The Rio Grande Valley and Community Advocacy
We believe our liberations are mutually bound; as such, we advance the individual and collective aspirations of our communities. In order to be advocates for our community, we need to know our community well.
Community Advocacy: the will and ability to prioritize listening to students and community voices first and ultimately aligning actions towards advancing their individual and potentially collective aspirations; the will and ability to value every single person; and the value and ability to work and walk together in solidarity with community. Community is defined as a group of concentric circles: classrooms, families, school networks, neighborhoods, larger RGV community, Teach for America community
Community Advocacy: the will and ability to prioritize listening to students and community voices first and ultimately aligning actions towards advancing their individual and potentially collective aspirations; the will and ability to value every single person; and the value and ability to work and walk together in solidarity with community. Community is defined as a group of concentric circles: classrooms, families, school networks, neighborhoods, larger RGV community, Teach for America community
Objectives |
Guiding Questions |
1. Identify strengths of Valley & have ways to talk about the region that are asset based |
How are communities, individuals, and organizations working to disrupt systemic inequities? We recommend starting with this article "Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community wealth" by Tara Yosso. While not RGV specific, critical race theory "shifts the lens away from a deficit view of Communities of Color as place full of cultural poverty disadvantages, and instead focuses on and learns from the array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed by socialy marginalized groups that often go unrecognized and unacknowledged." |
2. Have the will and skill to know RGV Communities deeply (inside and outside classrooms) |
What has led to the systemic inequities present today in the Rio Grande Valley? - History - Structures today - Identity |
3. Have a deep understanding of why Culturally Responsive Practices are important in the Valley |
Given your role as a teacher and your identity, what’s your role in interrupting these systemic inequities? - Community advocacy: What is the potential impact of partnering with your communities mean for your kids? - Given the history of the Valley, why is this necessary? - Culturally responsive practices: What is the potential impact of incorporating culturally responsive practices for your kids? Given the history of the Valley, why is this necessary? |
Education
Resources |
Description |
Objective |
“ENCORE White Paper: Status of Education and College Readiness in theRio Grande Valley of Texas.” Project Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2012). |
ENCORE: Engaging Communities for College Readiness is an initiative developed by Texas Valley Communities Foundation in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure South Texas students graduate from high school prepared for college completion, career success, and life fulfillment with the support of their families. The purpose of this report is to capture the essence of educational and college readiness in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas so that decisions regarding policies on improving college readiness levels of the students can be made. |
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“The Impact of Brown on the Brown of South Texas: A Micropolitical Perspective on the Education of Mexican Americans in a South Texas Community.” Miguel Guajardo & Francisco Guajardo. American Educational Research Journal. |
Start here for a 5-minute video on the historic Edcouch-Elsa Walkout for additional context. “The Impact of Brown on the Brown of South Texas” identifies the Edcouch-Elsa High School Walkout of 1968 as a pivotal event in the educational history of Mexican American students in south Texas. The authors use oral histories that they and their high school students produced between 1997 and 2002. |
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This article highlights dual-language programs in multiple communities across the country, including Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD in the Rio Grande Valley. Experts say the interest in dual-language programs now is driven by an increased demand for bilingual and biliterate workers and by educators who see positive impacts on academic achievement for both English-learners and students already fluent in English. |
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Immigration/Demographics
Resources |
Description |
Objective |
This article and embedded video showcase one of our community partners: the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project known as ProBAR and highlights the promise and problems of illegal immigration. Watch their 25th anniversary video here. |
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"In Texas' Rio Grande Valley, a seemingly endless surge of immigrants." Molly Hennessey-Fisk and Cindy Carcamo. The LA Times. |
The Rio Grande Valley experienced a surge in undocumented and unaccompanied minors in the spring and summer of 2014. This article presents a clear overview of a the situation. |
2 |
Jose Antonio Vargas, 33, was detained as he tried to leave McAllen without a valid U.S. visa. An unaccompanied child migrant who arrived at age 12, he does not qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because he doesn't meet the age requirements. You can also review this video. |
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When McAllen found itself at the center of America’s ‘migrant crisis’, it called in reinforcements – a 62-year-old nun with a revolutionary idea. |
1,3 |
Life in the Rio Grande Valley: Identity, Culture, and Advocacy
Resources |
Description |
Objective |
Borderslands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza- Chapter 1 Gloria Anzaldua |
This is a great place to start! Situated in the Valley Anzaldua describes her homeland and the border, which separates the safe from the unsafe, and us from them (25). She gives a brief history of Mexico, migration, and the Mexican-American War. She closes by addressing the reasons for and dangers of continue migration. (14 pages, 15 minutes) |
2 |
Borderslands/La Frontera: How to Tame a Wild Tongue- Chapter 5 Gloria Anzaldua |
Anzaldua describes living in a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic world in How to Tame a Wild Tongue and the pressure and conflict she has felt enduring demands from different culture. She argues that language is powerfully tied to identity and privilege. |
3 |
In this short film produced by Llano Grande, a local non-profit, Myrta details her experiences as a migrant worker and the positive impact and opportunities the work, which she despises, afforded her. (5 minutes)In Fingers to the Bone, Zama Coursen-Neff explains, “U.S. law allows children to work in agriculture at far younger ages for unlimited hours outside of school in much more dangerous conditions than any other sector. So, a child can work perfectly legally for any farmer at age 12. That child couldn’t work serving the food that he can work 10, 12, 14 hours picking.” (5 minutes) |
2,3 |
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Las Colonias in the 21st Century- Progress along the Texas-Mexico Border |
A report from April 2015 and the Dallas Federal Reserve on updates on the improved infrastructure, housing, economic opportunity, education, and health in border colonias. It features initiatives including South Texas College, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, and IDEA Public Schools. |
1,2 |
Science, Technology, and Healthcare
Resource |
Description |
Objective |
SpaceX, started by billionaire and PayPal founder Elon Musk, will build the spaceport over 50 acres of privately-owned land at the end of Texas Highway 4 and be launch-ready in about two years. The complex, which will include a rocket launch site, launch command center and ground tracking station, will do up to 12 launches a year. (6 minutes) |
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The UT-RGV South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute will focus on transforming the health of the region where 28% of the adult population has been diagnosed with diabetes. (3 minutes) |
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Access to Health Care The Texas law, passed in 2013, meant the closing of clinics in rural regions and that more than 900,000 women of reproductive age would live more than 150 miles from an abortion provider.This second article includes details on why accessing healthcare outside of the Valley is difficult for many residents. While the article is focused on women’s healthcare, it’s easy to extrapolate the argument to other services. |
2 |
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At last count, nearly 45,000 people lived in the 350 Texas colonias, impoverished communities found along the Mexican border. Because they have no running water, no wastewater treatment, no paved roads or solid waste disposal, water- and mosquito-borne illnesses are rampant. And residents’ poor diets contribute to dental problems, diabetes and other chronic conditions. Residents rarely have the health insurance, money or access to regular health care to treat these conditions. |
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A design studio and community-development corporation are transforming housing in the Rio Grande Valley. |
4 |