8 Latinas Every American Woman Should Thank
Our sheroes son sus sheroes!
Save for International Women’s Day, it's rare to hear or read anything about the ways in which Latinas have impacted women’s lives both in the U.S. and worldwide. Why is that? Was it decided somewhere along the way that women of color had their own sheroes – heroines who fought for some odd form of equality that is not, in fact, “for all” but just for them? It sometimes feels like that’s the case.
Yet while Latinas have benefited from all of the hard work and advocacy demonstrated by non-Latina feminists, civil rights leaders and authors, all Americans have benefited greatly from the advocacy and general badassery demonstrated by Latinas in America.
So in the name of sisterhood and all that jazz, here are some of our heroes, because, honestly, whether you’re a non-Latina woman or a man or whatever, they’re your heroines, too.
Here are 8 (to name only a few) Latinas who’ve changed the ways in which we all view our bodies, sex, race and the world. You’re welcome!
latino voices | tanisha love ramirez
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"By the 90s, I could write what I couldn’t write in the 60s, and what, in a way, I couldn’t even fully imagine. You move along with your time."
Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights Activist
Dolores Huerta started advocating for women’s rights following a brutal attack sustained during a peaceful and lawful protest of the policies of then-president George H.W. Bush in 1988. For two years, the award-winning civil rights activist and labor leader toured the country on behalf of the Feminist Majority’s Feminization of Power: 50/50 by the year 2000 Campaign. In 2002, Huerta founded the aptly named Dolores Huerta Foundation, an organization that offers members programs such as the “Weaves Movements Together,” an initiative dedicated to raising awareness of women’s rights and gay rights, as well as immigrant rights and labor rights.
Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has sworn to protect and uphold the law for all United States citizens, not just Latinos. In her career so far, Sotomayor has rendered rulings in cases involving everything from Miranda rights violations to the protection of freedom of speech. In July 2014, she voted against an injunction that would allow Wheaton College some exemption from complying with Affordable Care Act’s mandate on contraception.
Vilma Socorro Martinez, Attorney
We can, in part, thank Vilma Socorro Martinez Affirmative Action. Martinez served as the attorney for the petitioner in the case of Griggs v. Duke Power Company, a landmark case that ultimately went before the U.S. Supreme Court, where it became the catalyst for the doctrine of affirmative action. The Griggs case brought to the Court’s attention that even if a company hired candidates solely on the basis of their training – and it could be proven that minorities had in the past faced obstacles to receiving such training – then the training requirements for the job were discriminatory. Partly in response to the Griggs case, the federal government mandated a nationwide policy of affirmative action in 1972.
Rosario Dawson and Maria Teresa Kumar,
Co-Founder and President Of Voto Latino
Co-founded by Rosario Dawson and led by CEO and founding President Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino was launched with all millennials in mind. According to the non-partisan organization’s website, Voto Latino was founded on “the belief that Latino issues are American issues and American issues are Latino issues,” and “is dedicated to bringing new and diverse voices to develop leaders by engaging youth, media, technology and celebrities to promote positive change.”
Sylvia Méndez, Civil Rights Activist
Schools were still segregated in Santa Ana, California when Sylvia Mendez and her family came to town in the 1940s. When Mendez and her brothers were denied access to an all-white elementary school, her parents filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against the school district. On February 18, 1946, Judge Paul J. McCormick ruled in favor of Mendez, making her one of the first Hispanics to attend an all-white school. Mendez’s case ended de jure segregation in California, setting a precedent for Brown vs. Board of Education seven years later, which brought an end to school segregation in the entire country.
Antonia Novello, Former U.S. Surgeon General
During her tenure as Surgeon General under then- president George H.W. Bush, Antonia Novello worked tirelessly to educate parents about the benefits of early childhood immunizations, advocate for policies prohibiting family planning program workers who received federal money from discussing abortion with their patients, and took R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to task for using cartoons such as Joe Camel to appeal to younger consumers. Joe Camel was retired in 1997 after a nine-year battle with several Surgeons General (including Novello), the American Medical Association, Congress and various public interest groups.
Rita Moreno, Actress and Singer
Many of today’s established and rising Latina starlets and Hollywood heroines alike were inspired by legendary actress and singer Rita Moreno. During the 25th annual GLAAD Media Awards, Jennifer Lopez spoke about how watching Moreno in "West Side Story" made her feel anything was possible. “She changed my life,” Lopez said after Moreno presented her with the Vanguard Award. “Watching this beautiful, strong Puerto Rican woman command a screen with her talent in a time when Latina women did not have every door in this industry open to them made me feel as a little girl, watching in her living room in the Bronx, that anything was possible. Anything. Thank you for that.” "Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez echoed J.Lo’s sentiments in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last summer. “I used to think that we [Latinos] didn’t even exist,” she said. “and then to see Rita do it, I just realized we needed to make a stronger impact.”
Opener: Wierimage. Huerta - Cathy Murphy via Getty Images. Sotomayer - Justin Sullivan via Getty Images. Martinez - Getty. Dawson/Kumar - Larry French via Getty Images. Mendez - USDAgov/Flickr. Novello - Scott Gries via Getty Images. Moreno - Maarten de Boer via Getty Images