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Chicana Feminism
Francisca Flores co-founded a number of organizations dedicated to supporting and advancing Mexican American women, including the Comisión Feminil Mexicana in 1970.
She served as the organization's President for its first two years. The Comisión focused on employment, providing bicultural child education, fighting the involuntary sterilization of Chicanas, and assisting girls involved in the juvenile justice system. A quarterly newsletter, called La Mujer, kept the community informed about their work.
Flores also brought her Chicana feminist perspective to other institutions, including the Mexican American Political Association, the Chicano Press Association, and the US Civil Rights Commission.
“Chicanas can no longer remain in a subservient role or as auxiliary forces in the Chicano movement. They must be included in the front line of communication, leadership and organizational responsibility… The issue of equality, freedom, and self-determination of the Chicana—like the right of self-determination, equality, and liberation of the Mexican Chicano community—is not negotiable.”
– Francisca Flores
