Comisiã³n Femenil Mexicana Nacional Archives
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn18kd No online items Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional Archives CEMA 30 Finding aid prepared by Director Salvador Güereña, and principle processor Alexander Hauschild UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California, 93106-9010 Phone: (805) 893-3062 Email: [email protected]; URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections Comisión Femenil Mexicana CEMA 30 1 Nacional Archives CEMA 30 Title: Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional Archives Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 30 Contributing Institution: UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections Language of Material: English Physical Description: 37.0 linear feet80 boxes, cassettes, and videos. Date (inclusive): 1967-1997 Abstract: The Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional (CFMN), Inc. was founded in 1970 to organize and network with women so that they might assume leadership positions within the Chicano movement and in their community. They helped to disseminate news and information regarding the achievements of Chicana/Mexican women, and promoted programs that provided solutions for women and their families. This collection contains administrative and event files, artifacts, and publication in 80 document boxes. There are also audio and video files from CFMN talks,interviews and projects. Language of Materials: The collection is in English. Physical Location: CEMA Del Norte Stacks Biographical/ Historical Note The Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional, Inc. was founded by resolution at the 1970 National Issues Conference in Sacramento California. The Founding President was Francisca Flores, a Chicana activist already well respected for her many decades of community works. Recognizing that there were few organizations that met the needs of Latina women, nine resolutions were presented to the full body calling for the establishment of a Chicana/Mexicana women's commission. The resolution called for a commission that could direct it’s efforts toward organizing and networking women that they might assume leadership positions within the Chicano movement and in the community. Designed to disseminate news and information regarding the achievements of Chicana/Mexican women, and promote programs that provide solutions for women and their families; the resolutions read as follows: RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH COMISIÓN FEMENIL MEXICANA NACIONAL, INC. (Adopted 10/10/70 at the National Issues Conference in Sacramento, CA) The effort and work of Chicana/Mexican women in the Chicano movement is generally obscured because women are not accepted as community leaders, either by the Chicano movement or by the Anglo establishment. The existing myopic attitude does not prove that women are not capable or willing to participate. It does not prove that women are not active, indispensable (representing over 50% of the population), experienced and knowledgeable in organizing tactics and strategy of a people's movement. THEREFORE, in order to terminate exclusion of female leadership in the Chicano/Mexican movement and in the community, be it RESOLVED that a Chicana/Mexican Women's Commission be established at this conference which will represent women, in all areas where Mexicans prevail, and; That this commission be known as the Comisión Femenil Mexicana, and; That the Comisión direct its efforts to organizing women to assume leadership positions within the Chicano movement and in community life, and; That the Comisión disseminate news and information regarding the work and achievement of Mexican/Chicana women, and; That the Comisión concern itself in promoting programs which specifically lend themselves to help, assist and promote solutions to female type problems and problems confronting the Mexican family, and; That the Comisión spell out issues to support, and explore ways to establish relationships with other women's organizations and movements. VIVA LA CAUSA! Following this resolution, work began in earnest to fulfill its vision. The following years were spent researching and building a collective base of support in order to accomplish the directives of the resolution. Francisca Flores, a veteran of the Chicano movement, was instrumental in motivating and encouraging the development of la Comisión. During it’s first year, she along with Frances Bojorquez, Amelia Camacho and national chairwoman Jo Valdez Banda, initiated a national membership drive and designed the CFMN articles of incorporation including by-laws. These by-laws officially qualified la Comisión for grants from the Department of Labor an important funding source for many CFMN projects. As part of a series of 1971 resolutions the Chicana Service Action Center was established in 1972. The center continues to this day to provide low-income, unskilled women with job training. The center also operates a shelter for battered women, deals with the needs of Mexican American and Chicana Women and is unique in that it focuses upon linking other Chicana related resources together in an overlapping structure. The program developed ties to the County Department of Social Services, private industry and contacts with the Telephone Company, Southern California Edison, Northrop Rockwell, Comisión Femenil Mexicana CEMA 30 2 Nacional Archives CEMA 30 Prudential Insurance, IBM, Safeway, CBS, Los Angeles City and County Schools, the United Way, the White House and many, many others. The center established a myriad of contacts to assist in training, education and employment opportunities for women, provided by women. These contacts and networks overlap into the CFMN administrative contacts and provided many important funding and organizational tools during the Comisión’s history. In 1973, the CFMN held its Constitutional Convention at the Francisco Torres Convention Center in Goleta, California. In the 70s, 80s, and into the 90s, the Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional, Inc. functioned as a nexus of Latina issues, driving an agenda focused on women’s health, labor, and political pro-activism. Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional Inc. quickly grew to become one of the largest and most effective Hispanic organizations in the United States. In the same year, the CFMN had expanded to the stage where it could create the Centro de Niños, an innovative bilingual child development center and in the fall of that year CFMN was formally structured, with a constitution and a plan of action to develop leadership as well as expand membership. The next few years saw the establishment of chapters statewide. In 1975, CFMN went to Mexico City to attend the United Nation's International Decade of the Woman's Year conference and in 1977, attended the National Women’s Conference in Houston Texas where they were acknowledged as the leading Latina organization in the United States. In that same year they joined other Latinas in filing a landmark lawsuit; the Madrigal vs. Quilligan lawsuit and its subsequent appeal failed on the merits to stop the forced sterilization of Latinas in Los Angeles County Hospitals but succeeded in drawing attention to the problem. The lawsuit resulted in increased pressure to create bilingual consent forms, and made public the treatment of Latinas by health officials. In 1978, members participated in the National ERA March in Washington, D.C. and lobbied intensively for the extension of the Equal Rights Amendment and more importantly, strengthened protections and institutions for Chicanas. In 1980 CFMN attended the United Nations Mid-Decade Conference on Women in Copenhagen Denmark while at the same time supporting 16 separate chapters each with their own community resource programs. Over time the number of Chapters grew to 24. In 1982 the CFMN opened Casa Victoria, a residential treatment center for adolescent girls and that same year helped to arrange the first ever meeting in Kansas City of the presidents of National Latina many of whom were inspired by the CFMN, and attended the United Nations End of the Decade conference in Nairobi, Kenya. This is but a partial list of the CFMN’s accomplishments. The broader range and tremendous impact of the Comisión can be seen in the scope of the collection that follows. Use Restrictions Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained. Access Restrictions The collection is open for research. Acquisition Information Donated by CFMN extant board of directors. Gift agreement dated January, 2001. Preferred Citation [Identification of Item], Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional, CEMA 30. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara. Series Description Series I: CFMN Administrative Records. This series is made up of four sub series. The order to the CFMN files follows closely the internal structure of the CFMN itself, beginning with administrative files. Administrative files were collected by board members in most cases. Whenever a set of papers was labeled and singled out by a board member, that folder order was maintained here. Series I contains 4 sub series. The first sub series Board of Directors 1970-1995 contains board of directors and executive