Community-Based Participatory Research

Testimonios from Chicana/o Studies

Edited by Natalia Deeb-Sossa; Foreword by Louie F. Rodriguez

The University of Arizona Press

Members of communities of color in the United States often struggle for equity, autonomy, survival, and justice. Community-Based Participatory Research is an edited volume from activist-scholars who present personal testimonies showcasing how community-based participatory research (CBPR) can lead to sustainable change and empowerment. Editor Natalia Deeb-Sossa has chosen contributors whose diverse interdisciplinary projects are grounded in politically engaged research in Chicanx and Latinx communities. The scholars’ advocacy work is a core component of the research design of their studies, challenging the idea that research needs to be neutral or unbiased.

The testimonies tell of projects that stem from community demands for truly collaborative research addressing locally identified issues and promoting community social change. Contributors share their personal experiences in conducting CBPR, focusing on the complexities of implementing this method and how it may create sustainable change and community empowerment. Along with a retrospective analysis of how CBPR has been at the center of the Chicana/o Movement and Chicana/o studies, the book includes a discussion of consejos y advertencias (advice and warnings).

The most knowledgeable people on community issues are the very members of the communities themselves. Recognizing a need to identify the experiences and voices (testimonios) of communities of color, activist-scholars showcase how to incorporate the perspectives of the true experts: the poor, women, farmworkers, students, activists, elders, and immigrants.

Community-Based Participatory Research is a unique interdisciplinary collection of activist scholars who critically implement CBPR methodologies in diverse ways. The contributors clearly illuminate the complex processes involved in moving toward sustainability via decolonial community projects.’ —Elisa Facio, co-editor of Fleshing the Spirit: Spirituality and Activism in Chicana, Latina, and Indigenous Women’s Lives

Natalia Deeb-Sossa is an associate professor in the Chicana/o Studies Department at University of California, Davis. She is the author of Doing Good: Racial Tensions and Workplace Inequalities at a Community Clinic in El Nuevo South.

Foreword by Louie F. Rodriguez
Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I. GENEALOGIES AND REFLECTIONS OF ACTIVIST SCHOLAR PRACTITIONERS AND THEORISTS
1. Critical Race Feminista Methodology: The Challenges and Promises of Preparing Graduate Students in Community-Engaged Research
Dolores Delgado Bernal, Enrique Alemán, Jr., Socorro Morales, and Sylvia Mendoza Aviña
2. Developing Chicanx Studies Methods: Living Racial Justice with Teachers, Communities, and Students
Marcos Pizarro, Janine Nkosi, and Alondra Rios-Cervantes
3. Liberating Methodologies: Reclaiming Research as a Site for Radical Inquiry and Transformation
Vajra Watson

PART II. CREANDO CONFIANZA (BUILDING TRUST): DOING COMMUNITY-ENGAGED WORK
4. Recovering Chicana/o Movement History Through Testimonios
Lorena V. Márquez
5. El Museo del Norte: Passionate Praxis on the Streets of Detroit
Maria Cotera
6. Negotiating Tensions: A Community-Based Approach to Document the Challenges Parents Face in Advocating for Their Children’s Education
Rosa D. Manzo
7. Aquí en Confianza (Here in Confidence): Narratives of Migration, Mental Health, and Family Reunification of Mexican Immigrant Men in the California Central Valley
Yvette G. Flores, Lisceth Brazil-Cruz, Hector Rivera-Lopez, Rosa D. Manzo, Monica Siañez, and Ericka I. Cervantes-Pacheco
8. Dar y Recibir (To Give and to Receive): Collaborations Between University Researchers and Chicanx/Latinx LGBTQ Communities
Lina Méndez, Richard Zaldivar, and Natalia Deeb-Sossa
9. Testimonios of Empowerment and Belonging by Farmworker Mothers: CBPR and the Creation of the Squire Town Student-Run Clinic
Natalia Deeb-Sossa
Conclusion: Consejos y Advertencias (Advice and Warnings): Sustainability and Community-Based Participatory Research in Chicanx Studies
Natalia Deeb-Sossa

Contributors
Index

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