Service Learning Activism Log #2

Activism: This week, I alone represented our Global class at the Woman to Woman Conference at the Hope Community Center in Apopka. To be perfectly honest, I was very disappointed in the turnout from our class because it was my understanding that this or the AMA event, which no one went to either, would be the component that would connect our class's experiences to women, and I now hold significant reservations about how well we have managed to do so.


More importantly, however, YAYA definitely made the best out of what could have been a bad situation, considering that we had intended to mobilize ten YAYAs and only had six. We had a great time playing with the kids, and it was very gratifying to know that farmworker women could learn valuable information without having to worry about domestic constraints. This is the last week of our project, but I plan to stay involved with YAYA in the coming months, including the FLOC mobilization to North Carolina, so that's exciting. In terms of the group dynamics, I think that the group of YAYAs we mobilized was diverse enough to replicate coalitions of people from multiple backgrounds, as would be the case in transnational activism, and at this point, I consider most of them very close friends.


Reflection: Lack of access to childcare is a recurring problem in keeping working women oppressed, as their time outside of compulsory labor is spent occupied by the oft-discussed "second shift." Our role in the Woman to Woman conference exemplifies how coalition-building can offset the tremendous toll of managing personal responsibilities with practical politics. Like the "invisible women" discussed in Sharon Navarro's chapter of Women's Activism and Globalization, these women may face "language discrimination, discrimination because they are Mexican, and discrimination because they are women" (89). Their role in the workforce and at home is delegitimated, but the problems they face in both spheres— sexual harassment, domestic violence, issues with reproductive justice, and more—can be offset in some ways through education and community-building amongst themselves, as the work that AMA and the Hope CommUnity Center have been doing indicates. 


Reciprocity: As I've discussed throughout these logs, this project has left a lasting impression on me, not only through learning about organizing and working better in groups, which is an invaluable skill that I was definitely previously lacking, but also in instilling a passion for YAYA and farmworker/labor rights. I cannot say enough positive things about the experiential aspects of this project. While I had expected the aspects of the class focusing on women organizing globally/transnationally to be more apparent or stressed in some ways, learning to cooperate, mince words while remaining decisive and assertive in my communication, and generally just meet people where they're at to a greater extent has been much more important, ultimately lasting progress for me.

Works Cited

Navarro, Sharon A. "Las Mujeres Invisibles/The Invisible Women."Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics. By Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai. New York: Routledge, 2002. 83-98. Print.