Mexican American and Puerto Rican women have long taken up the challenge to improve the lives of Chicagoans in the city’s Latino/a/x communities. Hear from the coeditors of Chicago Latina Trailblazers: Testimonios of Political Activism as they present testimonies by Latina leaders:

• Dr. Rita D. Hernández, former instructor of education and human development at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
• Leticia Villarreal Sosa, associate dean for research and faculty development and a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Elena R. Gutiérrez, associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago.

From the 1960s through today, these trailblazers shaped Latina Chicago history, advanced agendas, built institutions, forged alliances, and created essential resources that Latino/a/x communities lacked. Time and again, they found themselves the first Latina to hold their post or part of the first Latino/a/x institution of its kind. Just as often, early grassroots efforts to address issues affecting themselves, their families, and their neighborhoods grew into larger endeavors. Their experiences ranged from public schools to healthcare to politics to broadcast media, and each woman’s story shows how her work changed countless lives and still reverberates across the entire city.

An eyewitness view of an unknown history, Chicago Latina Trailblazers reveals the vision and passion that fueled a group of women in the vanguard of reform.

A moderated Q&A will follow the panel discussion.