Community-driven leadership: Mexican-origin farmworking mothers resisting deficit practices by a school board in California

ABSTRACT

We examine how the community-driven leadership (CDL) of farmworker mothers challenged deficit practices of the local school board, which decided to close the school in the community. CDL is the ability of mothers to activate their community cultural wealth to mobilize their resources in search of better educational opportunities. The mothers organized to take action in order to disrupt systems of oppression embedded in their local public school system. Testimonios showcase the inequalities the mothers experienced in attempting to advocate for their children’s education, and the ways in which they responded to oppression.

KEYWORDS:

• community-driven leadership (CDL)
• Mexican farmworkers
• mothers
• Chicana feminism
• deficit practices
• testimonios