Anthropologist Kathleen M. Coll will present her book Remaking Citizenship: Latina Immigrants and New American Politics, recently published by Stanford University Press, at Modern Times Bookstore on May 27.
Coll’s book focuses on a study of the diverse cultural and political forms that the word and condition of “citizenship” implies for different individuals. What the term implies varies by person—depending on his or her country of origin, class, race, ethnicity and gender. Her research centers on the work of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), a social advocacy organization lead by Latina immigrant women. The book gives the reader a clear, comprehensive and entertaining view of the Bay Area organization.
As part of National Women’s Month, the group was recognized for its work over the last 20 years by District 9 Supervisor David Campos on March 30.
MUA was created in response to constant attacks against immigrants and because of the necessity to educate Latina female immigrants about their rights in the workplace, as well as the health and education of their children. It was formed by two immigrant woman Clara Luz Navarro y Maria Olea under the auspices of the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
As explained on their website, MUA is “a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women with a dual mission of personal transformation and community power.” In order to carry out this twofold endeavor, MUA has adopted an extensive array programs that include self-help groups that provide support systems for its participants, workshops that cover items such as immigrant rights and domestic violence, vocational training for domestic work, and community campaigns that focus on social justice advocacy.
Many MUA members consider the organization’s work transformational for the women who participate in the support groups, workshops and the political mobilization campaigns.
As the title suggests, Coll — who’s book has yet to be published in Spanish — considers MUA a clear example of “remaking citizenship,” emphasizing that citizenship is not a rigid condition or category, but a dynamic process and development for rights, equality and dignity.
“The stories of the women of MUA challenge us to rethink how we understand citizenship, (since) they inform us that [citizenship] implies praxis and a fight in diverse social situations and relations,” said Coll, who’s also a member of the organization’s board of directors.
One important aspect Coll points out is the link that MUA makes between “the private and public spaces of political subjectivity.” In their work and daily fight, women “learn to talk,” to demand a voice of authority in their families, communities and country, to work in solidarity, and to form grassroots organizations that promote self esteem while enabling them to maneuver political and legal justice systems.
For Coll, this journey towards empowerment highlight attempts to marginalize women, immigrants and Latinos from political participation. The organized growth of MUA, including its swelling membership ranks, and its prominence on a national stage point to the group’s longevity.
According to Coll, lower-income immigrant women will continue to have an important role in their local communities and in the political circles of their cities and towns. The recognition of this fact demands a reformulation of the image of the Latino immigrant: from a border-crosser or a disposable worker to an active participant in the political and cultural life of his or her community.
In other words, according to Coll, the examples displayed by women immigrant workers “are important to the understanding of how the marginalized or powerless citizens are not only able to dissent with the ideologies of exclusion, but can also offer resources and models for a more inclusive, dynamic and liberating political practice.”
Now as state of Arizona enacted SB 1070 — with a number of other states considering similar anti-immigrant legislation — organizations such as MUA and books like that of Kathleen Coll have taken on a poignant new significance. They show that unity, perseverance and solidarity constitute fundamental elements in the struggle for human rights and social and economic justice.
MUA participated in the protest on May 1 in San Francisco and Oakland. In Oakland, MUA was one of the organizing groups. MUA has opposed the enacted law in Arizona, considering it to be “racist and designed to intimidate immigrants, with a scope that can extend to the application of harassment tactics.”
Juanita Flores, co-director of MUA, will travel to Geneva at the end of May to participate in a meeting organized by the United Nations in hopes of developing an international agreement on female workers’ rights.
When asked to express in a few words the achievements of the organization, Flores said that “before arriving at MUA, it’s like being blind, deaf and without hands; but when you get here, you begin to see, hear and — above all else — the soul begins to heal.”
The presentation of Kathleen Coll’s book, together with participation of members of MUA, will take place on Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. at Modern Times bookstore, 888 Valencia St., between 19th and 20th Streets, in the Mission. The anniversary gala will occur on October 2 in Oakland.
Graciela Trevisan is a translator and writer, and is in charge of the Spanish literature section of Modern Times bookstore. Her email address is moderntimesbookstore@hotmail.com.
–Translated by Bethy Hardeman