Who is She 33? - Dolores Huerta

Short version: 

So this will be my only new piece for Women's History Month 2019. It's a larger illustration of Dolores Huerta featuring many symbols that represent parts of her life both big and small. Dolores is one of the most revolutionary women living. As the co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union her selfless activism and organizing helped to not only change the lives of the farm workers across California, but it continues to inspire young women and people all over the world.

It is a crime that more attention, respect, and admiration is not given to her. I just finished working on a project about her and had the chance to learn a lot more about her. But, if you're not familiar with Dolores, I highly recommend watching the most recent documentary by Peter Bratt. It will give you a good glimpse into her life. Then go check out her foundation because she is still organizing! I give Dolores and her family so much respect and thanks. Happy women's day! 

Longer Version: 

So, here is a slightly longer version but I am not going to go over her entire life just some of the words, drawings, and symbols I included. I would highly suggest watching the documentary if you are not a reader. If you're a reader go check out her foundation.

Stockton- Ok so Dolores was born in Dawson New Mexico, but she grew up in Stockton California. Although her dad was a farm worker and organizer, she was raised by her mom and siblings. There she watched her mom hold down jobs and eventually run a hotel which was not a typical thing for most women to do in the 30s. It was through her mom that she got her first feminist role model; saying that she never had to cater to her brothers. Her mother made them all work equally; which is often not the case in some Latinx families. Dolores attended school in Stockton in what was a very mixed setting, but she also experienced racism there in the treatment of students of color and her education. 

Dancing/Jazz-Dolores loved to dance and she loves music. One of her favorite genres is Jazz. She helped organize a dance, danced herself, and made time to go see musicians play live. 

Fred Ross-After working as a teacher and witnessing the conditions the children of farm workers lived in she dedicated her life to organizing. It is then that she met Fred Ross who ran the Community Service Organization (CSO). He taught Dolores about organizing and she became a bad ass at it. She was so persuasive and hard working that they soon promoted her to take policy changes to the states capitol.

Cesar Chavez-Another bad ass who worked with and was trained Fred Ross is Cesar. Cesar grew up as a child of farm workers and understood their experiences first hand. He was also a star at organizing and soon Fred was partnering Cesar and Dolores up. Cesar would also go on to be one of the most revolutionary activists of his time.

NFWA-National Farm Workers Association- Together Dolores and Cesar left the CSO and co-founded a small organization aimed at specifically organizing Latinx farm workers in Central California. They called it an association rather than a union because unions were outlawed and union organizers were being hunted. 

Huelga sign- After getting a jump from the Filipino workers AWOC (Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee) they joined forces with Dolores and Cesar to form what would become world famous as the United Farm Workers or UFW. The symbol for their flag inspired by Aztec iconography and later becoming a symbol for organizing, social justice, and Chican@ pride. The word Huelga means "strike" in both Spanish and Tagalog the languages spoken by the multicultural UFW.  

Si! Se Puede!- Dolores was a leader who often went into towns, cities, and communities to speak with folks, hear their needs, and to organize them.  She did this with wit, strength, and humility. But, if anyone ever told her she couldn't do something which both white folks and macho men of color often did, she'd say yes we can. Si Se Puede! Which is a slogan she came up with and was later used by Barack.

The Feminist fist- I included this because although Dolores was brought up Catholic in a traditional Latinx family she was brought up with some very feminist ideas. And when she met feminists on a trip to NYC to promote the grape strike of the mid 60s she gained some new ideas. At first she didn't rock with all of what they said, but then slowly she started to change her mind, incorporating them into her life. This is important, because of in el movimiento there can be sexism. Women from the Black Panther Party have spoken about this as well.

Family-So Dolores amazingly had 11 children! She now has 17 grand kids as well. So, as a movement parent she lifted up farm workers and fought for revolutionary causes. She worked tirelessly to do this for decades. But, her family life was sacrificed in many cases. She got married three times and often was away organizing. Her grown children have not held back in saying they were sometimes angry with her, left behind, or frustrated. They understand why she did what she did, but it was not easy. Somehow with little to no money (organizers don't get paid often) she raised and got help raising her kids. 

Billy club- I put that in there because she was beaten by the San Francisco Police Department. They broke her ribs and she had to be hospitalized. She has been arrested over 20 times in her life.

Why? Ok, so why did Dolores do all this work? Why sacrifice? A couple of reasons. The Mexican and Latinx workers who grew, picked, and serviced the farm lands that feed the United States were being exploited. They were being ripped off financially. Whenever possible the white farm owners undercut their pay. leaving them with not enough money to pay for proper housing (Dolores' mom often let workers stay for free because of this) , food, clothing, and/or schooling for their kids. Their kids could not attend school, they had to work in the fields to help support the family. The working conditions were horrible. Imagine bending over all day to pick fruits and vegetables without proper breaks, no drinking water, no bathrooms, or shade. Workers were . threatened if they asked for these things and fired if they attempted to form a union. They had no sick time, no benefits, no regular raises, and no support if they got ill. Lastly,  the farm owners were poisoning their workers as they worked them to death (life expectancy was in the 50's). The farm owners had their fields sprayed with harsh chemicals such as DDT known to cause cancer. Because of all this Dolores was passionate about fighting for these workers. 

Victory-And you know what? They organized among the Filipino and Latinx workers striking for years, bringing down a boycott that reached across the US . This eventually took so much money out . of the growers pockets that they forced them to the negotiating table, winning better working conditions, rights, and pay for the families. Dolores is a bad ass!

There's a lot I'm leaving out, but please check out more of the drawing and go find out more about this woman's life!   If you wanna see more women I've drawn for Women's History Month check these past examples:

Olive Morris

Collage of women

The Women's Building

Marley Dias

Debbie Tewa

Who is She? 31 - Tracy Chou

Tracy Chou is an advocate for diversity in the Tech industry. A Bay Area native, she was born in 1987, and attended Stanford. She has written articles, spoke at conferences, and confronted the issue at large companies as an insider. Tracy's name kept coming up on my feed over the past few years just researching more about the field of technical and non-technical founders. She is a part of a much larger voice of women, people of color, queer folks, and white ally's working to bring in more voices into these companies that are affecting and changing the world. Tracy grew up in Silicon Valley, and actually has two parents who were involved in engineering. She started as an intern like many do in the tech world at companies like Google, and went on to work for some of them who were start ups such as Facebook, Pinterest, Rocket Fuel, and Quora. While working she became aware of the glaring fact that these spaces were mostly white and mostly male. So, like many others who have spoke out or founded their own initiatives she started to investigate. She wrote some pieces on medium and began collecting data about how many women were working at tech companies in technical positions. This was four years ago. Companies were shy to release the stats because they knew it would reflect a huge problem. Companies like Google, Intel, Apple, and more started to show what their staff's diversity or lack there of looked like. And sadly, things are not changing fast enough. Props to Tracy for being an advocate for bringing more women, queer folks, and people of color into the fields. Not only that, but trying to encourage young girls to get into tech and putting up with the backlash from people who may never "get it". Tracy has been interviewed or featured on sites or in spaces such as Tech Crunch, Vogue, Fast Co, Wired, CNN, Mother Jones, Today, and many more. She now works in New York and is continuing to code and to fight. Check out her articles "Where are the numbers" and "Why I care about diversity in tech".

Sources: We Code Harvard, Medium, Mercedes Benz, Twitter, triketora.com

You can purchase this piece, email me at info@robdontstop.com $40 (includes shipping) , i will donate a portion to Tracy's next mission to promote diversity.

Who is She? 30 - Kimberly Bryant

Kimberly Bryant is the founder of "Black Girls Code". She is an electrical engineer from Memphis, Tennessee born in 1967. She earned her degree at Vanderbilt college and began working for companies like Westinghouse, DuPont, Pfizer, and Genentech. But Parenthood has a way of opening your eyes to things that were not as noticeable before. BGC was founded because Kimberly's daughter took an interest in computer programming, but could not find a program as diverse as her city. So, she made one. It started in Oakland in 2011 at the HUB with Bryant teaching her daughter and some of her friends some basic coding. It has expanded to other cities in the Bay Area and has gone across the U.S. teaching young women of color in more inclusive spaces that reflect them rather than turn them away. If you are unaware, in the last 3-4 years large tech companies we use everyday started releasing their numbers and much to the tech communities surprise the number of Black folks and people of color were tiny. Founding BGC was a ground breaking move because it helped spark a conversation in the Black community, a movement of girls of all backgrounds to get into coding, and it helped Bryant secure funding to bring the program internationally. If you can see it, you can be it. And if an invite is extended people will come. Kimberly has been recognized by Forbes Magazine, Business Insider, the White House, Fast Co, Tech Crunch, and more. 

You can purchase this original piece ( 8"x8" mixed media on paper) email at info@robdontstop.com. A portion will be donated to BGC!

Sources: SF Chronicle, BlackGirlsCode.org, Wikipedia

WhoisShe? 29 - Ruth Asawa

Ruth Asawa was born on a farm in southern California in 1926. She and her family were interned around the time of World War two. When she could, she left to study at the Milwaukee Teachers College. Later she would spend time at La Universidad de Mexico. In Mexico and while interned she learned to make art with whatever materials she could find around her. After Mexico she studied at an experimental college called Black Mountain great artists such as Ora Williams and Willem de Kooning. She made at continuously from a very early age up until when she passed. She is most famous for her sculptures of orb like tear drops that sit or hang from the ceiling. But she also created large scale metal sculptures, some of which still stand today in San Francisco. Her work is abstract to me. In addition to making art, she also served as an arts advocate for the city of SF, and for arts programs in schools. She helped garner funding and start art programs in schools. She had six children and passed away in 2013. Her work has been exhibited countless times and is still in collections and being viewed today.

You can purchase this original $40, 8"x8" mixed media on paper, please email at info@robdontstop.com

Sources: Kqed, Oakland Museum, Wikipedia, http://www.ruthasawa.com/

Who is She? 28 - Yolanda Lopez

Yolanda Lopez is a Xicana artist from San Diego, California. She was born in 1942 and came to San Francisco in the late 60s around the time of some serious social movements with the Panthers, recent the United Farm Workers, and the SF State strike to put in ethnic studies in the school (which she was involved in). The first time I saw Yolanda's work as a painter it was "La Virgin" piece that she did of a woman running with a flag using the same backdrop as the famous "Virgin de Guadalupe". This painting was part of a series depicting every day women of color and it hit because there were not many artists depicting brown women like that. The next time I saw her work was the famous illustration of an indigenous Aztec man pointing with the quote "who's the illegal alien pilgrim?!". That blew my mind when I saw it, because I'd heard folks talk about Raza that way, but never saw someone flip it on Europeans. In addition to being an illustrator/painter she produced films too! in fact she is also an amazing photographer. Most recently at the Mission Cultural Center I saw some of her photos of homegirls hanging out, from car clubs, probably some who were family too. Her photos provided a glimpse into San Francisco and Xican@ culture that I'd never seen before so vividly in photographs. She is an inspiring artist and a teacher of many. And her son Rio happens to be a dope artist and human being too.

You can purchase this original piece $40, email me at info@robdontstop.com 8"x8" mixed media on paper

Sources: http://mamiverse.com/, Wikipedia, Mission Cultural Center

Who is She? 27 - Kara Walker

Kara was born in Stockton California in 1969. She grew up there until she went to college at Atlanta College or Art, and later Rhode Island School of Design. She is currently a professor at Columbia in NYC. The first time I saw Kara's work was at Parsons in New York City while finishing up my BFA there. Her piece "event horizon" caught my eye and it wasn't until I was taken on a tour of art galleries in Chelsea that I saw an entire show of her work. There I was blown away because I'd never seen someone do art like that. I kept wondering how the hell she got these uppity art folks to let her get down like that, speaking on racism and the treatment of Black folks in such a in your face, no apologies, satirical way. Kara has worked as a painter, but she's best known for the paper cut outs she's done. Most recently, her show "Domio Sugar" had hella people I know posting about its use of similar subject matter and the scale to which she took the sculptures. She's had over 40 solo exhibitions in places like Oakland, Austria, The UK, Spain, Italy, and so many other places across the U.S. 

You can purchase this piece. Email me at info@robdontstop.com 8"x8" mixed media on paper

Sources: Art 21, Wikipedia, WalkerArt.org

Who is She? 26- Lucia Rijker

Lucia is one of the greatest fighters to step into the ring. Hailing from the Netherlands, Rijker was born in 1967. She started fighting at the age of six beginning her training in Judo, moving on to fencing, kickboxing, and boxing. As a muay thai kickboxer she has over 37 fights, 36 wins, 25 by knock out, and one draw. As a boxer she had 17 fights , 14 she won by knock out. She was the subject of a documentary called "Shadowboxing" about women in boxing and has appeared as a fighter in the film "Million Dollar Baby" and various other films and tv series. She was inducted into the international hall of fame. She has fought fighters from all over the world and has amassed a collection of titles starting in the early 80's and lasting until she retired in 2007.  Looking at footage of her fight I see extreme power and intense focus. Besides lending her expertise and voice to this day she is also a practicing buddhist.

If you would like to purchase this piece please email me at info@robdontstop.com , 8"x8" mixed media on paper.

Sources: Shadow Boxers (film), Sporteology.com, doghouseboxing.com, Wikipedia

Who is She? 25- Lady Sensei

Lady Sensei is a black belt in ninjutsu and has earned several other ranks in weapons and self defense training. She has been studying martial arts for 10 years and started training as a student of the great Ronald Duncan. In addition to her martial arts training, she is a licensed firearm carrier and shooter. And she has skills in de-escalation of conflicts. She teaches and is still training in martial arts. She is one of the highest ranked women in martial arts today.

Dig this? Check out Master Watts

Sources: Ladysensei.com, ancientfuturecollective.com

Who is She? 23- The Women's Building (SF)

Founded in 1971, the San Francisco "Women's Building" became the first building of its kind to be owned and operated by women in the country. It started as a way to help facilitate the projects of both artists and activists in the SF Bay Area. It was founded on the idea that all women no matter where they came from should be respected and have a safe place to take care of themselves. Inside services range from childcare, wellness classes, help with taxes, tutoring, help with immigration papers, and now computer classes, and help with tech.  I have walked past this building so many times, and been invited there to participate in social justice workshops or performances. It is a beacon for women to find assistance with social issues, social justice, advocacy on their behalf, and connecting with the many facets of their community in the Bay Area. Organizations like SFWAR (SF Women Against Rape) and Mission Neighborhood Centers have functioned and/or grown out of its belly. I'm sure there are a lot of men and maybe even women who would wonder why such a place is needed. But once you see the care, warmth, and toughness of its staff and vibe you'll see how it helps. Conversely if you are a woman and seek help through the typical city or state run programs it can feel a lot more sterile, institutional, and uninviting.

In 1984 one of my mentor's muralist Juana Alicia, along with Miranda Bergman, Susan Cervantes, Meera Desai, Yvonne Littleton, Edythe Boone, and Irene Perez painted an enormous mural all over the two main sides of the building facing 18th and Lapidge st highlighting beautiful images of women from all over the world. in 2012 it was restored and still stands today. The Women's Building is part of what is San Francisco, and part of what makes the Bay Area my home.

Sources: The Women's Building (site)

Who is She? 22- Black Lives Matter

Give thanks and nuff respect to Opal, Patrice, and Alicia for being. And thanks to all of the chapter members and allies across the world for doing the work; prominently Black women leading the work. All of them lit a spark that grew into a movement. For those who haven't heard. Three Black women from different cities and similar minds made up the term, hashtag, and movement called "Black Lives Matter". In LA, Oakland, and NYC it started and spread to Florida, Missouri, and other states; each having their own unique fights. If you want to read the words of the founders I suggest reading the statements directly from their site and interviews in The California Report, Truth-Out, The Root, and Democracy Now.  But, read from several sources to get the full picture. Some people cover the root causes and some people merely want to capture the "cool".

In 2012 I remember it rising from frustration of being murdered by police with absolutely no consequences for taking of life. It came from the media's misinforming the public about what happened and who BLM is. It comes from the state's (city, state, and national governments) record of violence (physical, environmental, financial, and mental) on the lives of Black people all over the world. It came from turning that frustration into affirmation and saying yes we are here, we exist, and our lives matter. We've been facing it, struggling outside of the system, and going by the book. But when they finally had enough and stood up and said "no more" is when people started to take notice. Some people who understood joined in solidarity.  Others, who simply don't see why BLM activists couldn't just wait, calm down, or whatever used thinly disguised racism to attack them.

And well this is simply for affirming their very existence black folks from Toronto, Cincinatti, Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Sacramento, Pasadena, Philly, D.C., Cambridge, Denver, Boston, Tennessee, Texas, and other cities. For saying "no you can't just oppress us" without a fight. For saying "Black Lives Matter". What I admire most about the adults and youth doing the work is that they wont be categorized or placed in a neat box for older white conservatives or leftists to digest. They are changing the way we think, act, and act up. And they are not settling. Respect to the activists facing charges today, and those who stand up to the tired arguments that try to do everything but acknowledge the racism that exists overtly and covertly in our courts, classrooms, offices, police departments, banks, I could go on. The whole damn system is guilty.

Sources: Black lives Matter (site), Deomcracy Now (video), AJ+ (Video)

Who is She? 21- Deldelp Medina

A Colombia native and Bay Area home grown entrepreneur/ activist Deldelp has done something no one else in the tech scene has done. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I can tell she is the only Latina (Latinx/Raza/Indigenous) woman to be the CEO of a start up tech company that nurtures and assists other Latina's to build their own companies. Ms Medina started "Avion Ventures" in 2014. It is what is known as a start up accelerator. It guides women, helps them develop their ideas, practice their pitches, mentors the, and helps them get the support they need to be entrepreneur's. Deldelp has worked to promote Latino culture through Cine+Mas (Latino Film Fest), as an activist with California Crime Victims, and worked in development and management through multiple non profit organizations,

Why is Avion Ventures revolutionary? Well, without getting into a huge history lesson about colonization, white supremacy, wealth gaps, and the myths of meritocracy I'll just say that numbers don't lie. Some of the biggest names in tech have disclosed their numbers on who is working for them, and for such huge companies which serve everyone and claim to be for everyone they are ignoring a huge group of people who already make up the majority in the US. Not only are they not paying attention to Latinas and Latinos but they are loosing vital ideas, genius, and insight into communities they may not know intimately. Engaging Latin@ communities is not only good business if companies wish to stay relevant, its 2016. Come on!

Also, it takes a huge amount of resources, money, time, and risk to start your own business which I know as a freelance artist. Also, in order to succeed in tech, that factor multiplies; not just for resources, but who you know who is connected. So, as Deldelp has said, she has been in too many rooms where she is the only woman, the only bilingual speaker, or the only person of color. That needs to change and she is leading that change alongside organizations like Code 2040, Hack the Hood, Latina Geeks, and Black Girls Code, and the Latino Start Up Alliance.

Sources: LatinPost (site), Platform (video), Deldelp.com (site), NPR (Radio), Avion Ventures (site)

Who is She? 20- Junko Tabei

Junko Tabei was the first woman to climb to the top summit of Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) in Nepal/Tibet. Junko was born in 1939 in Fukushima Japan and began climbing in her 30s. She has climbed many mountains to date. Some of the tallest are Mt. Fuji (Japan), Erta Ale (Ethiopia), Puncak Jaya (Indonesia), and the Matterhorn (Switzerland). Junko started a women's climbing club in the late 60's called "Ladies Climbing Club" and went with an expedition of women in 1975 to climb mount Everest (Sagarmatha). They spent months training and preparing for the expedition. Two special things about this woman's achievement. 

One, it is hard as hell to climb/ hike to high elevations. You carry gear with you for eating, sleeping, etc and you must take your time using safe routes to reach the top. The mountains she climbed were the most enormous in the world, with Everest measuring in at over 29,000 feet high. There are hundreds of people who even with the help of local Sherpa's (guides) die trying to make this trek. It is incredibly difficult.

Two, at the time when Junko climbed the mountain she was battling a lot of sexism in Japan (and the world). In her country women were viewed as less than. Men did not view women with the respect they do now. They thought women should be at home, blah blah, blah. Junko made this climb anyway, with her 3 year old daughter at home with her husband who was also a mountaineer. Juko is still climbing and leads an organization called the "Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan" which helps support the trips of students who wish to climb, and the Sherpa's who help people survive the treacherous climb.

Sources: NBC News (site), Wikipedia (Site), Japan Times (Site)

Who is She? 18 - Eiko Tanaka

Eiko Tanaka is one of the founders of Studio 4C, a Japanese based animation studio specifically focused on anime for televsion, feature length films, music videos, and short films. Eiko began this company in 1986 with animator/illustrator Koji Morimoto. Eiko worked as a line producer on several Studio Ghibli films and has acted as producer for several of Studio 4c's films such as "Animatrix" and "TekkonKinkreet". A producer's job is to communicate between executives and creatives. Their job is to make sure the project stays on time, does not go over budget, and that the creative teams have what they need. As the CEO of the studio she now oversee's the scope of the company's current and future projects. Because she and her staff do such amazing work, her studio has received acclaim and awards from all over Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Sources: Studio4c.co.jp/english/ (site), Wikipedia (site), The Origins of Ash panel (youtube)

Dig this? Check out this portrait of character designer Sandra Equihua

Who is She? 17- Queen Lisa Lee

MC and rhyme champion Lisa Lee. I saw her in Wild Style and Beat Street and wondered, "yo, who is that rhyming" and then she said her name. Lisa Lee was born and raised in the Bronx. In an interview she said her and her brothers started to learn drums and mixing at a very young age in the 70s. She went to a party being held by Afrika Bambaataa and Disco King Mario where she got on the mic and started rhyming. She went on to be a part of the Universal Zulu Nation, an organization founded by Bambaataa to unite all the gangs in the Bronx around peace, love, music, and culture. Lisa would go on to star in the films I mentioned as well as make several records such as "I'm a pioneer". I feel like she does not get enough shine and there needs to be more of a spotlight on her life and achievements while she's still here. Much respect to Queen Lisa Lee!

Sources: Bee Shine (youtube), Real Queens of Hip Hop (site)

Who is She? 16-Hazel Ying Lee

Hazel Ying Lee was born in 1912 in Portland Oregon. Her parents were immigrants from China. She was a pioneering woman in aviation, being one of the very first women to fly fighter planes for the US military's WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) and one of the first women to offer her flight services to the government of China during World War 2 at a time when the Japanese were invading China. Hazel started her flight training at a young age and received her pilots license at 19 being one of the first Chinese American women to obtain such a license. After she was rejected as a fighter pilot (because she was a woman) she flew commercial planes in China, and then returned to the US after the attack at Pearl Harbor to enlist in the newly formed women's airforce. She flew planes that accompanied newly built bombers and fighters and faced some challenges as women were not given the full benefits of male pilots and were not treated as air force officers, but as civilians. It wasnt until the late 70s after much fighting that the women were recognized as military personnel. Hazel died as her plane collided with another during a routine trip, but she inspired many of her fellow pilots and a generation of young Asian American women and women of all races. The first time I heard of Hazel and any Chinese American women who were pilots was at the NYC Museum of Chinese Americans.

Sources: hazelyinglee.com/main.html (Site), Wikipedia (site), www.mocanyc.org

Who is She? 15- Susan and Zakiya (Hack the Hood)

I met both Zakiya and Susan several years ago here in Oakland. Susan Mernit and Zakiya Harris are the Co-Founders of a ground breaking Oakland based organization called "Hack the Hood". The organization brings in mostly African American and other students of color to learn about the tech field. From the interview I heard with Zakiya on "Blacks in Technology" it sounds like a stretch for some at first, but they soon realize that everywhere they go they are no only participating in the tech industry but they can be active makers and producers in it as well. The students learn basic and complex coding skills by building websites for local businesses. They are not only learn coding, but they learn people skills, how to work with clients, and what it takes to run a business-therefore bringing more people of color into a extremely white, homogenized, and exclusive field.  Along with other organizations like Code 2040 they are changing the landscape of tech and empowering young people to be creators.

Susan comes from a background in tech, working for corporations such as Yahoo, Aol, and Netscape. She also founded or Co-founded several media and tech savvy businesses here in the Bay Area such as Oakland Local. She is the CEO and Executive director of "Hack the Hood". 

Zakiya I know from Oakland's historic arts culture of music. She was one half of the group Fiyawata, is currently working on a solo music project called "ShapeShifter". Zakiya has a long history of community organizing and youth education through organizations such as Grind for the Green at Ella Baker Center, TED, The Youth Leadership Institute, Global Exhcnage, and countless others. She is also a founding member of Oakland's Impact Hub which is the only HUb out of many worldwide run by Black women!

Sources: Blacks in Technology (podcast), http://www.hackthehood.org/our-team.html(site)

Who is She? 14- Susan La Flesche Picotte

Susan was the first Native American woman to be recognized by US school standards as a doctor. I say recognized because women and men have been caring for and looking after the health of their families and tribes way before the term MD (Medical Doctor) was a title here in the US. Susan was from the "Omaha" tribe and was born in what is now known as Nebraska in1865. She was raised in a family that encouraged her to pursue her education. In 1884 she attended the Hampton Institute, which was founded to educate freed slaves. Her parents also encouraged her to learn about both the Native American and White world, which were crashing, rapidly changing, and mixing. When she finished, she returned to her reservation where she served her people, ding her best to stop outbreaks of smallpox, diptheria, and influenza. She owned and operated her own clinic in Nebraska and was instrumental in founding a hospital that is now a national landmark in her name. As an advocate for health she also participated in political efforts to protect Native Americans.

Sources: nrcprograms.org (site), biography.com/news/susan-la-flesche-picotte-biography-facts (site)

Who is She? 13 - Antonia Hernandez

Antonia Hernandez is an attorney based in Los Angeles who now runs the California Community Foundation. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants from Coahuila, Mexico. She graduate from Garfield high school in East LA, and went on to get her law degree from UCLA in 1971. She quickly began using her degree to fight for the rights of Latinxs in East Los. I found out about her through the ground breaking documentary "No Mas Bebes" about Mexican mothers who were sterilized against their will or without their knowledge. Antonia with several of the women who were victims of this practice sued in a landmark case that would make it illegal to perform such activites without a bilingual representative and the documents in the mothers native language. Later Antonia would become a part of MALDEF-the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. There she would work over 20 years fighting for immigration, language, voting, and healthcare rights for Latinxs nationally. From an early age she was involved in boycotts for the UFW and attended many protests. She is a fighter and has been awarded many times for her work.

Sources: CalFund.org (site), Prof.chicanas.com/ (site)

Who is She? 12 - Hermanas Ehlers

Adriana and Dolores Ehlers were sisters who were pioneering women in filmmaking. They lived from 1894-1977 and were from Veracruz Mexico. They were working class girls who started their own portrait studio of photography after one of the sisters learned the process of shooting and developing film. They were then given a grant by President Carranza to study photography in the United States in 1916. After they learned more about photography, they were given a chance to learn filmmaking through a program with eh US army which was making instructional videos for soldiers. Upon their return to Mexico they set up shop to shoot again and were brought onto the Mexican government as part of the Cinematography and censorship department. The sisters made several films about Mexico and were involved in directing, camera operation, film development, production, and sales and instruction of film equipment. The sisters would make short news reel films about current events happening in Mexico and they also sold a lot of film and camera equipment. They were pioneering women in Mexico and film.

sources: The Women in Film Pioneers Project (site), CineMexicano (site)

Who is She?11- Emily Pilloton

Emily Pilloton is a designer from the Bay Area who founded a non profit organization that teaches design, engineering, construction, and problem solving called "Project H". As her bio reads, she was inspired by the fictional TV maverick/problem solver with a toothbrush and a wire; MacGyver! She studied architecture and building, and went on to work on design projects that were not only beautiful, but served a purpose. Some of her projects include building water drums with folks in Africa-BUT, I don't get the vibe from her that she's going in and solving people's problems or viewing anyone as less than or poor. Rather, she is going in and working with people, combining their knowledge and hers to collaborate on a design solution to a problem. Take for instance, the classes her organization currently teaches in Berkeley to empower young girls and their mothers to build!! By putting a drill in their hands she is shifting minds and breaking expectations. I found out about her through the documentary "If you build it" which followed her and designer Matthew Miller as they revolutionized what a high school class could be, by building things with their hands, engaging students, and inspiring new ideas about who they could be.

Sources: If you build it (documentary), Ted Talk (video), Lecture CIDIM (video)