A new study found that participating in community organizing can increase civic agency and promote healing for Latina/o communities.
Current immigration policy has increased the need for Latina/o parents to discuss race, ethnicity, immigration status, and politics with their children. The study found that participating in community organizing shaped the way mothers discussed these topics with their children.
Familial activism supported the mothers’ and teens’ understanding of sociopolitical issues, gave them a sense of community, and increased their sense of civic agency surrounding immigration issues and other issues affecting Latina/o and other marginalized communities.
By recognizing the human rights of immigrants and modeling positive coping mechanisms, the mothers gave youth the opportunity to develop a greater sense of their personal agency and belonging, and increased their well-being.
“Mothers taught their teens about their agency to transform their worlds into a better place. As such, youth internalized these messages and felt empowered to make a difference to improve the lives of their families,” the co-authors wrote in the study.
The study, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, was co-authored by Saraí Blanco Martinez, a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies. She co-wrote the study with Fernanda Lima Cross, Joel Lucio, Jasmin Aramburu, and Gabriela Livas.
They conducted in-depth interviews with 12 Latina/o immigrant mothers and teens in Michigan involved with Movimento Cosecha, a grassroots immigrant rights organization that advocates for undocumented immigrants, focusing on access to driver’s licenses, immigrant protection and policy, know-your-rights workshops, and information on pathways to citizenship.
Their findings suggest that community organizations can serve as a sanctuary space for Latina/os where they can feel safe from immigration enforcement agencies and learn about socio-historical factors that impact marginalized people as well as histories of resistance. Their research also highlights the importance of creating youth-oriented healing spaces within communities.
The paper “They Grow up in That Environment”: Latinx Immigrant Mothers' Sociopolitical Engagement, Youth Agency, and the Role of Community Organizations in a Divisive US Immigration Landscape” is available online.