Sister circles, meaningful connections among women, can form from the simplest needs. When Beth had her child, she knew she needed help, and she found a gem of support in another woman who loves to help families care for children. Carla became Beth’s nanny, and a beautiful intergenerational bond was formed. Carla’s support extended beyond Beth’s child, and into Beth’s own beliefs, especially about justice, and equity, and education.
Searches for schools led to frustration-laced conversations with white people who talked about diversity, but not equity. People who attempted to center themselves in a self-directed learning space with stated and practiced intentions for anti-racist, social justice-centered norms.
These women scoured local groups in West Seattle, and Facebook groups, to find themselves surrounded by what they describe as white liberal women who still display the same societal patterns of racism on playgrounds, at gymnastics practice, and even in self-directed learning networks.
Eventually, Carla and Beth decided conclusively to start their own liberation-centered learning space. They’ve been planning, pounding pavements, and learning (along with Gigi, who unfortunately, couldn’t make it to the interview with us). Listen to their story, and support if you can. #POCinSDE
GUEST BIOS
Beth is a Chicana wife and mother of two children. Currently she is a stay at home mom and aspiring co-creator of The South Seattle Liberation Collective. Beth is a former elementary school TESOL and bilingual education teacher.
Carla is a Seattle-born and raised Latina, favorite auntie, radical childcare provider and rabblerouser.
Giselle Fuerte (who did not appear on this episode) is a former corporate learning and development professional who worked primarily in the technology sector until she decided it was time to escape “The Rat Race.” She now spends her days, along with her husband, guiding their toddler into one day becoming a freethinking, revolutionary adult, as well as preparing for the arrival of their twins. As an AfroLatinx immigrant to the United States, Giselle has particular interest in working with black and brown immigrants and low income populations and holds a master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.”
OTHER NOTES:
• On Gentrification
• On White-presenting latinx” “Carla and I are the daughters of a brown immigrant from Bolivia and Mexico, respectively, and white american mothers. As a result, we have lighter skin and people generally assume that we are white or they say something like, “you’re…….something.” Although I do not consider myself white, I am the recipient of white privilege as a light skinned/white passing Latina. I am different culturally and personally than white folx but I am not marginalized in the way that darker skinned latinx are.
“Latinx” is an ethnicity and not a race. There are white latinx (people who are from/descendants of folx who are european/mostly european.) White latinx are not POC. Brown indigenous folx are/are the descendants of indigenous people.There are black latinx or afro-latinx who are descendants of folx from Africa. Asian-latinx who are culturally latinx but racially asian. And there are a TON of folx who are a mix of all/some of those groups bc of colonization, slavery, migrant labor, etc. Within those groups, there are varying ways of “presenting.”
• Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality
• Contact Beth: lopez_bethany @ yahoo dotcom