an important family ritual, Sanchez learned about discrimination, oppression and injustice, but rarely in black and white terms. She recalls,
I also grasped the complexities - that Latinos could also be part of the problem, particularly when they were after things for the self and not the community. Latinos could also harbor racism, not just whites. Middle class Latinos could also act as gate keepers. I learned about these complexities early on.
Development of a Leader
Sanchez grew up on the Westside of San Antonio and graduated from Lanier High School. As a student, she challenged teachers, protested and organized throughout high school. Her parents supported her and her friends "as long as the complaint was legitimate," she recalls.
As a Yale undergraduate, she became interested in human rights and served as the chair of the campus' MECHA chapter. Yale was also one of the first universities in the country to champion gay/lesbian rights. Sánchez did not reflect upon her own sexuality until she returned home which was unusual for San Antonio lesbians. Most simply did not want to confront immediate and extended family members about their sexuality. For Sanchez, it was a matter of personal integrity: "I wanted to have my whole self everywhere I go and be true to all my identities-all those things that make me (Latina, woman, lesbian).
Sánchez has applied this concept to the Esperanza's mission of "advocating for and affirming the lives and struggles of all people of color, women gay men, lesbians, the working class and poor" (Esperanza basics 1). Until 1987, progressive groups had no place to meet in San Antonio and instead relied on a loose network then called the Interchange. Sanchez and another local activist, Susan Guerra, opened the center on Flores Street in a locale offered by the Oblate Fathers for a dollar per year rent. Sanchez recalls that:
The idea was to bring diverse groups together to talk to one another, to share resources and ideas, to argue and work over difference or accept those differences, to grow stronger together as a united front of social activists, artists, educators, laborers, children and dreamers.
Sánchez also wanted to eliminate sexism, which she found "inherent" during her employment with prominent Hispanic civil rights organizations. She and Guerra wanted to create a more holistic approach to social justice through internal power sharing and a bottom up organizing strategy. There has been strong support for the Esperanza from the diverse segments of the community ranging from white progressives, to the poor and working class. A testament to this has been substantial monetary support for the Esperanza's building purchased in 1994 which was paid in full in September, 2000. Sanchez proudly notes that the $40,000 down payment and financing came primarily from individual donations and fundraising events.
Unlike many well-educated Chicanas educated in Ivy League universities, Sánchez decided to return to her roots and work to improve her community. She explains, "Esperanza was created by people who were born and raised in this town who said, 'we want to change things.' I do my work at home, because if I can't be true to myself in my home, where can I do it?"
Leadership Style
There are several characteristics which attribute to Sanchez's highly effective leadership style. They include her gender, collective decision making, emphasis on the process, and self-empowerment of the rank and file.
For Sanchez, women figure prominently in social justice work, and her organization follows this tradition because women "created the Esperanza and have been the driving force behind it…The energy in the way we deal with problems is very women-centered. As women, we've also been allowed to express ourselves and talk about differences and issues one on one."
While Sanchez is the executive director of Esperanza, she considers herself more of a facilitator rather than a boss. She does not like to impose her ideas. "There's a collective vision; people feel they're a part of it." To accomplish this, communication among members is of the utmost importance. Empowerment of disenfranchised groups requires a process.
A case in point is Esperanza's MujerARTES program, a Latina women's community arts cooperative. Established in 1995, MujerArtes was created to give low income Latinas a voice through art. That voice however, has also served as a vehicle for empowerment. The program is "culturally grounded", as Sanchez puts it, in the idea of the cooperative structure which emphasizes the importance of the group rather than the individual (as in US culture), and ceramics, a medium which Latina women have connected to historically since the Pre-Colombian era. The women, many of whom have received no formal training previously, produce art which is reflective of their lives which they feel is more culturally authentic than catering to the wants of tourism. So reads their mission statement:
MujerARTES is about reclaiming and rediscovering our culture, our identities, and our traditions. It is about working to counter feelings of hate towards our own culture. It is about recapturing our strong voices, our cherished stories. Our wonderful traditions of the Chicana / Indigena / Mestiza community of San Antonio, South Texas and Mexico. It is about recognizing that as women, we are keepers of our own cultures and that it is through us that our traditions will live in future generations.
In addition, the women also learn a craft which they can use to earn extra income as well as further develop their cooperative. Some such as Carmen Medrano note that the program has encouraged them to accomplish personal goals. "These classes have given me the strength and willingness to go back to school to get my diploma" (Arambula 3).
Through MujerARTES, low-income Latina women who have been oppressed in the past have acquired a stronger pride in their culture and higher self-esteem. According to Sánchez, "To be civically engaged such as voting, and standing up for themselves, people must be culturally grounded and have a greater sense of themselves." When the city defunded Esperanza in 1997 because of opposition to its controversial gay/lesbian film festival, the women of MujerARTES "knew they wanted the project so much they were willing to go and speak with city council members and demand the money be reinstated." Council members however, did not return the women's phone calls. Mayor Howard Peak did meet with the group, but did not change his position and while he stated support for their program, he preferred to separate it from the rest of Esperanza and single out the gay/lesbian programs. For many women, it was the first time they had ever contacted elected officials. While they were not successful, the lesson learned was that they should not personalize rejection, but instead realize that they are working against an oppressive system.
Breaking Old Habits and Changing Traditional Relationships
When individuals of diverse backgrounds come together, internal struggles often emerge. Old habits have to be broken in order for the organization to go forward. From its inception, the Esperanza has enlisted the support of White liberal allies many of whom have been the organization's most loyal members. As allies, Whites are equals, not above people of color. At times they may even have to be in the background taking on supporting roles. Sanchez remarks, "It is not always easy and this is part of the struggle because they're used to being in positions of power."
Men also find themselves in a similar situation. Sanchez tries to set an example for them and other allies by letting others act as spokespersons for Esperanza. She frequently refers the press to experts within the rank and file who are more knowledgeable about certain issues than she is. "I don't want to be made into a leader that knows everything because I don't. Men have to give up some of their power and give it to women. It's hard when you've been taught forever to do it the other way. The men who work alongside the women at Esperanza have to be really strong feminists. They struggle." That includes heterosexual Latin men who may often risk being baited as gay if they work with the organization. Sanchez gives the example of a board member who had been discouraged by other Latino men from associating with Esperanza because it has been perceived, albeit wrongly, as a gay/lesbian entity only. After attending his first event, he knew this to be false. Sanchez affirms, "For me, the strength is that he came, he stayed, and as a straight Latino man, he brought in other people."
Respeto es Básico / Respect is Basic: Esperanza v. the City of San Antonio
We have filed this lawsuit to reaffirm that respect is basic - respeto es básico - basic to family, community and democracy…This means we must have respect for other people, other points of view, and even respect for those we don't agree with.
- Graciela Sanchez
For most of her life, Graciela Sanchez has been a fearless and tireless advocate for communities historically excluded from mainstream cultural institutions. On August 4, 1998, the Esperanza Center, along with The Gay/Lesbian Media Project and VAN filed a lawsuit against the City of San Antonio. The suit was the first arts funding legal case since NEA v. Finley, the U.S. Supreme Court's major decision on public arts funding handed down in June, 1998. The Esperanza based its lawsuit on the Court's decision arguing that the government could not discriminate against groups that promote "disfavored viewpoints. The lawsuit, which attracted both local and national attention, "placed San Antonio at the forefront of a new grassroots struggle between right-wing extremists and defenders of personal freedom, cultural expression and civic respect for all communities." (Gay Today 2) The trial was held August 21-25 2000, in the Federal District Court in San Antonio.
In September 1997, after an intense public lobbying campaign by right-wing pressure groups, the San Antonio City Council, in closed backroom meetings, eliminated all public arts funding ($62,000) for the Esperanza and its co-plantiffs. The City gave no official justification why Esperanza was singled out. The move also violated the Texas Public Meetings Act, which requires open and public deliberations. The defunding was criticized as prejudiced because the Esperanza was ranked number one among peer review panels in artistic excellence, audience development and administrative capability during the arts funding process. In addition, the remaining arts organizations suffered only a 15% cut across the board due to a city budget shortfall. The Council made these cuts to implement its agenda of "getting back to basics" and to fund needed services such as street repairs, which one columnist characterized as a "measure that pitted potholes against the luxury of art" (Renaud Gonzalez 1).
While the city funds supported various Esperanza arts programs such as MujerArtes and the Youth Media Project, the spark which ignited the controversy was the center's Out at the Movies, a 4-day gay/lesbian film festival. While the city council gave no official justification for Esperanza's defunding, Mayor Howard Peak told the New York Times that the Esperanza's agenda was more political than artistic. "They seem to go way beyond what people want to spend their money on. That group flaunts what it does - it is an in-your-face organization." (Greene 2) Sanchez calls this the "scapegoating out of queer programming" (Sanchez 8).
She contends that art and politics can not be separated. "The Esperanza Center was founded "with the recognition that art is a symbol of a people's culture an therefore a political act." She doesn't believe "in the separation of arts and politics that is the common experience in this country because both are about making the world a better place." In other words, art should serve as a vehicle for social change. This must go beyond merely fighting for homosexual rights. Sanchez is hurtful that the public has chosen only to focus on the gay/lesbian programming at Esperanza. She asserts:
All of us as are whole selves are part of this institution and of the world. We have to go fully as we vote, as we engage in conversations with our neighbors and family members. We can't just hide parts of ourselves. That's what the media does; that's what family members do. We don't want to know about that part of you. Don't tell us; we'll accept you as long as you don't talk about those things. The Esperanza says no to this. The whole lawsuit makes sure that we talk about the larger issues.
On May 15, 2001, nine months after the trial, Judge Orlando Garcia handed down his decision in favor of the Esperanza on the grounds the City violated the organization's First and 14th Amendment rights. In his ruling he notes:
Clearly, labeling expressions such as "too political" (or "too controversial" or "too offensive") cannot justify - or disguise - viewpoint suppression.. Rather, discriminating against someone on the basis that they are "too political is discriminatory precisely because that person has chosen to express a political viewpoint ( Garcia qtd in Robbins 11a).
To settle the dispute, the City recently paid the Center $500,000 in damages.
In summary, Sanchez's brand of activism is militant, fearless and transparent. It has been greatly influenced by Mexican-American cultural values such as respect and community. She has a personal integrity that is unmatched among our city's leaders. As the person most identified with the Esperanza however, Sanchez insists on a collective voice in leadership. Her ability to bring people of diverse backgrounds together as well as examine the larger context of oppression of disenfranchised groups is extraordinary.
Esperanza Center Homepage
"Council Approves Esperanza Settlement" city attorneys tell City Council to pay rather than fight the settlement
Film, Video and Resistance "Graciela Sanchez wants to change the way we think about films."