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Community Activism and the Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, Class, and Race Among Latinas in Milwaukee Patricia Torres Nájera University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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Community Activism and the Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, Class, and Race Among Latinas in Milwaukee Patricia Torres Nájera University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2018 “We Were the Outsiders and Treated as Such:” Community Activism and the Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, Class, and Race Among Latinas in Milwaukee Patricia Torres Nájera University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Latin American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Nájera, Patricia Torres, "“We Were the Outsiders and Treated as Such:” Community Activism and the Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, Class, and Race Among Latinas in Milwaukee" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1887. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1887 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “WE WERE THE OUTSIDERS AND TREATED AS SUCH:” COMMUNITY ACTIVISM AND THE INTERSECTIONS OF ETHNICITY, GENDER, CLASS, AND RACE AMONG LATINAS IN MILWAUKEE by Patricia Torres Nájera A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2018 ABSTRACT “WE WERE THE OUTSIDERS AND TREATED AS SUCH:” COMMUNITY ACTIVISM AND THE INTERSECTIONS OF ETHNICITY, GENDER, CLASS, AND RACE AMONG LATINAS IN MILWAUKEE by Patricia Torres Nájera The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018 Under the Supervision of Kristin M. Sziarto, PhD This dissertation analyzes the activism of Latinas in Milwaukee during the 1970s and 1980s. I interviewed women involved in community organizing in that time and place; they shared with me their experiences, and their motivations related to community organizing campaigns. This dissertation explores how members of this group understood themselves to be outsiders, and how the shared outsider status among the Milwaukee Latinas and some white community organizers created solidarity to build Milwaukee’s Latin community. Drawing on in-depth interviews and archival research, I analyze the content of these stories, recognizing common issues of how each woman negotiated family, organizing campaigns, and the multiple power relations within each structure. As Milwaukee transitioned from Polish American dominance on Milwaukee’s south side, with the increase of African Americans on the north side and Latinos arriving on the south side, these communities collided. One consequence was the rise of Latina activism. As Polish Americans fled the central city, Milwaukee’s south side residents experienced racism and discrimination in the public-school system, housing policies, employment opportunities, and public safety. Mary Anne McNulty and her work with SWEAT Associates was a key influence in community organizing ii among Latinas. Her forty years of activism influenced the creation of Latin focused nonprofits and built a cadre of Latina and non-Latina organizers. The community organizing efforts of Latinas was done while negotiating and navigating a male, white-centric society. Analyzing the stories of Latina activists reveals how these women learned to become more visible, not only in the pan-Latino diaspora, but in the broader community. Latinas found their voice and told “herstory” or “ellacuenta .” In Spanish, ellacuenta translates roughly to “she tells a story,” and “she matters.” Latinas made a difference in Milwaukee working on issues that mattered to them, and to their families and children. My theoretical contribution to the scholarship of community organizing efforts is twofold. First, I use an intersectionality framework to draw attention to how the complexities of power and identity shaped how community organizers worked in Milwaukee. Second, I argue that Latinas engaged in activism using a “family” metaphor to engage and build solidarity in the community. This strong emphasis on creating a sense of belonging in the community along with activism is a practice I call “la extension familiar .” Creating a quasi-family in the community, key supporters in different campaigns became family-like members in the struggle for justices. Latinas valued the support of non-biological family members, but also encountered ambivalence in the process: They had to negotiate sexism, discrimination, and privileged power positions within their biological family, community organizing family, and the community at large. iii © Copyright by Patricia Torres Nájera, 2018 All rights reserved To my parents, Carlos and Antonía Torres, my husband and best friend, Paul Najera, my sons, Tomás and Austin, and my daughters, Nyia and Ali. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................ ii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Central Guiding Questions............................................................................................................. 2 Dissertation Structure ..................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 7 Research Questions and Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 10 Oppression of Latinos and Their Resistance ............................................................................ 11 Gender Identities in Latina/o Communities and The Contributions of Latinas ................. 21 Gender in Community Organizing ............................................................................................. 29 Critical Race Theory, LatCrit, and Intersectionality ................................................................. 30 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 41 Positionality in Community Organizing via Labor and Faith Based Organizations ............ 43 Research Design for Studying Latina Activism in Milwaukee ................................................ 47 Archival Research .......................................................................................................................... 64 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 4 Collisions of Diasporas: ................................................................................................................ 79 The Power of the Polish Machine ............................................................................................... 84 Polish American White Flight ...................................................................................................... 98 Influence of Civil Rights Advocacy Within Latin Community ............................................ 107 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 120 Chapter 5 An Outsider Organizes the South Side: .................................................................................. 123 Always the Outsider ................................................................................................................... 126 Formation of SWEAT Associates ............................................................................................ 135 Discussion: SWEAT Associates and McNulty’s Activist Style ............................................ 164 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 168 Chapter 6 Perspectives from Latina and Non-Latina Centered Activism ............................................ 174 Male-Dominated and White-Woman Influenced Society .................................................... 176 Community Organizing Efforts ............................................................................................... 185 Finding Their Voices and Becoming Visible – Speaking Out and Empowerment .......... 196 Making a Difference in Milwaukee - Issues Near and Dear to Women ............................. 205 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 222 Chapter 7 Activism With “Familismo” ..................................................................................................... 224 Extending the Latino Family ...................................................................................................
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