Elizabeth Martínez
Elizabeth Martínez | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 12, 1925 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | June 29, 2021 (aged 95) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College |
| Literary movement | Chicana |
| Notable works | 500 years of Chicano History in Pictures |
Elizabeth "Betita" Martínez (December 12, 1925 – June 29, 2021[1]) was a Chicana civil rights activist.
Martínez fought alongside other women fighting for their voting rights and was also a writer. In 1960, she joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and there helped design a book on civil rights.[2] She also reported on the Delano grape Strike.
She participated in the Civil Rights Movement, but she felt lonely as she was a non-black woman.[2] She decided to go home and help people of Mexican descent or heritage. It was in New Mexico that she founded a bilingual newspaper, named El Grito del Norte, which translates to "The Cry of the North." [2]Another reason that she moved to Mexico was to fight for land rights agreed upon in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. [3]
She led protests and marches fighting for women's rights. She used her platform to better failing systems around her and helped raise awareness of the sexism and homophobia surrounding Latino culture. She reclaimed the term “Chicana,” which was a derogatory term at the time, to fight back against racist ideologies and norms.[3]
She worked to unite black and brown people and encouraged them to form alliances, as they were the main minority populations in the United States. [3]In her writings, she mentioned how Chicana women were suppressed by Chicano men. Her writings often had themes of freedom and power for all people of color, specifically women.[3]
References
- ↑ "Swarthmore College | college, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 SCHUDEL, M. (2021, July 14). Feminist writer and activist for Mexican Americans - Elizabeth Martinez was prominent campaigner who helped shape the Chicana sociopolitical movement in the 1960s. Independent, The/The Independent on Sunday: Web Edition Articles (London, England), 35. Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 PERRANCE Guest Contributor, R. (2022, March 18). Faribault AAUW tribute to Women in History: Betita Martinez. Faribault Daily News (MN). Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.