"And my two leads who were sort of above me, training me, they told me, You know, hardships make you stronger, and the movement requires sacrifice. I don’t think a woman of color would ever tell me that because we’ve been struggling our whole lives, right? Like, we know the meaning of hardship, and we know the meaning of sacrifice."
Minority women make aggressive pushes for their inclusion into the wider space of acceptance in the main stream women's movements. However, marginalized women had to force themselves into any space they could before the late 60s, talks of inclusion was not a viable idea until the post civil rights movement when groups such as the LGBTQ and Immigrant Laborers started gaining recognition.
Esperanza Fonseca, a Trans Latina Activist, focuses her work with labor and economic justice issues involving trans and people of color communities. She works closely with Fight for 15, Local 11, and Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement in her efforts to give those who do not have a voice a chance to speak out against injustices and discrimination amongst their community.
Fonseca and countless of other trans women of color are going out and actively participating in the public. Rather it has fueled the flames, pushing those who have been silence into the light to speak out against injustices.
"... recently, I’ve actually really come back to the term feminist. And the reason why is because within the LGBT community and within the Labor Movement, women are really devalued. Femininity is really devalued. I’ve noticed specifically in organizing with other LGBT Latinas that people—specifically gay men of color—are okay with calling out racism, white supremacy, and capitalism, but never want to look at misogyny and patriarchy and how they actually maintain those systems. I see the way that women are devalued every single day in our movement work. And so, recently, I’ve sort of come back to embrace the term as a way to call attention to my femininity, my womanhood, and how that can’t be devalued."
The Taja Coalition is one such group that was fueled by the nonexistence of inclusion in traditional women’s activist space. This was due to the lack of acknowledgement for the high rates of death happening to trans women of color.
This group protested in January of 2015 in front of the San Francisco City Hall, to stand in solidarity with those who had lost their lives because of transphobic Violence. The group laid down for three minutes and fifty seconds, making thirty-five, the average life expectancy of trans women of color.
These women’s actions spoke loud and clear, that if they had to mourn their sisters and friends being murdered one more time so did the whole city. The ladies of the Taja Collation would no longer stand in the shadows of ignorance the public displayed to their Trans Sisters.
Taja Collation similar to Esperanza Fonseca shows the tenacity that women outside the box of traditional feminism must push themselves and others to be heard out. They show courage and collective support in the community striving to uphold one another.
Fonscea focuses on this idea in her interview that because women of color and especially trans women of color do not get the recognition in mainstream feminism it is up to these groups to make a voice.
“And for me, that’s what we—as trans people, as women, as queer people, as Latina people—if we want to build a movement, that’s what we have to start with because a movement can never be dependent on only one person. No one is disposable, and every person brings something unique and beautiful to the movement, but at the same time, you need a leader full movement, right? And not this whole heroic individualism that we see.”
Meaning that these groups are only heard when there is a collective voice that echoes the demands. Without the echo there is no braking these old ways of thinking.
In June of 2015, Jennicet Gutierrez, a trans Latina activist interrupted Former President Obama’s White House Pride reception. This act of defiance was done in order to bring attention to the LGBTQ people in ICE detainment center.
Jennicet did this in order to present to the public the atrocities being done to trans Latina sisters that were forced to be in Male ICE dentition centers due to their identity. Speaking out against the celebration due to Former President Obama's crack down on immigration and lack of acknowledgement for LGBTQ suffering.
Jennicet is one of the Trans Latina Activists that Fonscea has spread her support to, by writing an article that highlights this specific action. Due to the acknowledgment it places on other trans women of color in wrongfully placed ICE camps. This support allows each voice to grow so that more women are not afraid to speak out or get involved.
Fonseca has fought for trans women of color rights all of her activist career, she faced discriminated which pushed her to get involved. Making sure on her college campus that campus workers and trans women would not be victimized any longer due to a flawed system. This system continuously took advantage of campus workers not paying them enough and allowed those who harassed trans women to suffer no consequences. Not letting this continue she protested and rallied groups of people to stand against injustice. Finally, this group she established won setting new rule and regulation.
The mentioning of her activism gives a clear picture of who Esperanza Fonseca is and why she feels supporting and elevating others before herself is important. Fonscea would rather make sure that other trans women of color and those issues are brought to light in order to continue the fight.
Inclusion of groups and people who normally do not have a voice is what is best for the collective. If we focus just on one person or one specific part of a cause, there is no movement that can bring others in. Fonseca makes this idea crystal clear when asked in her interview with the WPA, that when you just let one voice talk that is nothing compared to multiple people. Focusing on pushing past the old barriers of “traditional” women’s activism to bring all women make women stronger.
Works Cited
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Carroll, Kennedy. Rachel Cargle (right) with her friend Dana at the Women’s March last year in Washington, D.C.. 2017. 660 x 802. Huffington Post.
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