Preliminary Program now available. Corrections and additions are still ongoing.

Date, time and location of presentations will be available in the printed program. Presenters refer to email sent in January for session.  View Conference Schedule to see date and time. 

Films

Saturday

 Symbols of Resistance

Symbols of Resistance illuminates the untold stories of the Chican@ Movement with a focus on events in Colorado and New Mexico. The film engages student activism; the effect of police repression and how issues of identity, land and community still resonate in the Chican@ struggles of today. Through interviews with those who shaped the movement and rare historical footage, Symbols of Resistance offers a window into a dynamic moment in history and movement building. Features interviews with Priscilla Falcon, Francisco ‘Kiko’ Martínez, Ricardo Romero, Deborah Espinosa, Juan Espinosa and more. Duration: 72 mins.

Sendejo, Brenda. Southwestern University.

Thursday

The Wall|El Muro

The Wall|El Muro foregrounds Eloisa Tamez's resistance against the U.S. government's building of the border wall/fence across her ancestral lands on the Texas/Mexico border. The film is directed and produced by Ramon Resendiz and Rosalva Resendiz. This project operationalizes a decolonizing framework of production inspired by Linda Tuhiwahi Smith focusing on the continued violations against the indigenous Mestizos and their land. The Texas/Mexico area has a history of colonialism and imperialism and a continued legacy of violence and militarization along the Rio Grande River/Rio Bravo. The river became a boundary after the Mexican American War (1846-1848), dividing families and communities living along its banks. In 2005 the U.S. Congress enacted legislation for the purpose of building a physical fence along the U.S./Mexico border, without any respect for its people, the environment, treaties and laws. Dr. Tamez, a tribal Lipan Apache elder and Spanish land grant owner refused to submit to the U.S. government and went on to sue the Department of Homeland Security. Her fight for social justice went to the federal court and spurred an inquiry and report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Duration: 60 mins.

Rosalva Resendiz, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley

Ramon Resendiz, co-director/producer New York University Steinhardt

Mora Torres, Gregorio.

Friday

Memories of a Penitent Heart

Combining a wealth of recently discovered home movies, video, and written documents with artfully shot contemporary interviews and vérité footage, MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART is a documentary that cracks open a Pandora’s box of unresolved family drama. Originating from filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo’s suspicion that there was something ugly in her family’s past, the film charts her excavation of the buried family conflict around her uncle Miguel’s death, and her search for Miguel’s partner Robert a generation later. After two years of dead ends, Robert turns up: but he’s not the same man. He’s reinvented himself as Father Aquin, a Franciscan monk with twenty-five years of pent-up grief and bitterness. For the first time, a member of Miguel’s family wants to hear Aquin’s side of the story—but is it too little, too late? A story about the mistakes of the past and the second chances of the present, MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART is a cautionary tale about the unresolved conflicts wrought by AIDS, and a nuanced exploration of how faith is used and abused in times of crisis. Duration: 72 mins.

Cecilia Aldarondo, Skidmore College

Saturday

“Logan, We Are Your Neighbors” is a documentary about the experiences and realities of Latinx living in Cache Valley Utah. Through their voices, we get a first-hand perspective of what life has been for them living here. We’ll hear from newly arrived immigrants to native-born Logan residents, spanning generations who share similar struggles for a better life in the United States. Duration: 30 mins.

Crescencio López-González, Utah State University

Poster Boards

Poster board session is scheduled for Friday, April 6, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Cisneros, Mariana Olga. Pomona College. 

"Supporting Latinx Transgender Youth in Charter Schools." 
Abstract: This project examines the implementation of charter school policies designed to support transgender youth in a predominantly Latinx Los Angeles-based charter school network (LACSN)*. LACSN is in the process of writing and implementing their non-discrimination policy regarding gender identity and expression for the first time, resulting in new professional development, changes in bathrooms, and re-evaluation of FERPA laws (among a multitude of other changes). I am performing a case study at two schools in LACSN, both located in predominantly Latinx neighborhoods. Although the student body reflects the demographics of the neighborhood, the policy-makers and implementers in these schools are predominantly White. This research aims to focus on the impact of constructions of race and ethnicity on the implementation of school policies protecting the rights of transyouth. My research will draw on participant observation and interviews with school leaders, teachers and mental health professionals in preparation for writing an undergraduate thesis in Public Policy Analysis and Chicanx/Latinx Studies. My intended audiences for this research are the teachers and mental health professionals who implement these policies most directly, as well as fellow scholars in support of conversations around the intersection of public policy, queerness, and Latinidad. *All names of individuals and places beyond broad descriptions have been anonymized

Gastelum, Cathy and Rascon, Michelle. University of Arizona. 

"‘Smiling Brown’ in the Face of Colorism: Examining Testimonios Among the Latinx Community." 
Colorism is the privilege and disadvantages determined by one’s skin color (Burke, 2008). It continues to be a significant issue that is under-researched in the Latinx community (Hunter, 2002). It has been argued that Indigenous people and their ways of being are the origins of Latinx people, yet, there continues to be prejudice against those with darker skin and Indigenous features (Rodriguez, 2014). One of the few recent studies on racial awareness indicates that adolescent race and ethnic saliency have a decreased risk of issues with anxiety and mood disorders (Douglass et al., 2016). The purpose of the study is to determine the racial and ethnic saliency of Latinx descent individuals. The study analyzed retrospective personal testimonies (n=180) to examine the moment of racial awareness. Grounded theory analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 1990) was used to analyze the testimonies. A commonality among the majority of the testimonies is that many individuals had negative experiences when becoming salient of their skin color. Several testimonies described a preference for Anglo-Saxon characteristics, equating European phenotypes with status, class, and beauty, “When I grow up, I want to be rich so I can dye my hair blonde, have blue eyes, and bleach my skin.” Conflicts among family members indicate comparisons of preferences from family members given to the lighter skin children, including higher expectations and preferential treatment. The few positive testimonies mention experiences of support and empowerment, “Hold your chin up high when you say you’re Chicano!” In sum, results demonstrate that there is within-group racism and prevalent negative messages about being darker skinned among Latinx descent individuals. Sometimes it is hard to continue smiling while brown due to the pervasive negative experiences, yet, there is a continued need for decolonization of the valuing of beauty and physical features.

Comments: Co-Authors: Roberto Rodriguez, Ph.D. University of Arizona, rodrigu7@email.arizona.edu & Andrea Romero, Ph.D., University of Arizona, romeroa@email.arizona.edu Please note: I submitted an additional Collaborative proposal. If my proposals are accepted, please do not schedule concurrently. Thank you.

Espinoza Montes, Sandra. Eastern Washington University. 

"Hermeneutical Phenomenological Analysis of Intracultural Bullying Between Mexican Americans and Mexican Immigrants." 
Abstract: Bullying in schools is one of the dominant cultural epidemics, which is the very fabric of American society. Media coverage of several tragic outcomes of bullying has highlighted the severity of the problem because it is the most significant complication plaguing school children today (Berger, 2007). However, one type of bullying has received little attention: intracultural bullying, particularly Mexican American students bullying Mexican Immigrant students. This poster will reveal qualitative research findings on the following themes: language barrier within families, identity crisis, skin color, family education differences, gender role disagreement, and educating to eliminate intracultural bullying. This poster will also inspect the factors that have emotionally and socially harmed Mexican Americans’ and Mexican immigrants’ due to different levels of acculturation and bicultural stress. My recommendation for future research will be discussed, along with examining the risk factors involving intracultural bullying. The objective is to bring awareness of this domain so that professionals and researchers can share their knowledge among their colleagues. The holistic approach is to inform school districts, institutions, and administrations so that they can provide culturally sensitive services, practices, and polices to better serve the Latinx population.

Hernández-G., Manuel de Jesús. Arizona State University. 

"James E. García: Socially Committed Playwright—15 Years of Plays on Historically Significant Chicana/o Figures and the Struggles against SB 1070 and HB 2281." 
Abstract: With photos, programs, and brief narratives, this poster will document 15 years of playwriting by James E. García. Many of his plays feature an ex-Arizona Governor, Chicano/a soldiers in World War II, small town basketball champions, César Chávez, and dreamers. The poster will also document several Pastorelas and other plays that portray the community struggle against SB 1070 and HB 2281.

Melgoza, Catalina. University of Missouri Kansas City. 

"Latinos in education." 
Abstract: My project will be centered on the importance of knowing one’s heritage, especially for Latinx immigrants and their descendants. To help develop this understanding, I will use my own grandparents as sources for oral history. My grandparents are immigrants to the United States and traveling a long distance, raising seven children in a tiny 3-bedroom house, supporting educational goals for their children, and promoting their strong religious beliefs within their home and Westside community of Kansas City. Despite the struggles they faced coming to the states, they have always valued education by sending all seven of their children to private Catholic elementary and high schools, and every one of their children graduated from college. Studying the impact of being immigrants or the children of immigrants and these positive outcomes are the purpose of my research and helps support and represent the importance of education for Latinx immigrants, especially now that DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a major issue since they will no longer have legal status in the future. Knowing one’s immigrant story can be inspiring and help push other immigrants to do the same with education, despite their struggles they face.

Sainz, Andres. University of Missouri-kansas city. 

"Assessing and Challenging Educational Inequality." 
Abstract: Students who grow up in low-income segregated neighborhoods are less likely to attend and finish college than the students who do not live in these areas. I will show by reviewing current research on the impact of segregation and the various ways urban schools and policies can that work to promote positive change and dissipate the impact of segregation for Latina/o academic success. My study will include research at the local level in a Latina/o serving charter high school in the Midwest. I will identify key methods they use to address these inequalities and promote college and post-graduation success. I will gather data for my research by surveys of students, faculty, and administrators and interviewing the students in groups. I will then review the similarities and differences between the data I have collected and the data found by scholars such as Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: The Forgotten History. Rothstein’s research addresses the policies that create and maintain institutionalized segregation within our major cities, which are of utmost importance to my research. With this knowledge, educators will be able to understand the importance of their influence in fostering positive outcomes for their students’ lives. This project will enable the educators to better understand the reasons why higher educational success is so difficult for students from low income segregated neighborhoods and identify possible ways to address these barriers. And a final goal is to improve the efficiency in which resources are used in order to maximize the potential of every child in the school districts.