Last week during the Sea Change Feminist Leadership School, participants created a mural of their “feminist ancestors,” women who have influences their lives as feminists and as women who cross the line. Many people brought in pictures and stories of famous feminists in history like Josefa Toledo de Aguierri, Clara Gonzalez, Rosa Parks, Anais Nin, Rosario Lara, Alice Millat, Virginia Woolf, Simon de Beauvoir, Frida Kahlo, Julieta Kirkwood, Babe Zaharias, among others. But the most moving contributions were direct ancestors, mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers, whose examples of strength and love have inspired a generation of activist women. One grandmother was the first woman to graduate from the university with a law degree in Guatemala. Another’s quiet strength in the face of domestic violence, and yet another's rebellious defiance of the norms of patriarchal society, shaped the lives these women have led. For many, this was the first time they had recognized these women who have had such a profound effect on their lives. I wanted to take this opportunity to recognize my own ancestors, the women in my life who have taught me about social justice, compassion, strength, and activism.
My mother, my inspiration, my role model, whose example of quiet strength, calm and unassuming leadership, unconditional love of all people, and courage in the face of daunting adversity have directed me to choose the paths my life has taken.
My aunt Ann Louise Kerndt, whose name I was given, and whose story left in me, at a very young age, an understanding of the incredible injustice that exists in this world, and how it especially affects women. She gave her life in the battle to make things right, to level the playing field, to empower people to stand up for themselves in the fight for equality and justice. To these women and to all of our "ancestras," thank you.
A website version of the Mural of Ancestors can be viewed at: http://www.justassociates.org/mardecambios.
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3 comments:
So moving, Ana. I would be interested to know more about your aunt, but I understand that that might be too personal.
If other groups wanted to do something similar, how would they go about it? And what was the impact of the ancestor mural on the group, what did you all take away from it?
In early 1976 my aunt went to Guatemala as a volunteer to work as an assistant to a group of medical doctors who had set up a field hospital in response to a devastating earthquake in February that left thousands dead in Guatemala. After nine months working with the medical teams in San Juan Comalapa, the epicenter of the earthquake, she volunteered to work on a sustainable agriculture project in the Ixcan, an area in northern Guatemala that was beginning to feel the impact of Guatemala’s devastating civil war. Meanwhile a Maryknoll priest, Father Bill Woods was working on land reform issues with indigenous communities in the Ixcan region. Father Woods had received prior death threats due to his involvement with land resettlement for poor campesinos from the highlands into the Ixcan region. On November 20, 1976, Ann and three other passengers aboard a small plane piloted by the experienced Father Woods, crashed as they were traveling into the Ixcan. From the beginning the investigation into the crash was shrouded in mystery and inconsistencies. After years of investigation both in Guatemala and in the USA, it is now clear that the plane was shot down by the Guatemalan military. Family members worked tirelessly to extract information from key government sources, hold hearings and give testimony before the US Congress as to the actual events that surrounded the crash. My mother went on to file a Freedom of Information Act suit against several US government agencies, including the CIA, to declassify documents concerning Ann's case, in collaboration with many others who were victims of human rights abuses during the conflict years in Guatemala. Ann was 20 years old, just beginning her career in international development. She was young, vibrant, and full of a commitment to make things right for those less fortunate. For this she gave her life. She remains an inspiration for all of us to “do the work she was doing as if we were two.”
Ana Luisa...my brother, Ernest and his girlfriend, Leslie, were on the same project in the Ixcan with Ann, who was their friend. He was NOT on the plane, but we were told by our State Dept that he was dead because all the passports were on the plane. To this day, he has a hard time talking about his loss of Ann, Father Woods and his other friends. How wonderful that you have written about her and your admiration.
Edna Marie Cole ednamarie60"yahoo.com
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