Uvalde Strong: A Community Comes Together to Heal by Ricardo Romo, Ph.D Jun 12, 2020

Such a beautiful and touching recent reflection by Dr. Ricardo Romo on his and his wife, Harriett's, visit to Uvalde. The library is an excellent place to center a lot of resources for the children.  Go to his earlier piece titled, "Latino Children Benefit From Uvalde’s Public Library," to learn more about his advocacy and ways you can support the families and community.

For ease, here is an image with QR codes that will allow you to make a contribution.

-Angela Valenzuela

Uvalde Strong: A Community Comes Together to Heal

Ricardo Romo, Ph.D Jun 12, 2020

Time can be the friend or the enemy of grief. We often hear that time will heal and that all things will pass. I wondered if that is true as I walked through the Uvalde Memorial at the town's main plaza.  It seemed that time stood still for those who came to pay respects that afternoon in 102-degree Texas summer weather. Everyone, including me, moved slowly and emotionally among the 21 crosses with names and tributes to the murdered students and teachers of Robb Elementary. Many who brought flowers and stuffed animals to the memorial that afternoon came from other places. My drive to Uvalde from San Antonio took less than two hours. The return trip seemed to be so much longer. 

Uvalde Memorial Plaza. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

My wife Harriett and I went to Uvalde Saturday, June 11, days after the horrific events of  May 24, 2022. We had wanted to go sooner, but we were told by friends who lived there that the town was overwhelmed by reporters, police officers, and visitors from out of town related to those killed. The streets were crowded with barricades still present around the school and near the town square. 

What brought us to Uvalde that Saturday was a food distribution event by the San Antonio Food Bank.  Harriett is on the Board and volunteered to help. When we arrived early that morning, the lines of cars were long for the 10 am opening. Uvalde is a poor community and many do not have the funds to feed their families. Cars drove by slowly, some waiting for two hours as the food was handed out to local families and the elderly. 

San Antonio Food Bank in Uvalde. June 11, 2022. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

We were also in Uvalde that weekend because of our efforts to assist El Progreso Memorial Library with its resources and summer programs. I am honored to be the Lead Volunteer for the Memorial Library fundraising campaign which began this month following the tragic events of May 24. I noted in an earlier newsletter that the children of Uvalde would be spending more time in the library with schools closing.  My generation and several after me have always considered schools safe havens.  Today the parents of children from Robb Elementary do not plan for their children to attend summer school, or perhaps even enroll this coming fall. Who can blame them.

Memorial window to Uvalde's children killed May 24th. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

At the Memorial Library, we met with our friend Dr. Mendell Morgan, Director and Head Librarian, and several library board members.  We learned of the pressing need to provide more learning activities for the young children of Uvalde. Many of the children who come to the library are bilingual, some are monolingual [Spanish only] and need literacy instructions and tutoring. Many of the books that have been donated recently are bilingual, which is a great benefit to children and parents. The library is receiving offers of assistance from several retired educators to set up literacy classes and mentoring opportunities. 

El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

The library’s strong internet connections are a tremendous help to children who do not have computers in their homes or whose homes do not have access to the internet. The library is also known for its creative programs and innovative incentives encouraging children to read.  Bright painted bicycles lined up in a row inside the library serve as a reminder that children in different age groups who read the most books in the summer reading program would be rewarded with a bike prize. The librarians have set aside a table with free books for children and families who need reading resources in their homes. In the staff section of the library, thousands of books lay stacked on the floor, new donations from local and non-residents alike. As we watched, amazed at the generosity of so many, a pickup truck with 12 large boxes of books arrived to deliver more books.  The staff is both overjoyed and overwhelmed with the donations and the work before them to process the books, place them on the shelves, and properly thank the donors.  

Free books are offered by  El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

The children we saw at the library on our visit represent Uvalde’s future. The next generations of educators, city and state officials, political representatives, lawyers, and medical providers are checking out books this summer at El Progreso Library. We owe the children of Uvalde great reading opportunities. Reading leads to learning and knowledge as well as healing. The healing from the tragic events at Robb Elementary School will be ongoing for years, maybe even decades. But we can do something for Uvalde’s children now. If you have extra children's books on your shelves or wish to donate to assure that an ample supply of books is available for children this summer, do so now.

Story Hour at El Progreso Memorial Library. Photo by Dr. Mendell Morgan.

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By Ricardo Romo  ·  

Widely regarded as the goddess of Chicana feminism, I count myself among the many who for generations have been nourished by her writings, advocacy, and intellect.  She is a true force of nature and national treasure.  

And I am so happy and proud to call her my friend.  

Love you, Martha!

Angela Valenzuela 

c/s

Feminist Martha Cotera fights to represent Chicanas in academia

Photo Credit: Ashley Sanchez | Daily Texan Staff

Published on November 29, 2016 at 12:08 am Last update on November 29, 2016 at 12:20 am

 

By Morgan O'Hanlon / Daily Texan

 

Editor's note: This is part of a compilation of stories highlighting the experiences of students struggling to achieve equal representation on campus.

In a library filled with the sounds of shuffling books and beeping scanners, librarian and Chicana activist Martha Cotera found the words she needed to fuel her movement.

Cotera, a major figure in the Chicana feminism movement, is best known for her activity in La Raza Unida and for her hundreds of published works. La Raza Unida was a Texas-based political party that promoted the election of Mexican-American officials and was a significant part of the Chicano civil rights movement in the ’70s.

During her time with the party, Cotera began to recognize the marginalization of Chicanas within the Mexican-American community and published many works detailing the need to address sexism within that context.

Cotera said her work in Chicana feminism would not have been possible without the services provided by educational institutions. Her identity as a librarian led her to address issues of representation in academic contexts, such as the exclusion of certain community documents from colleges and libraries.

“The work of activist librarians is often disregarded because people think that they’re only filing papers,” Cotera said. “But they provide a valuable service by preserving voices from local communities.”

Cotera’s most popular book, “Diosa y Hembra,” provides a history of Chicanas in the U.S. and is a key piece of literature in the Chicana Feminist discourse, but it isn’t available on the shelves of Austin’s public libraries and can only be found in the Austin History Center archives.

“Libraries are supposed to reflect the communities they serve, but in reality, they represent the societal class hierarchies,” Cotera said. “The dominant class gets to decide what gets put into academia.”

Cotera’s 35-year career as a librarian and as an archivist at the Benson Latin American Collection gave her the experience she needed to help run the Chicana Research and Learning Center, which she co-founded in 1974.

UT alumna Brenda Sendejo, an anthropology professor at Southwestern University, said the creation of the center started a dialogue between the Chicana community and Austin’s universities. The center, which received materials such as newspapers from the Chicana community, provided UT with the resources necessary to create a Chicana Studies curriculum.

“Chicana Studies had already begun to emerge by the mid-1970s, but it didn’t really become established until it got incorporated into college courses,” Sendejo said.

Beyond the realm of academia, Cotera said many feminists have personal stakes in libraries. Here, feminists discovered stories about Our Lady Guadalupe addressing San Juan Diego with assertive statements and used this evidence to associate her with feminism. For the predominately Catholic Chicana population, this provided a symbol of empowerment grounded within the epistemological framework of spirituality.

“We made Our Lady of Guadalupe into a feminist icon by taking away her passivity and turning her into a champion for women,” Cotera said. “In order to do this, we had to do research.”

Cotera said the struggle to free symbols from their oppressive history and turn them into feminist icons is critical to promoting feminism.

Emilio Zamora, a history and Mexican American studies professor said this Chicana feminist tactic is grounded in the Mexican-American penchant for history.

“Mexicans are very historically minded. It’s a part of their daily lives,” Zamora said. “So [Cotera] came to the field from a historical approach. It’s no accident that she became a librarian. She was very interested in the production and dissemination of knowledge.”

Cotera said the social change that Chicana feminists rely on is only made possible through sufficient resources.

“To be liberated, you need information,” Cotera said. “We need to constantly work to preserve it because without it, we don’t have history and we don’t have social change.”