A Vision towards Liberation

In May 1997, I attended the LatCrit II Symposium held in St.Mary's University Law School and participated in a panel discussion concerning the oppression of Latina/os.There were two main themes that linked the presentations of this panel.The first theme is that of identity.When we, as "outsider" scholars, talk about identity it is important to remember that we begin with a self-aware and self-proclaimed identity as "oppressed."Be it intuition or analysis, this recognition that we belong to a group that is linked, is our foundational identity.The group may not have clearly defined parameters, we may not agree on all identifying criteria, yet we have a commitment that we belong.We are aware that we live in the "Master's House."'The other side of oppression is liberation.That day's panel discussion had a second theme, an optimistic theme-that of change.However, we are challenged in our hopefulness not only by the pervasiveness of oppression, but also by the way our efforts for change always seem to boomerang back to us.We live in the master's house; the master defines our realities-and our possibilities.We confront the problem of how to use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. 2 We try to work ourselves out of this bind.We take what we have and try to fashion new tools, little tools that are not exactly the master's tools.Whether reformists or revolutionaries, we recognize that we are trying to dismantle something.We are trying to change.Nonetheless, I continue to have this sense that we dismantle the master's house thinking that we are moving ahead, only to find that we are part of a much larger urban renewal project that the master has in mind.Painful as it is, we need to articulate

Art · Liberation · Chemistry · Feminist Theory and Gender Studies · Latin American and Latino Studies · Legal Systems and Judicial Processes

• Lessons from La Morenita Del Tepeyac

  Ana M Novoa•Journal of Law and Religion•2004

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