Summary

Summary Chapter 47 of this book contains the article, Grassroots activism: Mothers of East Los Angeles by Mary Pardo. Mothers of East Los Angeles were one of these grass root coalitions formed in the Latino community in the 1900s and included over 400 Mexican American women (Massey 500). The chapter discusses the activities of Mexican American women in Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA). In the beginning, MELA was opposing the construction of a state prison in East Los Angeles but later started to fight for quality life in the central city (Massey 500). The study gives another view to the concept of grass root politics. The women in MELA changed their traditional networks and resources to political assets to protect the quality of urban life (Massey 501). The article suggests that the Mexican American women activism rose from traditional women roles.
The author shows how the women’s activism addressed many social and political issues (Massey 503). The activities of the women in MELA relied on informal associations formed by the community. Women in grassroots considered their activism and communities as part of their families and traditional roles. In this chapter, women take a central role in grass root activism as they struggle to improve the quality of life (Massey 505-508). Ideally, the activities of Mexican American women oppose the assumption that women are powerless. The chapter seems to oppose how culture and traditions define women in the social and political world.
Works Cited
Massey, Garth. Readings for Sociology. 7th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.