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Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
The Lie About my Inferiority
Evolution of a Chicana Activist
New book by Arizona teacher, activist and lawyer Cecilia D. Esquer evokes the Chicano Movement,
struggle to overcome stereotypes against Mexican-Americans.
Mesa, Arizona (September 13, 2010) – The decades of the 1960s and 1970s were a crucial time for
Mexican-Americans to organize and fight to achieve civil rights. For new author Cecilia D. Esquer it
was also a time to overcome prejudice and racism through education, activism and political
participation.
Esquer is the author of a new book titled “The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana
Activist,” a memoir that tells not only her own story; it also chronicles an important segment of –
until now– unwritten Chicano history.
“History textbooks do not include much information on the Chicano movement,” explains Esquer. “I
want readers, especially young people, to learn about the experiences of many Chicanos in the
turbulent 1960s and 1970s. This is important in today’s racially charged atmosphere. Today’s youth
should not be deterred when confronted with discrimination.”
Esquer’s personal account describes the social moods and attitudes of the times, and exposes the
additional challenges Chicanas faced as women to overcome a treatment of inferiority. “Success for
a Chicana (woman and Hispanic) in the 1970s and 1980s involved overcoming stereotypical views,
obstacles that no longer could be ignored,” reveals Esquer. “As I encountered these obstacles, I was
transformed from an apolitical high school Spanish teacher into a Chicana activist, thus the subtitle
of my book: ‘Evolution of a Chicana Activist’.”
In her book, Esquer, who took a step further from activism by becoming a lawyer, reflects on
circumstances that encouraged her to defy social assumptions. “Looking back, I feel I turned the
corner when I was teaching at a high school which engaged in overt discriminatory treatment of
minority students,” the author remembers. “As I questioned the actions by teachers and
administrators, I was reprimanded by my Principal and ostracized by some of my fellow teachers. I
found a voice I did not know I had. I began to question and challenge this negative treatment. I
became an advocate for the Mexican American and Yaqui students.”
“The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana Activist,” –published by Latino Book Publisher,
an imprint of the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues– was presented on Thursday, September 16, at
the Tempe Historical Museum.
Book Information
Author: Cecilia D. Esquer
Title: The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana Activist
ISBN 978-1-4507-1883-7
276 pages (Includes photographs)
Language: English
Evolution of a Chicana Activist
New book by Arizona teacher, activist and lawyer Cecilia D. Esquer evokes the Chicano Movement,
struggle to overcome stereotypes against Mexican-Americans.
Mesa, Arizona (September 13, 2010) – The decades of the 1960s and 1970s were a crucial time for
Mexican-Americans to organize and fight to achieve civil rights. For new author Cecilia D. Esquer it
was also a time to overcome prejudice and racism through education, activism and political
participation.
Esquer is the author of a new book titled “The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana
Activist,” a memoir that tells not only her own story; it also chronicles an important segment of –
until now– unwritten Chicano history.
“History textbooks do not include much information on the Chicano movement,” explains Esquer. “I
want readers, especially young people, to learn about the experiences of many Chicanos in the
turbulent 1960s and 1970s. This is important in today’s racially charged atmosphere. Today’s youth
should not be deterred when confronted with discrimination.”
Esquer’s personal account describes the social moods and attitudes of the times, and exposes the
additional challenges Chicanas faced as women to overcome a treatment of inferiority. “Success for
a Chicana (woman and Hispanic) in the 1970s and 1980s involved overcoming stereotypical views,
obstacles that no longer could be ignored,” reveals Esquer. “As I encountered these obstacles, I was
transformed from an apolitical high school Spanish teacher into a Chicana activist, thus the subtitle
of my book: ‘Evolution of a Chicana Activist’.”
In her book, Esquer, who took a step further from activism by becoming a lawyer, reflects on
circumstances that encouraged her to defy social assumptions. “Looking back, I feel I turned the
corner when I was teaching at a high school which engaged in overt discriminatory treatment of
minority students,” the author remembers. “As I questioned the actions by teachers and
administrators, I was reprimanded by my Principal and ostracized by some of my fellow teachers. I
found a voice I did not know I had. I began to question and challenge this negative treatment. I
became an advocate for the Mexican American and Yaqui students.”
“The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana Activist,” –published by Latino Book Publisher,
an imprint of the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues– was presented on Thursday, September 16, at
the Tempe Historical Museum.
Book Information
Author: Cecilia D. Esquer
Title: The Lie About My Inferiority, Evolution of a Chicana Activist
ISBN 978-1-4507-1883-7
276 pages (Includes photographs)
Language: English
