Friday, November 18th at 7pm, the National Museum of Mexican Art will be hosting a world book premiere for Chicanas of 18th Street, a collection of testimonies from six Pilsen-based female activists. Meet the authors and take this opportunity to gain access to lessons learned from this movement and what it means for today’s Latino community.
“Women discuss how education, immigration, religion, identity, and acculturation affected the Chicano movement (University of Illinois Press).”
Through in-depth interviews with the activists we get a look at the unique movements for social reform that took root and grew in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood.
“Highlighting the women's motivations, initiatives, and experiences in politics during the 1960s and 1970s, these rich personal accounts reveal the complexity of the Chicana Movement, conflicts within the Movement, and the importance of teatro and cultural expressions to the movement. Also detailed are vital interactions between members of the Chicana Movement with leftist and nationalist community members and the influence of other activists groups such as African Americans and Marxists (University of Illinois Press).”
Mary S. Prado, author of, Mexican American Women Activists: Identity and Resistance in Two Los Angeles Communities comments, “The personal testimonies allow readers to see the dynamics that transform community members into activists. This engaging study appeals to students and scholars of women’s studies, political science, sociology, and Latina studies.”
19th street mural
Joe Allen, Pilsen resident, and author of People Wasn’t Made to Burn says, “Pilsen is a neighborhood that is aware of its own history, where the past is adored on the walls of the buildings and the viaducts that crisscross the neighborhood, but it doesn’t do it like a museum does to celebrate the past. [Rather, it is to] remember what has to be done today and the future.”
Part of the Barrett Park mural on Cermak road
Activism isn’t new to the historically revolutionary neighborhood and this book provides insights that have inspired and paved the way for future community members’ fight.
Come a little early and check out the current exhibitions at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Dia de Muertos XXV (Day of the Dead), Neptuno, and Claro y Obscuro.
The National Museum of Mexican Art is located at:
1852 W. 19th Street, Chicago 60608
Normal hours are: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Visits are always free
Call for more info: 312-369-9294
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