Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 6 Other Latinx Trailblazers You Should Know
Versión en español aquí.
Latinx and Hispanic trailblazers, history makers and pioneers have circled the Earth, fought for endangered waters, revolutionized music and paved the way for others. These seven women and men are worth celebrating all year long ― but if you haven’t learned about them yet, Hispanic Heritage Month is a great time to start.
Berta Cáceres: Leading Environmental Activist
Berta Cáceres spent her life fighting for the rights and land of the indigenous Lenca people of Honduras. She was killed after trying to block a dam that would have threatened her community’s way of life.
Cáceres fiercely opposed the construction of enormous dams in Central America, which displaced indigenous communities and destroyed many countries’ natural environments. Her native Honduras is rife with human rights violations and threats to the ecosystem.
The Agua Zarca Dam, built by the world’s largest dam developer, threatened the Lenca community’s way of life and would have cut off many resources for the indigenous group if not for Cáceres. The activist organized a road blockade that lasted for more than a year and forced dam builders out of the region. Cáceres was murdered in 2016 at age 44, allegedly as part of a plot by ex-military officers and executives from the company building the dam, Desarrollos Energéticos SA.
“I cannot freely walk on my territory or swim in the sacred river and I am separated from my children because of the threats,” Cáceres once told The Guardian. “I cannot live in peace, I am always thinking about being killed or kidnapped. But I refuse to go into exile. I am a human rights fighter and I will not give up this fight.”
Sylvia Rivera: LGBTQ Shero
Sylvia Rivera, an American of Venezuelan and Puerto Rican descent, is often credited with the inclusion of “T” for “transgender” in the acronym LGBTQ.
Rivera was one of the major leaders of the Stonewall riots of 1969, when police raided a gay bar and activists violently fought against them, a pivotal moment in the movement for LGBTQ rights in the United States. But Rivera’s decadeslong fight for equality and the inclusion of trans people extends far beyond these demonstrations.
After transgender folks were excluded from the then-proposed Gay Rights Bill by gay and lesbian activists in the 1960s, Rivera gave a powerful speech denouncing their treatment.
“I will not put up with this shit,” Rivera yelled into the microphone in her 1973 speech. “I have been beaten. I have had my nose broken. I have been thrown in jail. I have lost my job. I have lost my apartment for gay liberation and you all treat me this way?”
Rivera, who died in 2002, went on to co-found the Gay Liberation Front and established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries organization, both of which fought for the rights of LGBTQ people. Rivera is the only transgender person featured in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Rising Political Star
The New York congresswoman is the youngest person in Congress. She beat out Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the 2018 primary, and later that year she overwhelmingly won the congressional seat.
Ocasio-Cortez, also known as “AOC,” is a groundbreaking figure in modern politics — a viral sensation whose unapologetic debate tactics have made her popular with millennials and fellow progressives.
The young Puerto Rican American is outspoken about her background and her stance on social justice issues.
“My mom cleaned homes and drove school buses to make sure we could make ends meet and I spent time during the financial crisis waiting tables,” she told NBC News last November. “So I understand what it means to be a real, working-class person in America and that is so important to have that perspective in our leadership.”
Ocasio-Cortez has already pushed back against death threats, President Donald Trump and the GOP during her time in Congress, even as she fights for universal health care, environmental policy reform and the abolishment of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Check out the rest here. // 🎨: German Gonzalez
