Cross-Sector Collaboration: An Autohistoria From the Women of MAS (Mexican American Studies) for the Masses

• In Event: Bolstering the Voices of Racially Marginalized Students and Families Through a Community-Based Approach to Leadership

Abstract

Objective
The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which Latina and Chicana mothers position themselves as community-based educational leaders through grassroots community organization work in South Texas. Leaders are traditionally viewed as those individuals who maintain high positions in jobs and organizations and are grounded on assumptions about a male understanding of power and authority (Delgado Bernal, 1998; Mèndez-Negrete, 1999). Women are often considered behind-the-scenes players, and their activism is oftentimes marginalized and minimized by placing their work in the context of a male perspective (Mèndez-Negrete, 1999). Most leadership models do not take into account other factors of leadership such as gender, race, and socioeconomic status (Alemán, Pérez-Torres, & Oliva, 2013). Alemán et al. (2013) explain how traditional leadership theories fail to consider all the ways in which parents apply their leadership skills to better meet the needs of their children’s educational experiences. This paper seeks to explore leadership models that counter traditional leadership models by investigating the following question: How do Latina mothers work together as community-based educational leaders to meet the educational needs of their community?

Theoretical Perspective
For this study, the researchers utilize Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE) as a lens to make sense of their experiences on the knowledges of parent leaders in schools and communities (Delgado Bernal, 1998; Delgado Bernal & Alemán, 2016). CFE questions the ideas of objectivity and a universal foundation of knowledge and is rooted in the life experiences of Chicanas (Delgado Bernal, 1998). By using Chicana feminist epistemologies as a framework, the women rely on their cultural intuition to examine their leadership characteristics in their grassroots organization work. Cultural intuition is defined as “. . . a complex process that acknowledges the unique viewpoints that many Chicana scholars bring to the research process” (Delgado Bernal, 1998, p. 555).

Methods & Results
In this piece, the authors use Anzaldúa’s (2015) concept of autohistoria to reflect on their five-year journey together conducting work alongside communities and schools. Autohistoria is defined as the intervention and transformation by women of color on traditional western forms of autobiography and is informed by reflective self-awareness within the context of social justice work (Anzaldúa, 2015). Preliminary findings show how the women in the study utilize cross-sector collaborations to form partnerships with other community organizations, small businesses, families, youth, schools, educators, artists, musicians, and city government leaders to provide cultural programming within their community.

Significance
Aligned with AERA’s theme, this study emphasizes the ways in which parents, family, youth, and community members collaborate and challenge traditional leadership models of education leadership. This research project is significant in that it highlights the ways parents and students participate as community-based educational leaders to organize and meet the needs of their community and schools.

Author

• Lisa Mendoza Knecht, The University of Texas - San Antonio