Seeking a Mexicana/Mestiza¹

1. Mestiza/o and the colloquial Mexicana/o gives name to a racialized, hyphenated ethnic identity, born on both sides of the US–Mexico border (Villenas, 2006), the mixture of indigenous, Spanish, and African ancestry resulting from Spain’s sixteenth-century conquest of Mexico and the Southwest (Acuña 1988; Anzaldúa 1987; Córdova, 1994; Gomez 2008; Menchaca 1999). I privilege these terms as they transcend ethnic lines, nationality, geography, and political borders (Delgado Bernal 2006; Valenzuela 1999).

Ethic of Care: Rosa’s Revolución of carrying alongside

Abstract

This Chicana Critical Feminist Testimonio reveals a Mexican/Mexican-American Ethic of Care particular to the needs and strengths of Mexicana/o students and Testimonios of struggle, survival informing one Mexican/Mexican-American female educator of predominantly Mexican/Mexican-American students. This work, theoretically framed within Chicana and Black Feminisms, is part of a larger ethnographic study conducted through multiple methods. Findings reveal Rosa’s Mexicana/Mestiza Ethic of Care, a (re)incarnated social justice revolution carrying education as ethical imperative toward uplift. Findings have implications for all educators to protect and sustain ongoing struggles for equity and dignity for Mexicana/o youth and all those on the margins of schooling.

Keywords:

• Critical Feminist Ethic of Care
• Testimonio
• social justice curriculum and pedagogy
• Chicana/o
• Mexican/Mexican-American
• Hispanic

Notes

1. Mestiza/o and the colloquial Mexicana/o gives name to a racialized, hyphenated ethnic identity, born on both sides of the US–Mexico border (Villenas, 2006), the mixture of indigenous, Spanish, and African ancestry resulting from Spain’s sixteenth-century conquest of Mexico and the Southwest (Acuña 1988; Anzaldúa 1987; Córdova, 1994; Gomez 2008; Menchaca 1999). I privilege these terms as they transcend ethnic lines, nationality, geography, and political borders (Delgado Bernal 2006; Valenzuela 1999).

2. I capitalize Her and She when referring to the spirit of La Revolucionista Encargada, or La Encargada to highlight a unified warrior spirit across participants. I in no way aim to distance La Encargada from participants who embody Her: