My Field Study

As much as I have enjoyed my classes with my teachers and other students in the program, the most fulfilling part of my experience in Tucson has been my field study with Tierra y Libertad Organization (TYLO for short). Before my semester with TYLO, the only sort of organizing experience I had was on my campus. With my campus groups, it is almost as if we felt into a trap of focusing on the problems of the college rather than strongly demanding the administrators to implement our ideas for change. Even when we articulated our visions for a more meaningful and radical education, we were pushed by the administration to use their institutional channels such as writing up research reports and then presenting at administration meetings to explain why we think it's important to increase the numbers of faculty of color, justify the need for Latino/Asian American/ Native American studies, and increase the class and racial diversity of the student body. We never got anywhere because our college found ways to defeat the more radical actions in our campaign by forming committees that pretended to listen to us. As a result, when I arrived to Tucson I was pretty disillusioned with the idea of working for change either on my campus or in the larger immigrants' rights fights for the DREAM Act or "comprehensive immigration reform."

Although the struggles on my campus feel important to me, it has been through my experiences listening to people's stories of resistance in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Paso and most importantly learning from badass community organizers in Tucson, that I have been reminded that fighting for liberation and self determination, creating beautiful communities, and speaking truth to power are not academic skills one can learn. Considering that a majority white middle class campus community won’t be my reality after I graduate Swarthmore, it’s been crucial for me to absorb as much knowledge from TYLO’s small and local but deep and meaningful work in a barrio very similar to one I grew up in because then I can take what I have learned to start the process of change in my community. It's been through my experience with TYLO that I have truly learned to value the importance of creating a vision for change that is more compelling, nourishing, and transformative than simply fighting or attacking the injustices we see.

For those who don't know the work of Tierra y Libertad, its a grassroots organization based in the predominantly Chican@/Mexican/Native Barrio Wakefield community, working to build examples of positive social change and community transformation. Of course, this short description doesn't give justice to the amazing work by TYLO's members so I want to share a few pictures of the current positive change undergoing in the neighborhood as well a short description of TYLO's current campaign.

The pictures of the murals are part of what is known as the Barrio Alleyway project. There is an alleyway behind TYLO's centro comunitario that members of the community particularly youth decided they wanted to transform into a space that expressed love, art, safety, family, hope, and ownership of their community. And the transformation has happened through long and difficult work that included talking to the neighbors about what they wanted to see represented in the murals as well fundraising for the project. TYLO members organized several Saturday workdays where we first cleaned up the trash and then had skilled graffiti artists and other community members spray paint murals onto the walls. And in the very near future, we will plant some native desert plants and food producing trees. Already I have seen some many more people walking through the alleyway, taking their time to see and enjoy the murals, and creating connections with other people in the community by simply talking to each other. It is in those moments that I am most grateful for the privilege to have witnessed and been part of this community transformation. When I walk through the alleyway, my memories of the friendships I have formed and the images of the murals remind me of why we need to more intentional about building communities that are beautiful in every sense of the word.

TYLO has shown me that when we are trying to create another world that is free from oppression, violence, injustice, creating that world requires creativity and love for your home/family/friends and your barrio/hood. TYLO reminded me that community is everything. And I’m glad I’m not ending my experience in the borderlands just yet. I’m excited for this summer and the opportunity to continue sharing and learning with TYLO members and most importantly being part of their process of creating a beautiful community.