Introduction
Merline Gallegos is a parent leader at OLÉ. She has supported OLÉ’s efforts to advance racial and linguistic justice by working on their “Who We Are” document that centers BIPOC members and building more opportunities for immigrant families and Spanish speakers to participate in OLÉ.
As an immigrant mother, Merline became interested in the racial equity project at OLÉ. When she came to the United States, one of her biggest challenges was that she didn’t speak English. Being unable to express herself in her native Spanish became a struggle. Merline was in the U.S. for ten years and encountered many closed doors, even bullying, for speaking Spanish before she found OLÉ, which opened doors in her language. Initially, she was nervous about engaging with OLÉ. It took her time to heal and build trust to understand that some places will support her.
When she began the racial equity project at OLÉ, she encountered parents with the same or more challenges than she faced. Merline has learned from OLÉ how to advocate for herself, know her rights, and connect to other families with similar experiences. She wants other families to realize that language isn’t an obstacle to advancing in the US or making a better life for your families.
Merline feels fortunate to apply her learning from OLÉ to her experience as an early education and special education teacher, advocating for her children in special education, and as a business owner. OLÉ has also helped heal her difficult experiences as an immigrant. Now, Merline feels she can help more parents and let them know they aren’t alone. The biggest thing Merline is taking away from this project with OLE’s support is that she can tell parents where to go to get help and show them their rights while speaking their language.
In January 2021, four organizations, in partnership with the NYU Metro Center and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, committed to advancing two-year parent-led racial equity projects in New Mexico, Mississippi, New York, and Washington. This case study will focus on the Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ) project to advance racial and language equity with their members in New Mexico. The OLÉ team consisted of three staff members (2 Latinx, 1 White) and two parent leaders (2 Latinx, one at the beginning of the project, another that continued to the end). One of the parent leaders was a Spanish-speaking early childcare center owner.
This case study will discuss:
- The strategies OLÉ used to examine and strengthen racial and language equity in
their organization - OLÉ’s racial equity project team creating and sharing of their "Who We Are”
statement and related activities - The lessons the racial equity project team learned with Spanish-speaking members
- The challenges the racial equity team face
- The impact of their racial and linguistic justice work
- How OLÉ centered parents in the process