Against The Grain Of Power Essays On Everyday Resistance Vol. 1

Agalnst
theGrain
of
Pouuer:
Essays
onEverYdaY
llesistance
lot.1
PageI

Against The Grain of Power
This zine is a collection of essaysproducedby UCSC students
during a 2018 SummerSessioncourseat UCSC entitled,"EverydayForms
of Resistance
in the context of Neoliberalism,white supremacy,andsettler
Colonialism."The purposeof this zine is multifaceted.It is an invitationfor
the readerto becomeopento learning about everydayresistance,to grapple
with its complexitiesind impurities, to exchangedeficit narratives_
for
narrativesof resistance.
lt is a call to actionto shift one'sparadigrnandlens
of the world andparticipatein collectiveactionsthat areinformedby dayto
dayresistance.
It is a challengeto the bordersbetweentheuniversityandthe
community,in hopesthatcertainknowledgesdo notjust circulatewithin the
academyand among studentswho can pay tuition or qualify for financial
aid. And for the studentswho took this class, it is a platform for them to
voicetheir passionandsharewhattheyhaveleamed'
Everydayresistanceisabouthowpeopleactintheireverydaylives
that might underminepower (vinthagen & Johansson,
2013) andchallenge
the logics of oppression.Often everydayresistanceis necessarilysubtle,
hidden from view of thosewho areprivileged within fower relations, or not
understood.Studying everydayresistancein marginalizedcommunitiesis
abouttaking u potitia $ance on the side of historically marginalizedand
oppressed
gio.tpt, acknowledgingthat for peoplein thesepositionsit is not
alwaystufJ o. possibleto engagein overt collectiveforms of resistance.
By
. reaiing for reiistance"we challengedeficit narrativesthat suggestpeople
.who eiperience oppression and domination are docile, accepting of
'oppression,anddo not find waysto pushbapkandresist'
"Resistance"is a contestedconceptwithoui much agreementto
what countsasresistance.
The most agreedupondefinition ofresistanceare
the overt visible forms (Hollander & Einwohner, 2.004)- the boycotts,
protests,marches,etc.with an explicit political agenda'Everydayresistance
is often either ignored or critiqued for not directly attempting to transform
structuresand policies or enactedwith a particularpolitical consciousness'
Such expectationsfor resistanceto look a certain way, have a particular
intention or effect, and be carried out with a particular political
consciousness
missesthe point. Rather, these expectationsuphold elitist
criteriaanddismisses
the eiperienceof living in "tight spaces"(Cruz,2016)
of oppression,where moviment is surveilled and restricted' Everyday
resistanceis not to be romanticized.Like other fypes of resistance,
it can
undermine some forms of power while simultaneouslyupholding other
forms. Yet, it allows usto understand
andrespecthow peoplesuffocatedby
thetoxicity of oppression
find waysto breathe.
The final assignmentfor this course encoufirgedeach student to
pick an everydayformifresistance (onenot discussed
in the class)enacted
fy a historicaliy marginalized group. Students were asked to critically
e*a-irre the hisioricat ind political context in which resistanceis enacted,
deficit/dominant narratives about the particular group, how their
positionality hinders and helps them read for resistance, and the collective
movements that are in dialectical relationship to everyday acts of resistance.
We hope these essays serve as catalysts for more generative conversations
and inquiry about lhe meaning of everyday resistance.
Sincerely,
Christine Rosales*, Instructor of Record
*Any inquiry for this zine cn be made by contacting Christine Rosales at
chelrosa@ucsc.edu
References
Cruz,C. (2016).When doesresistance
begin?QueerimmigrantandU.S.
bom Latina/o youth,identity, andthe infrapolitics ofthe street.In
G.Q. Conchas
& B M. Hinga (Eds.),Cracksin theschoolyard:
ConfrontingLatino educationalinequality(pp. 131-143).New York, NY:
Teachers
CollegePress.
Hollander,J. A., & Einwohner,R. L. (2004).Conceptualizing
resistance.
Sociologicalfonm, l9{4), 533-554.
Vinthagen,S.,& Johansson,
A. (2013).Everydayresistance:
Exploration
of a conceptand its theories.ResistanceStudiesMagazine, l(l), 1-46.
Table ofContents
'?ayee2t.,.......
By Fatima Mohammadi
EmbodyingResistance............ ............pg.10-15
By Quinn V.
You CaIl Delinquent...-..,....-..... '.'..'.........pg.1619
By ksly
The Struggle for Acceptance: Why LGBTQ+
Youth Seekend Find Their ChosenFamily...,.., .............pg.20'23
By Joy Baumeister
Little Seeds
for Uberation.......... .........pg.24'28
By N. Nava
UndergroundCommunication ....-...........p9.29-34
By Maha Taitano
'Speak American"
By MilcaBaires
...........pg.
35-37
lnsideOut.......
By Jillian
Page2
Page3
.pg.
38-39

uPaywz'
FatimaMohammadi
"I wish I wasAutumn." The wordsof a woman,the wordsof Farsi
poet Forough Farrokhzad; they projected through the endearment and
familiarity of my father'svoice- His melody resonatedfrom the carpetof the
living room floor to the faded ceiling lights, and it shall forever remain
engravedin my memory. When my father first sang"Payeez"or "Autumq"
it awakenedsomethinginside of me. SomethingI had chosento forget and
move away from. But with every strike of the tabla and every breathof my
father's harmoni4 I was closer and closer connected to the collective
strugglesandtriumphs of my peoplein Afghanistan-When the Soviet Union
invaded Afghanistan, my dad coded his dreamsof freedonl liberation. and
revolution into poetry and music. He composedmusic from poems,using
metaphors
ofnature andbeau{' to concealmessages
ofhope, resistance,
and
expressionof culture. My father's melody reminded me that i am a product
of survivors,resistors,and story-tellers.Most of atl, it remindedme of the
strongestwoman I have ever known. A woman so strong that although she
haspassedaway,her strengthandpassionstill lives within me andthe restof
herchildren.My mother.
Every time my fathersings"Payeez,"I feel my mother'spresence.
I
seeher sitting acrossftom me, silently humming and rooking back and forth
to the beatof thetabla. Sheembodiedthe entire spirit of the song.The poem/
song invites the listener to imagine a world in which they could be like
Autumn, wearing their pain and a variety of complex emotions beautifdly
and colortully on their sleeves.The poet saysif shewere Autumn, "[her]
leavesof hopewould oneby onetum yellow," "[her] tearswould pour down
like rain andcolor [her] dress,""thesunsof[her] eyeswould turn cold," and
"the sky in [her] chestwould fill with pain." Theseare all descriptionsof
silent" yet vibrant forms of expression These versesremind me of my
mother, becauseI saw beauty in how sheexpressedher pain and emotions
with completesilence.Her silencewas not a sign of weakness.
Like many
Afghan women, my mother was a survivor of many forms of violence in her
lifetime. In the wake of this violencesheleamedto resistin the subtle,yet
po*erful way that.Afghan women know. As her daughterand asan Afghan
woman,this resistance
is in my blood,andit is my missionwith this pieceof
writing to uncovervoices of resistance
beautifully and protectivelyhidden
from theoulsider-perspective.
AboutthisPiece:
I have taken the opportunity to examine how Afghan women use
storytelling as a discrete method of spreadingnarratives that promote
community/familial empowerment, and the intemalization of ideas thar
undermineoppressive
powersystems.
I would like to examinethis everyday
form of resistance
within the contextof the time period betweenthe post-
Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan until the present-day Taliban
occupation.
I took interestin this because
asanAfghan womananddaughter
ofAfghan refugees,
I grewup hearingstoriesofresistancefrom manystrong
female figures in my life. As an Afghan woman, I do recognize that my
positionality could causeme to cometo conclusionsthat arebiasedandfavor
Afghan-centric narrativesover western-dominant narratives.However, I see
that as a benefit as well because rarely in academic scholarship of
Afghanistan are Afghan wornen's voices and perspectivesreaily centered.I
also believe my positionality is an advantagebecauseI canusemy personal
narratives and stories frorn my family members who directly experienced
strugglesin Afghanistan to provide insight into what resistancemight have
looked like back home. At the sametime, I acknowledgethat as ro*eor,"
who was bom in the u.s, there are limitations to how authentically I can
communicatethe strugglesof Afghan women that actually experiencedlife
in Afghanistan. Furlhermore, sincethe rnajority of my family membersfled
Afghanistan after or during the SovietUnion invasion, I realizethat I do not
have much of a gateway into viewing the ways in which Afghan women
lived their lives in Afghanistanin the 90s and post-9/ll. However, I do
believethat exploring this topic through my positionality is a stepin the right
direction from much of the scholarshipconductedaboutAfghan women that
focus on deficit-narratives and come ftom people with identities that rarely
overlapwith Afghan women.
Settingthe Scene:
In 1979"the SovietUnion invadedAfghanistanin attemptsto assert
itself asa globalpowerby seizingcontrolof Afghanistan'sgovernmentand
major cities (Heath & zahedi"20ll). The Soviet union faced opposition
from the Mujahedin, Afghan freedom fighters that were supported,funded,
and armed primarily by the united states in order to stop the soviet union
from growing in power, but also by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (Heath &
Zahedi,20ll). After ten years of war and opposition,the Soviet Union
retreatedfrom Afghanistan in 1989 (lleath & Zahed|20ll). After the
Soviets' retreat, coalitions and factions in Afghanistan battled for politicat
control. The Taliban emergedfrom these €troups,and with the help of the
U.S' and Pakistan'ssupport,the Taliban was given a platform to assume
political power over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 (Heath & Zahedi,
20ll). soon after the Septemberll aftackson the world rrade center in
2001,the U.S declaredthe "War on Terror." The War on Terror markedthe
beginningof yearsof ideologicaland military warfareaimedat protecting
the u"S from threats of terrorism. As apart of the war on Terror, military
forcesled by the u.S overthrewthe Tatibanregime in 2001. Despitethis,
from 2003 until now the Taliban remainsin Afghanistanfighting io regain
political domination.with growing numbersof u.s troops in Afghanistan,
Taliban attacksincreasing,and the U.S using deadly weaponsto ta.rget
Talibanforces,violencein Afghanistanremainspersistent
to this day.
During times of political turmoil, Afghan women were subjectto
violence, sexual abuse, and harassment (IJeath & Zahedi, 20ll).
Additionally, since many women lost their sons,husbands,brothers.and
fathers due to imprisonment or war-violence, they carried the sole
Page4 Page 5

responsibili0/of providingfor their families.Thus,they wererobbedof any
opportunity for stability becauseunder oppressive regimes such as the
Taliban, obstacleswere put in placemaking it extremelydifficult for women
to find work, accesseducafion,provide for their families, and move about
freely (Heath & Zahed| 201I ). In addition to facing the impacts of war and
political instability, women were also most impacted by extreme poverly,
poor healthcare, and environmental risk factors. Years of war and harsh
weather conditions damaged and depleted much of Afghanistan's natural
resources
(Heath& Zahedi,20ll). Fwthermore,because
of the drug trade
andincreasedopium production after U.S intervention, not only did violence
increase, but also most agricultural spacewas taken up by poppy fields
(Heath& Zahedi,20l1). ln 2009,Afghanistanwasnamedthe worstplacein
the world for a child to be born and was also found to have the second
highestmaternalmortality rate in the world (Heath& Zahedi,20ll). With
widespread
violence,poverty,unsafedrinking water,unsanitaryconditions,
widespread food-insecurity, lack of agricultuml prosperif, the spread of
deadly diseases,and the lack of accessto sufficient healthcare,Afghan
women's heallh is threatenedin every possiblelevel. Despite all of the
hardships Afghan women face on a daily basis, they have continued to
survive and resist for decades,making them some of the most resilient
womenin theworldin my opinion.
Afghan Women in Western Media
When most people pictr.uean Afghan woman, the first thing that
likely cornesto mind is famous photograph of SharbatGula" the cover of
National Geographicin 1985(pictured below). This photo was taken by
Steve McCurry in a refugee camp in Pakistan during the Soviet Union
occupationof Afghanistan(Mackie,2012).Whenthis photograph
wastaken,
there was no altempt to actually humanizeor respectGula asan individual,
communicate her story, or even document her name (Mackie, 2012). The
photo sirnply referred to her as "the Afghan girl" and centeredher as this
representation
of the "exotic" Afghan woman (Mackie, 2012). Not only
does the photo only focus on her appearance,but it also paints her as a
victim that lacks agency. The photographis just one example of how
Westem media promotes the deficit-narrative that Afghan women are
passiveobjectsofoppressivecultural nofins, andthus, needto be savedby
more "civilized" Westernpowersand ideologies.This obsessionwith the
"savior" and "protection" of Afghan women's bodies has been spread
constanllyafterBush declaredthe "War on Terror." It canbe seenthrough
Westem media and news sourcesthat paint Afghan women as a victim of
"savage"Muslim menthatimposetheveil andposea threatto freedomand
liberty. This narrativede-historizes
anddepoliticizesthe struggles
ofAfghan
women, attributing them to cultural and religious faults rather than the
political, social,andhistoricalimpactsof global inequality,yearsof war, &
imperialism.Thus, this narrative strips Afghan women of agency,erases
their voices, and ignoresthe reality that Afghan women have historically
beenandcontinueto beresilientsurvivorsof war andmultifacetedviolence.
Page6 Page7
The Home & Storytelling asan Act of Resistance:
How is it that Afghan women have survived so manv vears of
violence, poverty, and instability? Although many Afghan *o*"o
-uy
oot
have accessto "wealth" in the traditional monetary sense,they have what
Tara J. Yosso describesas 'tultural capitar"(yosso, 2005). For elample,
Afghan women have "aspirational capital," meaning they have a limitLss
capacity to hope and dream for a better future lyosso, 2005). This
contributes to Afghan women's resilience becauseto be able to see the
possibility for a better future in light of the most difficult circumstances
inspiresnew generationsof children to actualizetheir dreamsand strive for a
better reali$' than their parents had. Furthermore, Afghan women have
*familial"
and "social" capital becausethey always find ways to build
community, and utilize whatever community resourcesand social networks
they can accessto get what they need(yosso, 2005). Afghan women arethe
onesprimarily passingdown andpreservingthe rich Afghan culture, history,
and narratives of resistancedown ro their children and beyond. This
preservationof culture, community, andhopes.ofa betterfuture, iro"r, as**
threatens to tear these resourcesapart, are contributing factors to how
paymont for these scrvices, providing rnany Afghan women with incorne
(Povey,2013).For example,a womancalled Ghamarjaan taughtover g00
studentsin her home in exchangefor payment (povey, 20i3). Through
creating theseunderground.schools,not only were Afghan women fighting
againstsystemicbarriersthat preventedthem from accessingeducationat
institutions,but they werealsopassingdowntheir own narratives,skill-sets,
stories, languages, and aspirations down to their children and other
community mernbers, coturtering any false narratives spread by political
authorities,
Furthermore,
storytellingis andalwayshasbeena commonpractice
in Afghan households.According to Zohra Saed, an Afghan_bornpoet
residing in the united States:"while the majority of our grandmotherscould
Afghan women havebeenso resislantover
theyears.
As long as Afghanistan has
existed, Afghan women have used their
homesas sitesof resistance.
In the home,
women can work 1o undermine power in
ways that are hidden and pose less risk of
comprornisingtheir safety. In a society
wherewomendo not havesufficientaccess
to work, education,and safeenvironments,
the homebecomes
a sourceof comfortand
empowermenl. C)ne way Afghan women
usedtheir homesto resistsystems
of power
was by tuming their hornes into
underground schools @ovey, 2013).
Neighbors, friends, and relatives offer

not reador write, they leamed classicaland modernDari poetry through the
'rich oral tradition and passedit down to their children. Our kitchen was
always lttzzing with gossip and poetry, religion and fairytales, philosophy
and recipes"(Lleath&. Zahedi,20l l). Not only is storytellingembedded
in
traditional Afghao life, but it is an everyday form of resistancebecauseit
circulates narratives that undermine power, promote cultural preservation,
and instill pride. Stories can take the form of folktales, myths, and even
poetry. Many storiestold by Afghan women usemetaphorandmythology to
concealor transform elementsof reality. For example,when I wasyounger I
remember my mother, my amts, and my grandmotherstelling me stories
about small animals using their wits to outsmart and defeat unconquerable
beasts.
Thesestoriesmademe feelpowerful,confident,andcapable,
because
it instilled in me at a young agethe idea that even though I am small, I am
powerlirl in uniqueways.
Storytellingcould also be usedto disguisepolitical messages
and
spreadnarratives that undermine power structures.For example, Spozhmai
Zaryab was ar Afghan woman who specialized in anti-war short stories.
zaryab combinedold myths andfamiliar Quranic storieswith new elements
and ideasthat pushedthe imagination andinvited listenersto reimaginetheir
currentreality (Bezhan,2013).For instance,in her story *Shekar-i
Freshta/
Hunting Angel," the narrator tells her four-year daughter about angels
(Bezhan,2013).The narator goeson to starttalking abouthow when she
was younger, her grandmother had told her the same stories about how
angelswould record her goodandbaddeeds,obliging her to beobedientand
always paranoidabout her behavior. Sherecountedthat shehatedthe angels
on her left-shoulder (Bezhan, 2013). In this story, Zaryab incorporates
angels,an elementthat most Afghans are familiar with, and provides a new
perspective about them. She uses angels to discreetly citicize the Leftist
govemment and political environment at the time, in which people always
had to watch their backs out of fear and had to rernain compliant. This
clearlyshowshow story'telling
couldserveasa way of underminingpoliticar
power by spreadingideas of resentmentand criticism towards the current
political reality.
IIow canwe bestsupport Afghan women?
Oneof the bestwaysto supportAfghan womenis by giving thema
platformto directly sharetheir voices,experiences,
stories,andperspectives.
This can be done by support organizations such as the Revolutionary
Associationof Women in Afghanistan(RAWA), an organizationcreatedby
Afghan women themselvesthat advocatesfrom the ground up for justice for
Afghan women (Heath & Zahedi,20tl). RAWA is also great becauseit
spreadsawarenessabout women's experiencesin Afghanistan through
publications,art pieces,writings, and testimonialsfiom Afghan lvomen
themselves. By supporting RAWA, we can support uplifting Afghan
women'svoicesandcenteiingthem.By supportingthemwe arealsohelping
counter the narrative that Afghan women are passivevictims that lack any
agency. We should refrain from speakingabout Afghan women or treating
Page8
Page9
them in a way that victimizes them, dehumanizesthem, and disempowers
them- we should also make sure to understandwhy Afghan *o-"o
-"
struggling and what exactly they are struggring wrttr. rnerr struggle is not
aboutthe burka andthe veil, it is about issuescausedby structurJ violence,
years of war, poverty, imperialism, political turmoil, and other social,
polifical, andhistorical factorsimpactingtheir stability.
Furthermore, in terms of internationar assistance. women in
Afghanistan benefrt from support for fostering "bottom-up, comm'nity
organizations" becausethey provide a sustainable,long-term opportuniry for
economicsecuri4'G1eath& Zahedj,20ll). They also give *orn"r, agency
by directly involving them and empowering them to make their-own
decisions about the projects and organizing strategies they want to
undertake- Furthermore, this type of grassroots orgaoiring helps foster
commtmity-buildingandinvolvement,which could havean overatipositive
effect on Afghan women's hearthft{eath & zahedi,2Ol r). An ex#rpte or
this is the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), a non_govemmental
organizationfoundedin 1995thathassupported
319 schools,hialth centers,
and educationalcentersbuilt from the grassrootsin Afghanistan & pakistan
(Fleath & Zahed| 20ll). The organizalion promotes these programs,
sustainability so efrectively that about 90 percentof the grassrootsteirnirrg
centers and health centers have become self-sufficient (Heath & zahedi"
?0lt_l
rhis provesthe positivelong-termimpactthatgrassroots
communily-
building hason Afghan womenandAfghan peoplein leneral
Bibliography
BezhanFaridullah.
"StorytellingMyth,andtheAfghanistan
Warsin
Spozhmai
Zaryab'sAnti-warShortStories.',
Storytelling,Self, Socie4;9,
no.2(2013.
169-87.
doi:I0.I3I I0/storselfsoci.
g.2.01
69.
Heath'Jennifer"
andAshrafZahedr.
Landofthe lJnconquerabre:
TheLives
of contemporary
Afghanl{omen.Berkerey:
universiryof califomia press,
201
1.Accessed
JulyI5,201
8.
ProQuest
Ebook
Central.
Ma-ckie,
Ve,r, "The'AfghanGirls': Mediarepresentations
andframes
of
war." Continuum26, no. I (Februaryl, 2012): ll5_131. doi:
I0.I080/t0304312
2012.630146
Povey,
Elaheh
Rostami.
"Vy'cmen
in Afghanistan:
passive
victimsof the
BorgaorActiveSocialparticipants?',
Development
in practice_
13
:2-3(2O13).
266-277,
doi:I0.1080/09
614s2O3
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Yosso,
TaraJ."whosec'lture Hascapital?
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006

Embodying Resislance
Mv daddv owns thisretlillanY and vou,re too fat ro be on the
slide," a young blonde gr, *fo;"J.",*_un"._of_factly. ..you
need to
leave."prior to orhergiriapprgu"ffi ,f .o y.* old sell. I washavinga
greattime crimbingup thejungle gd""d rriaing downjust to do it a. over
again'My dadhadlet me run un,ot
^
*"*Jr"a for our food andI courdn,t
be more excited' Now' the .o^,,,"nt truoi#"' itself deepinto my stomach
and made an uncomforrabl" f..1il;-o;:;a.Te sgnle in place of my
excitement. I don't remember if I s'hot *yrfrirrg back to her, but I do
rememtrer
siting in rhemiddleof arunnel ;;ih.,iry;;*n*,***4
crying.Eventually,
'nlqud
rapped
on ,h; pl;i,. ot.rhetunnelandtoldme it
wastime lo comedown to.eat.i .u_e Oo*r,.Jul I wasno longerhungrv
under a racist cisheteropatriarchy,trror. *to fa, outsideor-societat
ideals.are largely pathologized
""A
_#" ."
undesirabre.
F;tJ;I' queer
bodies
r,"*
"r
*"1,
j"r.t'",ffi
;.tJi,lilili;,il3
colonization'bodiesthai existed;;;;;;raristic, western ;aeatstrave
beenexotified and exploit"a- *'e.r ws"-J'in^gruin'" r"r."'.r-i"l*r.,,,
inside of fat queerbrown folks
-a
#ur."'iioifficult for them to ,r*igur"
their everyday lives. From j"b, ; ;;;, ,o"lr, at large prefers ro isnore
anddevaluelat queersof coror.si-pr" i",r r*h asrefusingto beashimed
ofour bodies,beingour own andothers'advocates,
anddistancingowselves
from peoplewho speaknegafiveryor ru,-i.o"u'. queerbodiesare practices
of everydayresistance.
Furthermlre. Ai'"rri"i", have mobilized to creare
::ffi|;
organizarions on and offline to diredly challenge anti_fat
,
pressureto adhereto desirabili4rpoliticsoftenmeansthatfat, queer
;brown folks feel asif we needto pr"r"ri o'*r"ives rn certain ways. We seek
to make thin white folks aro.nd
^
*-'""*r"dable by not wearing
revealingclothing.dieting,.and
.*prrring dlrc-omlbrr
wirh how we exisrin
our body' Dominant structuresp."..u." "r^
io eat less,to be thinner and
uphold cerrain ideas of 'heartir" ;; +;r..", This in itserf is arso
problematicbecause
it orioritizesrt"uritlr r"-.trri"g thatdetermines
worth;
becauseof this rons wittr drsabilitiesare""i* r"t out of this narrative.
Dieting is often seenas.one of the ways ai p.opf" can beconie..good
fatties,"an archetypethat
1elurre1f1,
p".ipf" i" rryrngto Ioseweighq diet,
and/orhide their bodv in shame.rrris ii-sJen Ji popur* weighr-lossshows
like The Biggest Loier. A.tyDiet is B";;;r;;" yours, and,The Big Fat
Truth'Fat peopleare alsomore r*"rv,o rt oggiewith finding romanticor
sexualpartners'on datingapps,peoplewill oft1"n
write 'ho fats,no fems,no
Asians/no Blacks/no I-utr"o.- . ,il"i. Ul"r.
"i'f"s
createsa hierarchy of
desirability- evervonewho is brown, a,,-oirr""rrv queerandlor trani has
lesssocialcapitalthan e
tr,"q,,.","o-il,Jnffi
irT:yrH:#:ilH'#r?_i:li:1ffi:lcu*rrvwi*rin
Anti-fat sentiments
havetleir root" in ,Jon ization.with theriseof
ideologieslike scientific racismand ,o"ia out"inism, which attemptedto
Page10
PageIl
makerigid biorogicaldistinctionsbetweentheraces,bodily differenceswere
ff:?3:T#:##:
it appeanh"
*r,*"L"dieswere
superior
roo-*o
.',,i,,"0,1iffi;H:T?n"THJfr
#:,H:H:,f,Ti.:":{X:
diagnostic
of having^nosel.contror.rr-r1
1,zorr) discusses
this idea
expressed
bv an anti-fatnhvsrcran
in ttt" Ji rgg,os,
who ctaimeaieopte
from "savagetriu"r"^n eitoJ;;iH,'wh'e
womenin E'iopean
countrieswerefighting
lglinst gainingwerghtbecause
they knew it was
unacceprable
(Farrell-,20!!,p ;S) ,i"."-.d"A to Farrell,farness
wasa
physicaldemarcarion
rl,a ra*tin"J i";".""
",r;
rf;il;#]*,h",
l*ril1.'#1,":;:,:f
:f ;'-';#;,'1."*'-..-0.,,ffi
-#1"0.".
One of the victims
_of
this form of scienfificracismwas a woman
named SarahBaarhnan' A Kh-oikhoi *"-u-".igmaily fiom sou*' e*ca,
shewas sold to a rnannamedU"nA.i.t C"*lwho brought her to Ensland
to displayher bodvrowhile
""0i""...
i""o"fr.*oro payro seeher n-at<ed
}o.fl#ffiT"rl;T"i,"" welr_known
ro,iir.r_e.buftocks
and
breasls,
as
scienrist*ilil;;;{,*ff..ifi
trJ.jH"r,ffi"Jkdflfirr:X?i".
andwroreabouthis frno,'gr,*ti"r.;;;;..;;;,r,ve evidence
of herrow_
levelsratus
onrhescare
"r."rr'i^ti-;iiil;,; 65).Evenafterherdearh,
[:'"r,:':'r:f
putondisplav
,, ,r'. rtu.i.l."iliro,nr. forwhiteaudiences,
rt is this sirnurtaneous
aversionand fascrnafion
with fat, brown
bodiesthathasserth" g.g*9*o* f". ,t"iircourse aboutthesebodies
ff'J:]iJn:T::*'^"^:.':-,1'$;d;,i"1,r.*".,*bodiesasaeviant
ffij;
j"ffir,l*'*#::'':ydfiLfiiff
x':tr3;,fill',#:
w"
q,
L"L
;;d;
ffi
iHi{:i
:}i:,
aT:
;."1i1,,;#;
jr,#*;;
;;;?ff:rp
rochange
ourbodies
"r'pr.r?"o,j"nsromake
o* oppr.rro.,
Oppressorsuse our insecr.uities
in their
capitalist ventures.
c'mmerciars
*o ;;,"i,1l"*"Xt"lff
,JJ
"Jn;
daily basis; manv of
w.eight
ross.
and;"r".#T 3ll,*ouj dietins
with-
o
ur
ilil;; ;ff il.?ffii,,S"+U;
and you will find that rarely ;r" ;;.k_rki";";
people
of colorin lead.f* *0, rvfr*'ifrJu *T
3j: 91..",
,.t.v
are
relegared
ii,,r,"."iiSrii?
tunny sidekickwho is urrlucky
," ,""i."itii
lightening creams,though b;";l; ,,ii]
countries for their dangerousside effects-
llilly9 tobea4.8biuioridona
arrl"*iir"i"i
2017(Khan,2018).

. However, fat queer brown folks are not allowing themselvesto
havea fatalisticview on their oppression.
By challengingtheir own views of
theirs and others bodies, fat brown queer folks are engaglng in everyday
resistance.
Challengingdominantstructuresin lhe everydaycanlook like a
multitude of actions-Everyday resistancerefers to actionsdone in a regular
way that have the potential to undermine power; they can be done by
individuals or small groups, but it generally points to a subcullural
understandingof oppression(Vinthagen & Johanssorl2013, p. 37). Fat
queer people of color practice everyday resistancewhen refusing to be
ashamedof our bodies, distancingourselvesftom people who feed our
insecurities,andbeingour own andothers' advocates.
One exarnple of everyday resistanceis radical self-love, a phrase
coinedby SonyaReneeTaylol which is a direct challengeto body shame.
She describesradical self-love as pushing beyond the bounds of the
individual. "Radical selflove is aboutthe selfbecausethe selfis part ofthe
whole... Our relationshipswith our...bodiesinform our relationshipswith
others"(Taylor,2018,p. 9). This meanschallengingthewayswe think about
our own bodiesandthe snapjudgements we make about others. Sheinvites
us to stopapologizingfor our bodiesbecause
it impliesthereis a right way
to own a body (Taylor, 2018,p.9). Taylor stresses
that without compassion
for others"we canonly replicatethe world we havealways known" (Taylor,
p. 74). This directly challenges
Westem ideals of competing with
others to be the best, the richest, the
thinnest.Oppressors
want us to view
our' problems as individuals, not as
stemming from a larger structural
issue, because this inhibits
community organizing. When we
refuseto acceptthis narralive,we are
facilitating the exchange of
compassion and action for our
collectivestruggles.
Even though we are
bombardedwith rnedia that tells us
our bodiesare wrong,we canchoose
to surround ourselves with people
who support us. Chosenfamily - a
phrase used in queer spaces
describesthosewe love who acceptus as we are, which may or may not
include biological family. Theseare the peoplewho do the work that our
biological family often fails to do. When we choose who to sunound
ourselveswith, who do not dictatehow we shouldcarryrourselvesin our
queer,tat, brown bodies,we are defying the nofion that we needto gain
approvalfrom thin, white, straight/cispeople.For many of us, our relatives
have beencomplicit in reproducinggenerationaltraumaof devaluingdark
skin, fatness,and queerness.For example, many times Latinx families
celebratewith food and encourageus to eat, but then citicize us for eating
too much or being too fat. These samefamilies tell brown children to stay
out ofthe sun,to not becomeany darker-skinned.
The phrases"pelo malo"
(bad hair) and "mejorar la razt' (better the race) are constantly thrown
around when relatives encourageus to marry into white families and alter
our bodiesto appealto whiteness.When we avoid theserelatives,we are
"mak[ing] the exerciseof power...(temporarily)impossible"(Vinthagen&
Johansson,
2013, p.25). We are removing ourselvesfrom situationsthat
enactviolence on our mental health. Furtherrnore,when we hold spacewith
our queer fat brown chosen family, we heal from the various traumas
enactedupon us. We understandand care for each other and therefore, we
carefor ourselves-
Lasfly, when we become our own and others advocates,we are
intemrptingthe normalsocialscriptthat requireswe makeourselvessmaller
andquieter.For example,oftentimeswhenwe visit the doctor,our weightis
pointed oril as the sole factor of any health issue we may be facing.
Furthermore, doctors often view health from a white, middle-class
perspective that assumespeople have accessto glms and healthy foods,
stablemental health,andthe time to spendon their healthregimes(Pause&
Lee,2016"p. l0). However,whenwe visit the doctor's,we canself-advocate
by refocusingthem on the actualproblem (our depression,our chronic pain,
skin issues,
etc.)ratherthansirnplyacceptingtheir assertion
thatdietingwill
solve these problems- We can demandto not be weighed, or to do blind
weigh-ins, when we know that doing so will trigger harmful thoughts or
disorderedeating.By choosingnot to let our doctorsfocus on weight, we
can stressthe real reasonwhy we went to them in the first place - our health
and peaceof mind. We can also seekout doctorswho value a Health at
Every Sizeperspective,
which meanswe are lesslikely to be subjectedto
body-shaming. We can also advocate for others when we hear or see
someonebeing shamedfor existing in a certain way (being obviously
xrans/queeqbrown, fat) and challenging stateme&ts
that associatethese
identities with being ugly. This often meanssteppingin when we hear
harassment
or bullying, makingsurethevictim of theharassment
is safe,and
holdingspacefor themto vent theirfeelingsifneeded.
As someone
whoseweighthasyo-yoedbetweenfat andthin, I have
seen first-hand the differencesin the ways people treat fat folks. I was
interestedin researching
this topic because
I feel it is not somethingthat is
oftendiscussed
in feministspaces.
WhenI searched
out body-positivespaces
on socialrnedia,I questionedwhy certainbody-positiveactivistsare more
popular than others. Rarely are fat, brown trans folks given the same
plalform in thesespaces.
lt is evenrarerto seepeopleaddressthe specific
issues
this groupofpeople faces.I ama fat, queertransperson,but I amalso
a mixed, white-passingperson.I do not have the sameexperiencesas a
personof color who is not racially ambiguous.
Because
of this,I may not be
ableto identify what everydayresistance
looks like from a darker-skinned
'?tfr;tr1
Page12 Page13

fatqueerpersonofcolor.Furthermore,intalkingaboutthisresearch'Ineed
to be carlful of overly_focusing on lrauma and instead detail how these
communitiesshowstrengthandresilience'
Resistancefor fat, queer people of color has blossomedin the
virtualworldviablogs,podcasts,'andsocialmediaprofilesthatspread
imagesof fat queerpeopleof color in a positive,celebratorylight' Because
meia hasbeena site for traumatic portrayalsof our bodies' speakingbackto
these ideas through media is extremely important to shift paradigms'
However'itisalsoimportanttorecognizewhenthismediaindulgesinthe
.u*" O"ri*Uiliq, politics it pledges to undo' Capitalist projects that
masquerade
as body-positiveoften seekto take fat brown queers'money
wilhout promoting any critical discourseabout systemsof oppression'This
also makes it important to question why fatshion and body positivity have
b""o*" .o pop.ri* online _ it appealsto indjvidualistic consumercultwe
(Schultz, ZOfj, p. 63). Posting pttotot on blogs or social media.often
"-pt*ir".
aof irrdirridu.l catharsisand lack[s] an intersectionalanalysis"
iS,ifrrfo, p. 64). In orderto combatthis, we must be working to engagein
co-*orrity organizing both on and offline to tackle racist" fat-antagclnistic,
andqueerphobic
sYstems.
Health at Every Size (HAES) is an organization that advocalesfor
fatpeoplebyasserting-healthdoesnotcomeinonesize.Furthermore,they
stresstirat fat people may have limited life chances"becauseof the unfair
o"*"* rrr"vi"".iro. in employment,medicalcare,andsociallife" (Farrell,
p iil. HaEi spreads
informationabouthow yo-yo dieting doesnot worh
andoftenlea<lstoregainingweightlostandworsenedself.esteem.They
ct utt"rrg" practices of O*dl*inutlng against fat people and encorrragefat
peopleio exercisein waysthey enjoy,takepleasurein eating'andlistento
their body.
i.tutgorruPositivity Pride (NPP)' a multi-platform project' seeksto
reach out to-women of color who struggle with eating disorders.rhroysh
their website, lnstagram, and in-person workshops' NPP provides
information about how colonization-and generationaltrauma effect fat
womenof color's self-esteem.
A poinl this organizationstresses
is that-rather
thanthe body positivemovemeniattemptingto establishfat asbeautiful'we
Joufd be asling what beautymeansinihe first placeandwho dictateswhat
beauty is. NPP createsbilingual resourcesthat are often very scarcein
discussionsof eating disordeis,which are porfrayedas a 'lrhite people's
p*bi.r".,, This kind of organization
-".g".
the persona.l
witlr the political
and connectspeople to olhers through eventsio find solidarity through
mutualstruggles.
Furthermore,
the crealionof theseeventsmakesit possible
i"r q"."., iui lro*tt folks to cometogetherand exchangeadvice' stories'
andiove.-Npp canand shouldbe .upport.d throughboostingtheir websites
and work, as well as donationsfrom thin/white/non-queer
people so that
NPPcancontinuedoingtheworkthatisoftendevaluedand'asaresult'
underpaid.
Accomplices:challengeyour own andothers,biases.Stepin when
you seeusbeingharassed
onthe street.check in with uswhenyou know our
mental health and bodies have beenrmder attack. Advocate for us without
being askedto. Ask yourselfifyou have any fat queerfriendsofcolor. If
you don't, why not? Stoptelling us aboutyour diet andstartlisteningto us
for once.
Contact Quinn V. Instagram:punkboyfiiend
References
Farrell,A.E. (201l). Fat shame:Stigmaand thefat bodyin American
culture. New York City,New york: New york Universify press.
Khan, C. (2018, April 23).Skin lightening creamsare dangerous_yet
businessis booming.Can the trade bestopped? R.etrievedfrom
h@s://www.theguardian.
corn.
Pause,
C.J.,& I-ee,J.A. (2016).Stigmainpractice: Bariers to healthfor
fat women.Frontiersin psychology.7:2063.
doi:I0.3389/fpsyg.20
I6.02063.
Schultz,K- 'Fat activismandcollectiveaccountability:from virtual
communityto embodiedcoalition" (2015).Collegeof Liberal
Arts & SocialSciences
ThesesandDissertations.paper
194.
http:IIvia.library.depaul.edu/etd
I| 94.
Taylor, S.R.(2018).Thebadyis not an apologt, Oak_land,
Califomia:
Berrett-KoehlerPublishers,
Inc.
Vinthagen,S.,& Johansson"
A. (2013). "Everydayresistance":
Explorationofa conceptand itstheories.Resistance
Studies
Magazine.Sweden:
Universi8 West.
Page14
Page15

-
You CalI Delinquent
Lesly
What wasall that noise;the screechingfrom the chairsscraping
lh floor, the chatteq the commotion. As I entered the room, I was
immdated
by soundsunbeknownstto me in the classroom.Studentssat
onthedeskswhile somewanderedtable to table before they decidedto
nestle
in. I took a seatandquietly waited for the classto start.It wasmy
firsttime in a 'regular" classroom.As influenced by
-y
peers and
teachers,it was common knowledge that these students were
prticipating in delinquentbehavior.But what constitutedfor that?What
deerned
bad and good students?What would happen if we looked at
these
behaviorsthrough a different framework? What if they weren't
deficitsbut acts of resistance?In this paper, we will look at how the
literature
andtheory of everydayresistanceis imperative for the survival
andliberationof oppressedcommunities.The literatureopensa new
frameworkthat allows for the re-humanization of Latinx students
deemed
*bad students"and/or delinquent.In this essay,I offer a distinct
example to illustrate the reframing that this theory provides.
Spcifically, I discussthe oppressionLatinx youth face in the K-12
schoolingsystem. Instead of labeling behavior as bad, understanding
thatthis behaviorcould be al act of resistance
reifies their resilience,
awareness,
andmost importantly"their humanity.
My ability to readfor resistancein the Latinx youth community
isbothhinderedand helped by my positionalif. Firstly, I am a paft of
;tln community.As a Latina who altendeda Title I high school (schools
identifiedby the Califomia Departmentof Education asthe lowest 57o),
tlr dominantnarrative was implicitly and at times explicifly related to
usby faculty and teachers.We were told we were a low performing
school
because
we were lazy anddelinquents.Furthermore,to this day I
constantly
struggleto fight what I have internalized. My ability to read
tlreactsof resista"nce
are also hindered by my positionality. As seenin
th infroducingscene,I was stoic on what behaviorsclassifiedasgopd
andbad in the classroom.Indeed,this was my first time exposedto
'legular" students.I was lracked as "gifted". Thus, my experiencein
schoolingwas incredibly privileged and distinct to that of my peers
tracked
as "regular". Becauseof this, I grew up "othering" my peers,
buyinginlo the labelsof the troublemakersandthe slackers.This is why
I will not be able to fully understandthe impact of being tracked as
"replat" andlabeledasnot valuingrny education.Still, I sawthe harsh
impactof the deficit ideology on my peers and communib'. Thus,
understanding
what this dominant narrative encompasses,is a
significantstepto understandingthe literature and theory of everyday
resistance.
The dominantnarrativeof the deficit ideology for studentsof
color'sperformancein school can be dated back to the mid 1900's
Page16
(Ladson-Billings2007) D'ring this time, the "achievementgap,,befween
students of color and their white counterparts was rationarized as the
studentsof color being^'zictimsof pathologicalrifestyresthat hindered
their ability to benefit fiom schooling- (3ri'). Even today, sctrotarsano
educatorsrationalize that studentsoritoi troid dencits r*" trr"i. p-*t,
don't care, the studentslack exposure,as children *,"y _"
""f."J.,
;.
school,the family doesn'tvatueeducatiorr,
ura the studentscomefrom a
culture of qolgrrV (Ladson-Billings ZOOI1.As the deficit ideologr
presumesan individualistic framework, there is attentionmissing fr;;;il*
structuresand institufions. For exampre, scholars and educatois are not
lookingatthe historyof Latinx
"o*.n*iii",
unOtfr" U.S.
There is relevant history that explains how there is systemicand
structural violence against this communily. For exampf", O" A"io
segregation
in schoolinghashad lasting impactsin schools.fir" ru"k
"r
firnding at public schoorsis correlated*Ttn *" amountof studentsof color
thal altend the schoor-The material realitiesthat this
""-r"*;;;,
becauseof instifutional and structurar .a"ir- is not addressedunder the
deficit ideology' Instead,Latinx student. *" ,""o asrazy,apathetic,andat
risk.
The socialand.political consequences
from this narrativepromote
interventions that reinforce the opp.ession otr ihe students.f
"oi;;.;;
example' the berief that these studentscome from a culture or pou".ty
resulted in solutions that proposed a banrring curriculum rr-.'isibj.
This lype of curriculum treats the student is a passive leamer; like a
srylCe that must simply soak up rhe information tt"y * gi"t. ih"
stndentsthat are hackedinto the:."gotar'
classesare subjectedto these
lessons that do not ask for any
"itl.A
th;;*g. At the same time,
educarors
propose
a heightening
of expectations,
enrbrcingstrictreaminp
standards
forallsrudenrs.
Aneiampre
ottrrisilhd;;,h;N;'tr,lii"fi
BehindAct in2002. Thereasoning
fenrnOthepolicy * fr"*ify U;;;;
the deficit ideology. Ir was a quick fix mr jne Otp.opo.tion"r", i#
academicperforrnance
of studenisof color. In orderjo uaar"r. t# il,
they were simply going to demandmore from the studentsandthe school.
However, structural issuewere still not iaken into account.For example,
the accessthat the white studentshave to tutoring fbr thesestandardized
testswhile this beingmuch lessaccessible
to thosestudentsof cororwith
lower. income Consequently, school n* L."o.rr. a reinfbrcer of
rnsrrurronar
oppressions
andphenomena
like the schoolto prisonpipeline,
de facto segregation,andthe wealth andhealthgap.
The literature agd theory of everyd! resistanceallows us to
moveawayfrom ail this.Insteadofseeingthesebehavio..ofb"i"glord;;
the classroom,-not
raisingtheir hands,
arirl sittin! on the desksasdeficits,
we can see them as resistanceto the instituiional oppressio.,or-a"
schoolingsystem.Theseactsof resistance
arepartof the hidde;-*^;.*,
coming into rhe public srage(*T"Jl?? This offers u
""*
fi;;;;;k

for analyzinglatitx youth inK-12 schooling.lnsteadof interpreting these
actsa^s
a resultofapathy or lack ofintelligence, we canbeginto seethese
students as holding their own knowledge and resisting the oppressive
educationsystem.
With everyday resistancetheory, studentsare acknowledgedas
being
..theory in the flesh" (Mendoza Avifla quoting Anzaldin 2016) in
wheie the Lafinx youth areseenassitesofholding andproducingvaluab]e
knowledge. ln this way, the acts that are seemingly deviant or deficits
underthe dominant narrativesbecomeactsof resistance.Sylvia Mendoza
Avifla proposesa pedagorythat focuseson this presumption(2016)' She
introduces it as feminist rasquachepedagory- Under this pedagogy,the
idea that students participate in rasquachismowith their knowledge is
explained. Firstly rasquachismo refers to the act of reusing and
repurposingitems suchasa glassjar of mole asa drinking cup (Mendoza
e"inu ZOfO).Tomas Ybarra-Fraustofurthers rasquachismoas an artistic
andcreative form ofsurvival andresistancefrom everydayoppression,as
the individual is doing the bestthey canwith what they have.In a similar
way, the Latinx yourth are recycling their own knowledge and lived
experiences
from their materialrealitiesin order to produceknowledge.
MendozaAvifia explainsthat this pedagogycenterson and reflects on the
realities of Latinx youth and recognizes their form of survival and
resistanceIn this way, the seeminglydeviant acts of platicas,digressions,
"talking out of tum, cussing,code-switching, incorporating slang, sharing
jokes andhumorousstories,walking around,dancing during class' '" are
-for.ms
of resistance.They are incorporating their matbrial realities into the
claisroom, somethingthat isn't normally allowed (474). In this way thcy
are undermining what it meansto be a good studeht and what valuable
knowledge means. Mendoza Avifla explains that while other educators
-uy
*"eh"se acts as delinquent and the class as a failure, she and her
purt
".
embraced these acts and saw them as valuable assetsthat the
studentsheld. Sheexplainsthat shepracticescariflo andworks to validate
these lived experiencesas valuable and assetsto their education. This
reflectsgreatlywith TaraJ. Yosso'stheory on communityculturalwealth
(2005).It is reframingtheseseeminglycultural deficienciesinto cultural
assetsand thus forms of resistanceto the accepteddominant discourse.
Indeed,iheseactsshouldbe valued as thesestudentsshouldbe seenas
survivorsof traumaandbringingin valuableknowledge'
Theseactsofeverydayresistanceareconnectedtothemoreovert
collective movements such as the student walkouts in support for
immigrationreform andthe Black Lives Matter movement.As Mendoza
Avifla explains,the importanceof valuing thesestudentof color is more
importani than ever, asBlack andBrown studentsarebeing pushedout of
schoolandinto prison. With the theory of everydayresistance,theseyouth
can be seen as not merely ignorant youth who are acting out or
delinquents,but as youth who hold valuable knowledge. For those
studentswho are locatedin tight spacesandmay not be ableto parficipate
in the overt forms of resistance,everyday resistanceprovides a *uy to
safelyhackawayat theoppression.
I think what we cando is not besoquick tojudge what classifies
asgoodand badbehavior.we needto becritical on what the standardsare
be basedon. we can encouragethe praticas,the biculturalism, and the
bilingualismin theclassrooms.
Not only that,butpersonally,asa Latina in
a higher education institution, I shourdn't think r am here to take
knowledge back to my comrnunily. I shourd rearizethat there is alreadv
valuable knowledgetherethat isjust waiting for the right audience.In this
way, Latinx students' material experiences are valued and thev are
humanizedasvaluablebeingswho hold valuableknowledee.
References
Ladson-Biltrings,
Gloria.{2007.pushingpasttheAchievementGap:An
Essayon the LanguageofDeficit. TheJournal ofNegro
Educarion,76(3),316- 323.
MendozaAvifla, Sylvia.(2016).'That's ratchef,:A ChicanaFeminist
R.asqueche
FedagogyasEiltryway tc Understandingthe Material
R.ealities of Contemporary Latinx Elemenlary_ Aged youth.
Equity & Excellencein Education,49(4),465-47g.
Scott,J.C.(1990).Damination and the arts of resistance:Ilidden
transcripts. New Haven,CT: yale University pressTuck, E., &
Yang,K. W. (201I). youth resistance
revisited:newtheoriesof
youth negotiations of educationar injustices, International
Journal of QualitativeStudiesin Eclucation,24(5.521_530.
Yosso,T. J.{2005).Whoseculturehascapiral?
A criticalracetheory
discussionof cornmunity cultural wealth.Raceethnicity aid
education,S(l ), 69- 91.
Page19

The Struggle for Acceptance: Ilow and Why LGBTQ+ Youth Seek
and Find Their ChosenFamilY
Joy Baumeister
Growing up I alwaysfelt out of placein my small farm town snuggled
in the middli of rural Washington.As a naive young woman I sometimes
believedthat I would never really fit in anywhere,andthat perhapsI was
simply too differenl for the world in w-hichI wasborn. I went through high
school miserably trying to fit in and squashmy inner yeamings that
constantlyremindedme I was different' For me, theseinner yeamings
were connectedto my sexuality which in that environment,I felt like I had
to hide especially asI walched asthe few kids brave enoughto come out,
be themselves in their sexualif and gender identity get squ'ashedby
bullies. Luckily for me, life had a funny way of working itself out and
showing me that both the world and capacity of humanity were much
bigger.boflege led me to a new town and surroundedme with new people
iniiuding a large numberof queerpeoplewho were comfortably living out
ofthe closetandproudin their identities.Beforelong I realizedthatin this
new space,I no longer had1ohide. with the help of new found friends I
was ableto finally breakdown the walls I had socarefully built to protect
myself andbecomethe personI knew myself to be. with every stepI took,
both out of my shell andout of the closet,thesepeoplewere thereto lend
me whatever support I neededand as I grew along with them I quickly
realizedthat they were more thanjust fiiends. Thesepeoplehadbecomea
family of support that I had found and chosenfor myself' In finding my
choeenfamily I was allowed the ability and given the strengthto face the
adversity I had come to acceptas normal and in its own way acted as a
form ofeveryday resistancethat hadthe ability to changemy life'
Sincecoming out I haveleamedthat I am not the only LGBTQ+
youth who hasfound peaceand acceptancewithin a chosenfamily. In an
article examining the importance of chosen families in dating decisions
betweensamesexandmixed sexcouples,Blair andBukhal (2015)define
a chosenfamily as"...non-bloodrelatedfriendswho cometo fill the roles
normally filled by family members"and goes on to explain how such
friendsoftenbecomesufrogatefamily membersthat fiIl the rolesof blood
relatives lost to abandonment,distance or death. Historically chosen
families have beena type of resistancethat hasbeensoughtout by many
generations
of queers.In the pastthesefamilieswere oftenharderto find
L .o
-urry
p"opl. f"lt the needhidetheir sexualityespeciallyfrom blood
relatives.In this way, historically, the chosen families createda safe
spacesfor LGBTQ+ youth to be themselves
privately beforeour society
reacheda point where they could do so more publicly without feeling
unsafe.In the past, finding and connecting other queerswas a difficult
pfocessas so many had to hide from the public eye.Due to that stigma,
queerspacesand gatheringswere forced into hiding andthe bestplace to
find support networks were to seekout such spacesin undergroundbars
andspaces
werethe communitywould secretlymeet.Thesespaces
offered
queerpeoplethe ability to find the supportandrelationshipsthey needed
in an environment where they could feel safefrom the oppressionand
homophobia that surroundedthem every day. Politically this type of
resistancecontinuously faces adversity as chosen families still don't
have the abiliq' to visit loved onesin hospitalsand really carefor their
family memberslegally the sameway blood relatives do- Due to that
fact, this form of resistanceremains constant discriminated against
fiom a legal standpointandwhile the legalization of gaymarriagewasa
hugestepforw*d fot the gay rights movement' the fact that a spouseis
only onepart of a chosenfamily, showsthat this is a only onestepin the
longjourney to acceptance
this form ofresistanceis on-
One of the most dominant and frustrating narratives
surrounding the queer communibt is the coming out narrative' Due to
the amouniofadversity still centeredin societydespitethe recentstrides
forward. thereis still the ideathat you must comeout andtell the world
aboutyour sexuality insteadof simply existing asyour natural self. This
narrativeis seenasa necessary
partof theLGBTqF lifestyle,especially
for the youth, becauseit is still quite likely that when people find out
aboutyour sexuailtythey may, to this day, simply not acceptyou'
Another narrative is that blood relatives are often seen by
LGBTQ+ youth asthe biggestobstaclein the coming out narrative' The
dominant coming out narrative which is constantly seenand reinforced
by modern media especiallyin movies and television shows such as
Glee, Grey'sAnatomy, andPariah, is the narrative that your family will
have the hardest time accepting your sexuality. Such depicfions of
coming out narrativesalso reinforce the idea that a blood relatives lack
of acceptancecan be the most difficult part about the coming out
process-It is dueto this dominant narrativethat LGBTQ+ youth haveso
consistently sought out a chosen family to replace the void of
unacceptingblood relatives-This narrative often depicts the processas
an overly dramatic traumatizing event often making it even more
diffrcult for LGBTQ+ youthto feelcomfortablecomingout themselves.
Youth in rural areaswherethereis more likely to be little to no
queerspaces
will most likely feel evenlesscomfortablecoming out to
tieir blood relativesthan thosein urban areasthat offer more accepting
spacesand have larger out queercommunities. In fact, in a study done
cbmparing supportnetworks for LGBTQT people aging in rural versus
urbanareas,
authorsLeeandQuam(2013)suggest
that"one ofthe most
helpful ways that aging servicesprovidersandLGBTQ+ organizations
can supportthe populationis to actively assistwith connectingaging
LGBTQ+ adultsto eachother" showingthatin finding otherqueerswho
understandthe strugglesof being queer people in the community were
found to live longermore fruitfirl lives. Chosenfamilies often are seen
as a safe spaceto help the youth whose family may not acceptthem
after coming out which also impactsthe youth asit is teachesthem that
Page20
Page2l

the queercommunityis very understanding
of the comingout processand
hasa desireto makeit a processrnorefeasiblefor thosewho, for whatever
reason,feel trappedin the closet.
Chosenfamilies fit well into the definifion of everydayresistance
astheir ability to underminepower lies in the way in whith they can be
found and createdby just about anyone.LGBTe+ youth often find their
chosenfamilies by seekingout safe queerspaces,such as sociarclubs.
queerbars,and Pride Festivals which createsafe spacesfor young queers
to meet and interact. After membersare found, chosenfamilies have the
power to allow LGBTQ+ youth to feel like they can exist more
comfortably than before thus actively combafing the adversity fhat comes
with being queer. In this way, as Vinthagen & Johansson(2013)
mentioned in their article, a chosenfamily has in its own way actedas a
continuurn for the struggle for acceptance,but at the sarnetirne works to
show the hidden subversions within the queer lifestyle. The need for
subversionshowsthe continuedlack of supportthe majority of LGBTe+
youth face from their trlood relatives every day. Chosen families
undermineoppressionasthey take a key componentofthe adversity faced
by LGTBQT youth ard soive it in a way that ca$ improve the overall
Iifestyle of the person. It also takes the power away fiom the dominant
force, overwhelminglyfislslssexrralblood relatives,and gives it back to
the oppressed, the queer youth. By filling the void of support that
LGBTQT youth face whon blood relatives abandonthem for coming out,
chosen families work against homophotria as they allow the youth to
:conlinue
to livejoyfully evenin thefaceof thosewho do not acceptthem.
My positionaiity greatly strengthens rny abiliry to read for
resistance
in this subjectasit ha-s
quite literally beenmy life" As a queer,
non-genderconforming hrirnanwho grew up in rural americaI serveasthe
perfect example of what can happen to a youth who does not have
immediateaccessto queerspacesor the abiliqr to find a chosenfamily that
understands
my perspective
earlyon in litb. While I amnow out andproud
I neverfelt a level of comfort to have doneso while living in my small
town simply because
I did not havethe supportsyslemI do now thatgave
me the courageto comeout. I stronglybelievethathadI beensurrounded
by the samepeopleI am surrounded
by todaythatI would,ve beenableto
comeout at a much youngerageand really have savedmyself from the
trauma of having to deny who I was for so long out of fear of
abandonmentby my blood relatives. While I had my own strugglesdueto
the environment, my coming out narrative is far different from the
dominant one we are used to hearing,seeingor experiencing.When I
came out to my t{ood relatives I faced almost no adversiW from mv
immediatebloodties,which I realizewasa blessingin itself.I did receive
backlashfrom more distant blood relatives but the impact from that was
far less severethan it wo'ld have beencoming from someonein closer
relation to me. In that way my*ggiggnality is hindered as I was lucky
enoughto not haveto face the sameamount of adversity many LGBTQT
youth do every day, howevermy chosenfamily nonetheless
wasa key part
of my coming out process.While I did not lose family to abandonmentas
many queer youth did, moving away fiom them in order to find a more
accepting space created a distance that came with its own challenges.
While I did not faceadversity from my blood relatives I did not havetheir
immediate help while coming to terms with my sexuality and my chosen
family is what filled that void andhelpedme move forward.
Collectivelytheseactsof resistance
may be linked to the overall
gay rights movement.While politically we havereacheda point wherewe,
as queer people, have finally been granted many basic human rights we
still have many battles left to fight. One of those battles, politically
speaking,is the continuedoppression
towardchosenfamiliesason a legal
level. Chosenfamilies still lack many of the rights that blood relatives
have. Most importantly, chosenfamilies still lack the right to visit loved
ones in hospitals or help them make medical decisions when they are
unableto. This servesas a key problem to society as many queerpeople
would muchratherleavesuchdecisions
to their chosenfamiliesovertheir
blood relatives as they often trust their chosenfamilies more and many
times their chosenfamily have beenmore of a recent support systemto
them than their blood relatives. Creating safe queer spaces where
LGBTQ+ youth have the resourcesand ability to find chosen families
early on within communitiesnot only normalizessexuality at a young age
but allows the youth to understand that they are not alone in their
struggles.Both of theseeffects will further allow young queer people to
live joyful and healthy lives even in a world still fuIl of oppression.
Through moreopenly talking aboutchosenfamilies in everydayspaceswe
can watch this fundamental aspectof queer life go fiom a marginalized
idea to an acceptedtool that can help young queer people feel more
comfortable in their everydaylives. In orderto seethis happen,peoplecan
help create safe queer spaceswithin their communities where LGBTQ+
youth can comfortably meet and connectwith eachother. Peoplecan also
always support any legislation brought up that supports the rights of
chosenfamilies from a legal standpoint.By doing what we can to allow
the world to becomecomfortable and understandingof chosenfamilies as
a societywe opena doorto acceptance
for LGBTQ+ youtheverywhere.
References
Blair"K. L. & Pukall,
C.F.(2015).
Familymatters,
butsometimes
chosen
famiiymatters
more:Perceived
socialnetworkinfluence
in the
datingdecisions
of same-
andmixed-sex
couples.
Canadian
JournalOfHuman
Sexuality
24(3),257-270.
LGBTLife,
EBSCOfrosr
(accessed
July20,2018).
Lee,M.G.& Quam,
J.K.(2013)
Comparing
Supports
for LGBTAgingin
RuralVersus
UrbanAreas,
Journalof Gerontological
Socialllork, 56:2,
I 12-
126.DOI: I0.1080/0163437
2.2012.7
47580
Vinthagen,S.,
& Johansson,
A.,(2013).
Everyday
resistance:
Exploration
of a concept and its theories. Resistance Studi esMagazine, I (l), | -46

Little Seedsfor Liberation
N. Nava
I studied the everyday resistance within autonomous
indigenous schools, specifically by the original peoples (leachers,
studlnts and family members) of the state of Oa'raca and Chiapas'
Mexico. Both are the southemmoststatesof the country,with oaxaca
sharing an eastem border with chiapas. Historically, each state
maintalinssignificant historical eventsthal have shapedthe future of its
original p"opl"t. Indigenousculturesin Oaxacahavepersevered
largely
to ltte state'stopography.Today' it is fhe statewith the most recognized
languages, cultures and greatest commtrnal land ownership by
irrOig"roospeoples.
Therole ofthe teacherin Oaxacahaschangedfrom
proioting the policies of the statein the mid 1930's,when President
Linaro Cdrdenaswas in office, to an intenseperiod of anti-stateteacher
uprisings from 1980 through 2006, in which more than a hundred
orxacanthought"(88). An axisis animaginaryline aboutwhich the body
centersitself. It's importantto acknowledgehis use of the word "axis"
because everyday forms of resistance work by either being hidden,
invisible, or subtle-The term comesfrom an indigenous Oaxacancontext
and can't be firlly translated into English. Through my research,
comunalidad was maintained as an untranslatableword to refrain people
Ilom attachingtheir own country's socio political meaningsto the chosen
translated word. In Westem spaces, a translation would enable the
misreadingof theactsof originalpeoples.
Untranslated,the word also allows each author, coordinator and
activist to explain the word within their context andframework. In Luna's
(2010)essay,"The FourthPrinciple," he explainsthatcomunalidadis not
a consciousness,
nor doesit originatefrom classroomdiscourse.
It comes
aboutastacit displaysof communallife andemphasizes
thejoy of living
through collaborative work. In comunalidad the individual and the
collectiveoverlap,for the everydaypracticesof the individual combined
with those of his communify, together reproduce comunalidad in all
dimensionsof life. I derive most of my examplesof everydayresistance
from the Zapatistacommunitiesand schoolsin Chiapas,Mexico. The
indigenous peoples working to maintain their own education, show
everyday resistancethrough their use of language.Zapatistacampesinos,
instead of calling educators "teachers," refer to them as "educational
promoters." Outside researchershave polificized this use of specific
language as consciors and overt resistance towards the govemment's
attemptat the homogenization
of educationand indigenouscultures.For
local communities,this is not inherently seenas a form of resistance.
Simply, this is a small exampleof the practiceof communalliving. By
usingtheterm "educationpromoters"originalpeoplesstopthe narrativeof
singleauthoritieshavingthe key to andthe distributionof knowledge.ln
practicingthis smallactof resistance,
theyareactingin comunalidad.
A secondexampleof everydayresistance
is the useof linguistic
codesfrom bi- or trilingual indigenouspeoplesto excludethosewho only
speakthe standardized
national language.This act works to undermine
povverby not taking into accountthe thoughtsofthose who represent
the
government'srepressive
educationalandcommunalvalues,"consistingof
training childrento forget all ofthe knowledge,abilities,andvaluesthat
haveenabledtheir peoplesto endurefor somanycenturies..."
(Boj6rquez,
2010,p. 105).While trying to readfor everydayresistance
I wasreminded
of Vinthagen & Johanson's(2013) work in which they prompt the
question,"Why shouldresistance
haveto be pure?Why is it not allowed
to be 'contaminated'with other motives or effects" (p. 20). Indigenous
peoples'semi-conscious
actsto excludethoserepresenting
the largerstate
values represenls Vinthangen and Johansson's (2013) proposal of
everydayresistance
asworking alongsideintersectingforms of power.In
this way, we view original peoplesasboth subjectsof autonomous
power
teachers
wereassassinated
CS(r(JAd"jTF
f LF lJEfRfftI
Within the stateof ChiaPas,
rny researchfocusedon the
Zapatista communities of
indigenous PeoPles.
Founded in 1983, the
ZapalislaArmy of National
Liberalion(EZLN) arosein
protest of The North
American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and
global neoliberalism.
Zapalisla communilies.
predominantly made uP of
original peoples in rural
areas practice horizontal
' autonomy and commrmal
living asan educationalmanagementframework. currenlly, both states
areunderconstantpressure
by Mexico's educationpolicy, Alliance for
EducationalQuality (ACE) which operates
asa violent form of cultural
suppression
andcontrolthrougheducational
homogen
ization'
Oaxacan indigenous peoples stand out for their resistance'
Amidst globalization and governmentoppression,hardenedthrough
Americari intervention, the state of Oaxaca "has provided many
opportunitiesfor resistance...'Ihis
is demonstrated
in the comunalidad
*hich disptaysitself in every dirnensionof life" (Luna' 2010, p' 87)'
Jaime Martinez Luna (2010) is an early theorist of oaxacan
comunalidad,arespected
activistandcommunitymemberof san Pablo
Guelatao,Oaxaca.He shortly
"tfg"ti?,.t
comunalidadasthe "axis of
Page25

and subjected human beings. Comunalidad transcendstime as it is a
historical experienceof the presentand past. lt is made up of the semi-
conscious actions of individuals as they view comunalidad as a part of
their cultural and indigenousidentity. This form of everydayresistanceis
constantly changing due to its continuous interaction with capitalist
individualism. It is the interrelation of land, languageand identity based
on respectandreciprocity, In education"comunalidadwill beusedto plant
the seedsof a processthat will continuethe liberationofknowledge. In
somecommunities it is so fundamentalthat peoplegrow up experiencing
their existence
asa largerform ofresislance.Luna(2010)insiststhe study
and reproduction of comunalidad is 'litally necessaryif we wish to
transcend
our prevalentsocioeconomic
contradictions"(p. 89).
There are two predorninant raratives surrounding the acts of
indigenous communities towards autonomous and communal learning.
First, fiom an outsider'spoint ofview-it is perceivedthat any attemptat
trying to preserve comunalidad is archaic, and actually ends up hurting
indigenous comrnLmifies.They are perceived as participaling in self-
defeating trehavior,where they u.ill end up poor and illiterate and subject
themselves
to culturalalienation.Second,somebelievethatcommalidad.
the daily practice of communal life, looks to reduce itself to territorial
lines. Original peopleswho appreciatecornmunalways of life are seenas
wzmtingto isolatethemselvesfrom global perspectivesandeducation.
For the pastfew yearsI haveworked with Latinx girls at a private
middle school. Vith time, I have managedto notice ways in which they
resist assimilafing into new educational settings and cultures. This
observationmademe questionhow indigenouscommunitieshaveresisted
under educational homogenization. My ethnic identity and family
experienceenableme to obtain a ctroser
understanding
to the vitality of
comunalidad. I am lucky to have some exposureon the lifestyle of my
parents and grandparentsgrowing up in Nayarit, Mexico. Their stories
allow me to view the idea of collective wprk and cornmunal life for the
enjoymentof life (the fiesta)as a rea.iand hiddenform of resistance.
At
the sametirne I am unableto readfor resistance
because
the practiceof
comunalidadis not deep-rooted
partofmy experiences.
First, because
it is
mostly through my family that I arn able to grasp a p,sical senseof
comunalidad,and secondbecause
I am not part of the Oaxacanoriginal
peoplesor community.I haveli.,.edmostof rny yearsin theUnited States,
andhave malyzed this form of resistanceasa studentin higher education,
andwithin a Westernindividualistenvironment.
To conclude,l'd like to shinelight largercollectivemovements
basedin comunalidad,aimedat strengtheningthe languagesandwellbeing
of indigenouspeoples in Oaxaca.The PedagogicalMovement of the
Coalition of IndigenousTeachersand Promotersof Oaxaca(CMPIO) is
composedof educationpromoters,teachers,community membersand
distant allies. Femando Soberanes Boj6rquez, co-founder of the
Pedagogical Movement of the CMPIO explains the organization was
formed, "for the purposeofconstructing educationalproposalsappropriate
to the needsandreality oforiginal peoples"(Boj6rquez,2010'p. 107)'He
proceeds to emphasize how the government's use of Intercultural
Education for the IndigenousPopulation is hurtfirl andproblematic. When
original peoples are not being forgotten fiom the conversation, their
culture andlanguagesareseenasa secondarymethodof communication
Though the govemment of Mexico calls for an intercultural
education, there is a lack of teaching curricula and materials making it
difficult to actualize this type of education- cMPIG-Plan Piloto has
organized a professional development prog.am titled, 'Communal
eiinguat and Intercultural Preparationfor Teachersof original Peoples."
This iourse. focused on comunalidad, aims to preparc teacherswith the
materials and development necessary for a successful alternative
educatiot Located in the town of Ojitldn, Tuxtepec, Oaxaca' is the
Community Middle Schoolsfor Original Peoples.This was createdfrom
the community's need for a school with a different curricular structure
basedon learningprojects designedandtaught by students,instructorsand
communitymembers.
Again, Boj6rquez(2010)explainswhy projectslike
thesearecrucial to the communal life of original peoples.This project"he
writes, "recognizes and respects that the peoples themselves produce,
recreate, and transmit knowledge, and that the communities participate
actively in teaching and evaluating..." (p.108).You can support the
altemative and autonornous education of indigenous communities by
purchasinga copy of Louis Meyer and Be4jamin Maldonado Alvarado's
(201) book, New World of IndigenousResistance:
Noam Chomsky and
Voices From North, South,and CentralAmerica. All the royaltiesfrom
this book will supportthe Coalition of lndigenousTeachersandPromoters
of Oaxaca(CMPIO) andtheNational Congressof IndigenousIntercultural
Education in Mexico. You may also go to the website:
https://schoolsforchiapas.org/donate/store/
to explorethe variousproducts,
literature and kits that support the autonomousMayan communities of
Chiapas, Mexico. Leam about Zapatista solidarity by accessing,
https://chiapas-support.org/homelzapatista-soltdai$l- This website/blog
was stafied by the ChiapasSupport Committee with the pulpose to share
information "about
building of autonomy in Indigenous Zapatista communities." They are
located in Oakland, Califomia and have been active since 2011-
YivaZapatal
the
Page26 Page27

References
Baronnet,B. (2013)."Lenguasy participaci6n
comunitariaenla
educaci6n
indigenaenM6xico." AIBR. RewslaDe Annopologia
Iberoamericana,B{2),pp. Ig3-20g.
Boj6rquez, F.S. (2010). Noam chomsky and indigenouseducationin
Oaxaca,Mexico.In L. Meyer& B.M. Alvarado(Eds.),New
world of indigenowsresistafice:Noarnchornslqtand voicesfrom
liorth, So*h, and CentralAmerica(pp. l0l_l l3). Ciry Lights
Books:SanFrancisco,
CA.
Glasgowchiapassolidarity Group(2010)."Autonomouseducationin the
zapat-isIacommunities: Schools to cure ignorance-,' Retrieved
from
https:iiglasgowchiapassolidaritygroup.
wordpress.
com/20l0/0g/06
/autonomous-education-in-the-zapatista-communities-schools-to-
cure-ignorance/.
Lun4 J.M. (2010).Thefourrhprinciple.In L. Meyer& B.M. Alvarado
(Eds.),Neu world of indigenousresistanc.e:
Noam chomslwand
voices
from North, South,and CentralAmerica 1pp.g5_99i.City
Lights Books:SanFransisco,
CA
Meyer,L., & Alvarado,B.M. (2010).Newworld of indigenousresistance:
NoamChornslqt and voices from Nonh, South, and Central
America.City Lights Books:SanFrancisco,
CA.
Rico,A. (2014). 'Educatein resistance:
theautonomous
zapatista
schools."RoarMagazine,2
Retrievedfrom https://roarmag.orgy'essays/zapatista-autonomous-
education-chiapas/.
Images
fromhttps
://dorsetchiapassolidaritv_wordpress.
com/?
s:escuel
ita+de+l
ibertad
Underground Communication
Maha Taitano
The usualritual of awakeninganda little Facebookbeforegetting
out of bedandmaking coffee wasthe plan. Little did I realizemy shift in
careerandsocialjustice would begin. I scroll down andseemultiple posts
andvideosfiom fiiends andfamily on my Facebookfeedaboutthe murder
of Philando Castile. I can feel my neck getting warm with anger and
sadnessand the worst is people's disheartening responseto this tragic
event.I am now texting, responding,talking on the phoneto friends about
this postandrealizethat this violence towardsthe Black community hasn't
lessenedfrom what I was taught and witnessedin my high school days.I
am furious that people believe it is a "new" event or that social media is
making it "wone" insteadof being grateful for the exposurethrough the
social media plaform and an outrageof suchinjustice. I was speakingto
one of my friends and neighborsabout what to do, what we can do, what
should I do? Through her knowledge and an interview with her beganmy
joumey to becoming an accomplice and supporterfor Black community
members.I need to do this for my Black friends and family members,
there will only be strength in numbers, and the oppressorsknow that
divisionwill only hurt eachof us.
My pasthasfocusedon being a committed ally and supporterof
public education,basicdesirefor feminismandequalityofall peopleand
genders.But now it is time to becomemore focused and more complex,
more human. I want to recognizeI havelimitations asa non-blackperson.
I have limitations as a straight fertile cis female. I have limitations
growing my knowledgethrough the privilege of university education.This
is what I bring and offer; I am an immigrant with parents from two
different ethnicities andreligious upbringing. I wasbom outsideof the US
andlived in 3 different countriesandthe US Guam(which I seeasforeign
to the continental US) and a father that spokea different language. I am
brown, but I recognizeI havelight skin privileges I will hold myself aware
and accormtablefor this to the bestof my knowledge.I believethat if one
group is marginalizedthis affectsall historically marginalizedgroupsandI
want fo work on bridging solidarity while holding eachothers truths and
beautiful differences-How can I support and frght for Black Lives, how
canI bean exampleof a personof color that canfollow the leadof Black
people? I will work diligently to be open to correction, and know
sometimesI am not invited and that is valid and necessaryfor Black
liberation.
Black Americans have createdtheir own forms of resistanceas
big as the Million Man March, Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives
Matter organization andas subtleasindividuals speakingup, talking back
andnot talking at all. There areorganrzatrons,
groupsandindividuals have
created safe spaces and hidden resistance as well. My research and
interview focuses on the hidden and individual resistance that has
Page28
Page29

happenedin history and sfill continuetoday. I will be drawing from James
Scott's 099O Domination and the Arts of Resistance, Maureen
Newman,'sFreedom Quilts: Mathematics on the underground Railroad,
The lJnderground Rilroad and the Secret Codes of Antebellum Slave
Quilts and Paul Lawrence Dunbar's Hidden in Plain sight: African
American SecretSocietiesawl Black Freemasonry'
Enslaved Africans have performed hidden comrnunication not
just with speech but in their quilts that informed escaping enslaved
"peoples.
There are historical accountsduring slavery of quilts creating
codls and information to help aid enslavedpeopleto the Norftr- This form
of resistanceand information is unknown to white peoplebtrt is presented
right in front of their face on their land- They are undermining their
opp."r.om by aiding people to freedom. The quilts are made wth
symbolsthat directpeopleto safehornes,homesthey canhide in andthe
directionto freedom. thlr is importantconsideringthat,"[l]aw prohibited
teaching Africans to read or writre,so other metho'dswere usedto ensure
**"."rrirl escape"(Newman, 2005, p.316) in the quilts' Shapesand
colors and*upi d*.tt to scalewere sown in the quilts to lead the way to
escapeand freedom. The prohibition of reading and writing did not stop
enslavedAfricans ftom leaming mathemalicsand a hidden language.This
is a huge forrn of resislance because they found other ways of
cornmunicationty " memoriz[ing] a secret code passeddown by"'
ancestorsthat wasusedby quilt makersbefore the civil war" (Neumann,
2005. p.44) The law cannot prev€nt people or a cornmunity fiom
educatingeachotherthrotlgh oral
history andknowledge.
c?o36roadt bg 6bitr
x-r'&drEJhtu Y.dr't!&c{bh's'
;;:-=;"h-ihiddr" @"lo.ot{kv'rdmc
iiffiiiiax"i;-'iG tii^:n n.--n..g si"- H.* d
uddro$dddfrtu
rcS.bStu*l-
dr l€a. |d b.o.&
The last reading I will examine is Dunbar's (2012) Hidden in
Plain Sight: African American SecretSocietiesand Black Freemasonry. I
found this reading fascinating for multiple reasons. One is we know of
freemasonsasbeing an elite white male community that is secretive.Here
we have anotherfraternity group of financial elite that is secretivewithin
their ethnic group as well and consistsof Black members.American
society are commonly aware of the Black churchesand their history and
somemay know that the churchesalsoheld spacefor enslavedAfricans to
discuss"plots against their masters"while the freemasonry..fratemal
organization embodied separate and distinct means of social
protest.'(Dunbar,2012.p, 623) The freemasonryworked in conjunction
with the church as well to protest in "overt and covert operations',
(Dunbaq 2012. p.623) while the church was able to maintain legal
representationof Black communities the lleemasonswere able to operat€
in secrecy. They helped people with burials fees, educational or
employment training fees and general racial uplifting (Dunbar, 2012. p.
629)resistingthroughhiddenfinancialsupportsecures
Black communities
to prosperandself-sufficientespeciallyso soonafterabolition ofslavery.
Another form of resistance
Black communitiesand the freemasonrydid
was createtheir own holidaysto celebrate"spectaculardisplayson the
22nd of September,
New YearsDay, and the fth of April, becausethe
Emancipation Proclamation...whilemany whites despise the parades
becauseof the black milifia on parade."(Dunbar, 2012. pp. 639-630)
Def ing white supremacythrough joylirl celebration, creating their own
holiday, and creating ownership of celebrationsis another form of non-
overt resistance.
Due to suchsecrecyof freemason,white or black, it is
difficult to learn more of their operations,but the existenceof this
fraternity alone shows community building with intention to take care of
their community exclusively despite what some white people and
lawmakerswould want.
Thesereadingslead me to an interview of my friend, a Black
straight woman and local businessowner. My friend wishes to stay
anonymous
sinceshehasa business
andholdsa classwith herpartner,we
will call her Angela for this paper. After all the .*posur" of Black
Americans being murdered by law enforcement we ran into each other
outsideour building andbegantalking. I was inspiredby her anddecided
to discusshereverydayformsof resistanee
andhow I canhelpsupporther
andbe activeas a resistoraswell. when askingher aboutresistance
she
says"keepingmy business
and .......stayingsuccessful
asa blackowner
is a form ofresistancein itself'. This doesnot stopher from creatingher
own resistance
and supportto black communities,which remindsme of
the freemasonrycommunity. She,like someothers,cannotmake it to
marches,cannotput herbody in harmsway to fight in the big protestsand
overt resistances,
so mainlainingher businessas a Black woman is just
one aspectof everydayresistance.
Angela's friend, and housemate
at the
r-"-a-
L-- v
- --
r'.|-. I
-
kTRt
t..1.rdEF{ryrfr-J
rc&.s rdl6 qkd
JdtAdfd!d.|*d
dlrf,.i.rk a.* tk drbb&
k d.* h d woffi.d d
ffi
Tmb$ng Blockr
tutu.turdilbbr4
Fr6fudY.cq
iNb |*'d.srd
lffi
'az$
k.tft Slar
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nflhblkvq &rh.
Dsnkotds Fdh
s*il.'d&q*
M&ri6turhtu
.lril.r Dabb.dbe.
Page30 Page31

time (also anotherBlack woman) told Angela aboutanemail list shewas a
p"" ii*O connectedil;J" to ttris emait' The email was a listing of
ilL"t p"opt" from all overtalifornia, this wasnot a public listing' We can
see how technology is used like the quilts' hidden' the hidden email
network altrows for the possibiliry of secrecy of communication and
mo*f"Ag" for survival, il*it- to the quilt knowledge that has
-b-een
p;J6*" generations.There were conversatronsof how to mobilize
and what the next steps should be; another resemblance of the
f*"-*ooty. Angela rememberedMartin Luther King Jr speakingabout
i;;h,tttcuu&tnlo"iatlv-Inspired
bvhiswords'
sLry.nronlsed'h1:,':,T:
#ul iising. Justthe act of an undergroundemail list and conversatlons
back and tbrth to one another is a form of resistanceand refusal for the
,,"*- q*. fitis email list disseminatedinformation about where to spend
uoO,roi.p"od their money,in hopesofslpporting Black businesses'
Few member. of tftit email list agree and researchis done on
what companiesand organizationsto boycott alongsidewhich.to-support
A member brought up''supportrttg Black Businesses'and Black owned
banks. This is o"ry i*fortuttt 6r resistance' not only does it sutrtly
undermine*t lt" ,,rpr"^i"y and normativity but just by being successful
;;-;;;;"."us, Biack communitv membgrg defu white institutional
power. Having yolr, *ot"y just sitiing in a Black owned bank also' each
iuy, .*UrfV irrlr""rt*ln ttte fifack community and doesnot let white owned
i"iri* p..na fiom the interest of Black people's moneY They also
informed each other of websites that posted Black owned businessesso
V""
""tfO
look up in yorir comrnunity or in anothertown if you went to
visit or work elsewhere,who you could support when making little or
largepurchases.
Oneday,someone
sentout anemailwith a long list of companies
to boycott. Angela looked further into the companies and realized not
only did the nameon the email list not soundfamiliar but the companies
did not makesenseto boycott. Someonehadinfiltrated their list andtried
to get the community to boycott companiesthat were in support of non-
gender specific bathrooms. Keeping the email list underground is
important to support Black communities, keep people safe and prevent
anyonefrom sabotagingtheir efforts. This personwasthen removedafter
Angela emailed a few people individually about the credibitity of the
infiltrators identiry.
Finally, Angela answered what I can do to help resist, white
supremacyand support Black communities other than asa consumer,she
said"it's the little things."This is how Angelaandher partnerresistson a
daily basis;the amountof spaceshetakesup, or gives up when walking in
public. It cameto her attention that no matter how old, who, how many
there were, she makes room for white people when walking down the
sidewalk. This is even to her removal of her personon the sidewalk and
placing herself on the streetor in the dirt. This is not onlv her bodv
memory in action but the refusal from white peopleto give Angela valii
spacein the street is the continual historical position of eliminating and
dehumanizingBlack people in this counfry. Angela's partner hasnoticed
andmadea change,a resistanceand an accompliceto Angel4 he held her
in place during one of their walks forcing her to take up space,as she
should,and for the white peopleto shareand recognizeher presence.She
thought, "how often do I do this?" and recognized the exhaustion and
physicaldetrimentit took her body by accommodating
white peopleon a
daily basis. Angela takesup space,evenwhen white people-don,twant
her existence,
evenwhenwhite peoplehavecomecloseto-.tlipping', her
or wanting to pushher offthe sidewalk.
Angela retells recent incident that happenedwhile she was in
Georgia severaldays ago, when walking down the sidewalk with her
mother. Angela and her mother notice a woman in a group of white
peoplewho all seemedto be friends and or family, wearing a ionfederate
flag t-shirt. she decides,with drink in hand,sheis not reloving herself
from the sidewalk and that everyone will share the sidewalt. She
continues and walks straight, looking directly at the woman, does not
waver when passingthe woman-one of the men within that groupsraises
his drink and'loasts me,it's the little things.,,He waswith that womanin
the groupandbothAngela andthe white manresistedwhite supremacy
at
that moment,Justlike Aggy in Scott,s(1990)book. Shewantsu, to puy
aftention,and say something,do something,give Black peoplespaceor
recognizewhen it is takenaway from them.This atsoremindsme of the
Burmesewhen laughing at the English colonizer, heretwo the confederate
Page32
Page
33

ll*^y^::g
h:Io a whiteman,oneof her own,is rakingpteasure
in
wnnessmg
Angela's
resistance
towards
t
",
io p.rUfi".
ContuctMahaTaitano_
tnstagr;: ;ffi;_j"#
Dunbar,
p.L".Qlr2).Hidden
r"fi:*'n;: African
American
secrer
societies and black lieernoroi'ry. jrrr"rt
of African American
Studies,I6(4), pp.622_637.
scott,J.C.(r990). Dominationandthearts of reststance:
Hidden
transcripts. New Haven, CT:yale Ur,iu"rrity er"rr.
Tobin,
J.1.,& Dobard.
n c.lzolii ila-air'iri,r,, view:
Asecret
story
ofquitts
andthe
-Unders*irai;iirr; Anchor.
Neumann,
M.D_(200s).
Fr*d; il;il,'ilutlllruti", onrheunderground
railroad.TeachingChildrenMqth;;;;;;, t r(6),316.
oSpeakAmerican'
MilcaBaires
"SpeakAmerican... U.S soldiersarenot fighting for your right to
speakspanish, they are fighting for you to speakAmerican'; words-of a
high schoolteacherin New Jerseysaid to three ofher latinx studentswho
were having a conversafionof the yankees ptayoffs in Spanish(christian
Benavides, NBC News 2017). One of the students, a l6_vear_old
Dominican who hadarrived in the u.S threeyearsprior, statesthaiher and
her fellow classmateswere having a conversationin Spanishb""u*" thut
is how they felt more comfortable (christian BenJvides, NBC News
2017). rn resistanceto the oppressionfelt by the words of their teacher,
about 100 students warked out of the school in solidariry to the three
students.Bilingual studentsbelievethat they canbecomesuccessfi.rl
in the
Unted Statesby speakingboth native languageandthe languagetaught in
a foreign nation.
I-ang'age andracehasbeena constantbattle in the United States.
The existenceof a foreign language other than Engrish has presenteda
threat to the dominance of whiteness. In 199g, Fropositiin 227 was
approved which enacted "English only" in schoor.
-This
proposition
affectedstudents
K-12:
This proposition significanfly changes the way that .limited
Englishproficienf'(LEp) students
aretaughtin c*irornra. Specificany,it:
r "Requires carifornia public schools to teach LEp students in
special classesthat are taught nearly all in English. This would
eliminate"bilingual',classes
in mostcases.
o shortens the time most LEp students would stay in special
classes.
The initiative statesthat: (l) LEp studentsshouldmove
{iom specialclasses
to regularclasses
whenthey haveacquireda
goodworking knowledgeof English .,d, (2) thesespecial'classes
should not normally last longer than one year. This would
eliminate most programsthat provide special classesto LEp
studentsover severalvears.
Themaingoalis to maketBp Students
fluentin English,,
As a student
1!o1e
first language was Spanish becausemy
parents migrated to the United States,I was placed
^in ..special
Englii
classes". I remember the pressureI would feil when my-friends id t
gatheredfor lunch and they would brag about their pracementin "normal
English classes".I tried speakingin English as besi as I could with my
friends however, I refused to lose my native language. I began tL
radicalize againstthe "English only" idea and beganto speakspanistr in
schoolandSpanish
only athome.
In2016, proposition58 lifted the prohibitionof bilingual classes.
The proposalstated:"This measure
repeali key provisionsoiproposition
227 and, adds a ft*
-o:*_
provisions regarding English language
instruction, as described below. Removes Restriction, to Biliner;
Page34
Page35

Programs.Under this proposal,schoolswould no longer be requiredto
teachEnglish leamersin English-only programs.Instead,schoolscould
teach their English learners using a variety of programs, including
bilingual programs. In addition, parents of English leamers would no
longerneedto sign waiversbeforetheir childrencould enroll in bilingual
programs.
RequiresDistricts to Respondto SomeparentalDemands.While
schoolsgenerallycould designtheir English leamer programshowever
they wanted,they still would haveto provide intensiveEnglish instruction
to English leamers if parents requestedit. Additionally, school districts
would be requiredto offer any specific English leamer program requested
by enoughparents.Specifically,if at any school either (l) 20 or more
parentsof studentsin any single gradeor (2) 30 or more parentsoverall
askfor a specifickind of Englishleamerprogftrrn,tfratschoolwould have
to offer sucha programto the extentpossible.
R.equires
Districts to Talk t<iCommuniiy MembersAbout Their
English Leamer Programs.
This proposal,"qui.., schooldistrictsand
count)'offices of educationlo askparentsandothercommunitymembers
how Englishleamersshouldbe taught(for exarnple,by usinganEnglish-
only or bilingualprogram)."
Although "English only" is no longer legaily implemented,the
oppressionstill remains in our society. studentsstill face the 'Tnglish
only" rnentality through their educational careers.As the case in New
Jerseyof the teacherwho told
threeofher studenlsto "speak
American",manystudents
feel
thal their native languageis
not welcomedin open spaces.
Often tirnes students speak
their native tranguageto find
comfort and be able to breathe
when they have been
encountered
in light spaces.
Cruz (2,016describes
in her elhnographicarticle "When doesResistance
begin?...,'studieshow
Queerimmigrantsandu.s bornLatino youth resistoppression
on a dayto
day basis.As a teachershe was able to observehow studentsresisted
'light spaces"of surveillanceand oppressionby using body languageas
well as linguistic resistance.However, she identified how youth often
found comfort and a safe spacewhen speakingin Spanish,where the
youth were ableto expresstheir feelingsandthoughtsaboutteachersin a
way that wasnot understood
by securiq,guardsat the youth centerwhere
theyspent
time(Cruz,2016,p.297).
Thepresence
ofthe Spanishlanguagealthoughwhitesperceiveit
asa threat, latinx studentsfight daily to preservetheir languageasa form
of survival in a "speakAmerican" society.Languageresistanceis not only
seenthrough sfudentsat educationalinstitutionsbut also in out ofschool
spaceswhere studentsgather to share experiencesand feelings in their
native language.
In schoolsit is necessary
for studentsto attain linguistic social
capital where sfudentsare able to speaktheir native languagefor the sole
purposeof communicatingwith their fellow languagespeakersbut alsoto
rmderstandmaterial given in class. Students who resist oppression by
speakingtheir desiredlanguagecreatesa strongsenseof communityand
underminesoppression.The commrmity that studentsbuild while being
Spanish speakers for example" creates the inclusion of different
nafionalities,religion,andethnicity.
Studentswho are Spanishspeakersfind themselvesin a constant
battle with oppression.I rememberbeing a sophomorein high school and
seeing how students whose dominant language was Spanish would
exclude themselvesfrom the rest of the studentswho decided to speak
English. They had their own designatedhang out spot during passing
period and lunch break where they would all unite and speakin Spanish.
As I would walk by I could hear how they used that spaceas form of
healing from the oppressionthey felt during classtime or the oppression
andrepressionfelt by staffmembers or fellow-students.
Spanish speaking students even withoul knowing practice
everyday resistance.A simple "Hola instead of hello, Adios instead of
goodbye,Nos Vemos insteadof seeyou later" is a form of everyday
resistance in a society where not only students but also adults are
encouraged
to "SpeakAmerican."
FirstAmendment:"Congressshallmakeno law respecting
an
establishment
of... or abridgingthefreedomof speech...
" Underthefirst
amendment,we the peoplearegranted-freedom of speech.This
amendmentdoesnot say,"iieedom of speechin English" thereforewe are
fiee andwe shouldresistoppression
especiallywhenour students
are
encouragedto drift awayfrom their native languages.
References
Bevavides,
Cristian.
"Students
WalkoutafterTeacher
Orders:Speak
American'."
NBCNews.com,
201
7.
CruZC.(2016).
Whendoes
resistance
begin?
Queer
immigrant
andU.S.
bornLatina/o
youth,identity,
andtheinfrapolitics
of thestreet.
In G.Q.
Conchas
& B.M Hinga(Eds.),
Cracks
in theschoolyard:
Confronting
Latinoeducational
inequaliry
(pp.l3l-1a3).NewYork,NY: Teachers
College
Press.
Straubhaar,
Rolf.(2013).
"Studentuseofaspirational
andlinguistic
socialcapitalin anurbanimmigrant-centered
Englishimmersion
high
school."
Th
eHighSchoolJou
rnal,97(2),pp 92-106.,
doi:I0.I353,trsj
.2013.0026.
"Proposition
58."Califomia's
NewMinimumWage:
WhoAre
Califomia's
Low-Wage
Workers?
[EconTax
Blog],Legislative
Analyst's
Office.Retrieved
fromhtbs://lao.ca.
gov/BallotAnalysis,/Propositions?
date=
1
2%2F3
I%2F9999&propNumb
Smnr.
$n*n*-enrmn
-. l+sR3tlwolu.rt
t'r.f**%
ffi'*#'
Ytt'umtilY
.F{LFflr.O.,;_
Page36 Page37

Against The Grain Of Power Essays On Everyday Resistance Vol. 1

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Against The Grain Of Power Essays On Everyday Resistance Vol. 1