Oscar Chapa reflect 1

As a first generation Latino from the Detroit area I am always excited to learn more about leaders in my community. This class seemed like the perfect opportunity to venture out and learn more about the people who contributed greatly to social justice reform but are not specifically mentioned in our history books. Before this class I would search for the history of the "Mexican town area" I grew up in- to only find very little information. I really seek to learn more about what the word "Chicano/a" means, how I fit into this history, and to take what I learn and educate those around me. We tend to forget that our history as Latino people is not concentrated in certain areas of the country, as people we have bounded together for justice and the chicanas behind these movements deserve our attention. History deserves to be uncovered so that we do better. It's a scary thing to enter a class that talks about a topic like Chicana feminism, because truth is- this isn't talked about almost anywhere. It's a topic that I personally know very little about, but I am eager to open my mind and learn. I unfortunately am not familiar with any Chicana activists in politics. It's sad to say, but most of my life the Latino figures I have been taught to look up to have been male war heroes. I also don't know the time span that most Chicana feminism touches upon. Most feminism that I am familiar with revolves around pop culture, sexual rebellion, and the freeing of self through actions that many consider taboo (as extreme as an artist using her own period blood for a portrait to combat male to privilege). In many of the articles I read on this topic, feminism, is unfortunately divided by race and white feminism has received a lot of criticism for ignoring race as an issue in women's rights. This was most publically displayed at the video music awards when a black female artist confronted a white female artist to "check her privilege". It's especially interesting to dive into feminism in Latino culture, because classes I have taken in the past focus so much on machismo as a staple of Latino culture. I am hopeful that the word feminism will take on a new, even more powerful meaning. I am excited to make new friends and to be an active part of our class. Most importantly I am eager to challenge the history I had been presented in exchange for a more wholesome, inclusive, and true history.