What does it take to build a movement that centers women? We asked Eastside leaders

Across the Eastside, women have been at the heart of social movements. They’ve helped families affected by immigration raids. They’ve led healing circles for women in their communities. They’ve supported survivors of gender-based violence and abuse.

In the aftermath of sexual abuse allegations against César Chávez, a man revered for his leadership in the farm workers movement, many women in these spaces are reflecting on what safety, respect and accountability look like in the community spaces they’ve long led. For them, pushing back against gender-based discrimination and violence is not an afterthought. 

Boyle Heights Beat spoke to three women who form part of groups and organizations on the Eastside about how they support one another, what it takes to hold space for survivors and push their movements forward.

“We will be the ones to challenge the culture to change for the better for everyone, not just for women.”

–Karina Lopez, co-chair of Centro CSO’s executive committee

In the past year, social justice group Centro CSO has supported families whose loved ones have been killed by law enforcement and communities affected by immigration raids in the Eastside.

The organization launched a petition calling for White Memorial to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making medical decisions for patients. It helped patrol outside First Street Elementary during a cluster of raids in Boyle Heights, called for police accountability and protested alongside the family of Jeremy Flores, who was shot and killed by police in the neighborhood.

At the forefront are women leading the organization. Lopez is one of them. 

“Women are always going to be at the forefront of the fight, and whether we get credit for it or not, we’re always going to be there because mujeres, we don’t just think about ourselves. We think about the collective,” said Lopez, 27. 

After the allegations against Chávez surfaced, Centro CSO issued a statement condemning all forms of sexual violence and expressing solidarity with survivors. The Boyle Heights-based organization noted Chávez’s roots with Centro CSO, which recruited and trained him and Huerta in the 1950s as organizers before they co-founded the United Farm Workers. As Centro CSO stated, the historic fight waged by the UFW paved the way for the Chicano movement and made Chávez famous, “not the other way around.” 

The organization went on to highlight that Centro CSO is “primarily led by Chicana women and mothers.”

“When we’re fighting for justice and for our liberation, we have to always think about gender-based violence, gender issues and equality. Women need to be there to highlight whenever these things are not being addressed. We will be the ones to challenge the culture to change for the better for everyone, not just for women,” Lopez said. 

To Lopez, it’s important to uplift the fight of farm workers and, at the same time, condemn Chávez.

“He was very problematic in his views, where he saw immigrant workers as separate from Chicano workers, and that is not how CSO feels about the situation,” she said. 

“We include immigrant rights whenever we talk about workers’ rights. We include immigrants when we talk about Chicano liberation in the Southwest … and we’re going to continue fighting for immigrant rights and continue making sure that women and children feel safe and protected within our movement,” she added. “We just see these types of abuse as connected.”

“There’s no hierarchy in our circle. There’s not one person in charge”

–Belén Velázquez, Women’s Circle facilitator at WOC Sister Collective 

Belén Velázquez’s work is deeply rooted in Indigenous practices, where leadership is not hierarchical and women are seen as community matriarchs.

Velazquez is a facilitator of Women’s Circle, a monthly gathering hosted by the WOC Sister Collective for women and non-binary people to share space and discuss topics related to growth and healing.  

“There’s no hierarchy in our circle. There’s not like one person in charge … We’re all sitting in council and we’re here to not judge each other,” she said.

After allegations against Chávez surfaced last month, Velasquez and the collective hosted an emergency circle for survivors of abuse to share their experiences and support each other. A few women showed up, Velasquez said, and because she and other circle facilitators are trauma-informed, they were able to provide tools for participants to feel grounded and safe. 

As a survivor of domestic abuse, Velasquez said finding the WOC Sister Collective in 2018 was a lifeline that helped pull her out of a deep depression and strengthened her faith. 

Now, as a mother, she hopes to teach her daughter the same things that the collective and the women who attend the circles have taught her. 

“I want to teach [my daughter] that her voice matters, that her body belongs to herself, that her body is perfect, just the way it is. I want to teach her her self-autonomy and her strength.”

The Women’s Circle is held on the first Monday of the month at Eastside Cafe.

“People always think it’s just cultural to be silent. It’s something that we don’t talk about. But, it’s not that it’s cultural. It’s survival.”

–Rebeca Melendez, associate director for the East Los Angeles Women’s Center

“Where your silence is heard.” That’s the mantra for the East Los Angeles Women’s Center, which has advocated for survivors and families affected by violence and abuse for decades. The organization, with an emphasis on Latino communities, began in 1976 as the East Los Angeles Rape and Battering Hotline.

“Our hearts have been so heavy,” said Rebeca Melendez, associate director for the East LA Women’s Center, soon after the Chávez allegations came to light. “The rest of our community feels what we feel every day with survivors.”

Melendez said the news highlights the center’s importance. Its 70 staff members and hundreds of volunteers work the hotline and serve as “promotoras contra la violencia.”

“We are the rape crisis center in our service area and it’s important that people know that our work is innovative and that our doors are open,” she said. “We remind people that it’s never too late and understand people when they’ve taken their time.”

On Wednesday, the women’s center held its first ever “Invincible Day” for survivors and allies to mark the start of Sexual Assault Awareness Month with stories and poetry.

“Our conversation for the last 50 years has been exactly what it is with any other survivor coming forward,” Melendez added. “We do this work every day and we do this in our best capacity. We show up for Dolores Huerta in the same way we show up for anybody in our community.”

“The question is how many more Dolores’ are out there, who maybe because Dolores … has felt like this was a time for her to speak. That’s going to give other people the opportunity to step forward … That’s all I can hope for,” Melendez said.

Resources on the Eastside:

Need support? RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE, or text HOPE to 64673.