Mónica Ramírez (activist)

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Mónica Ramírez
Mónica Ramírez headshot
Alma materLoyola University of Chicago

Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

Harvard Kennedy School
Known forWomen's farmworker activism

Mónica Ramírez is an activist, author, civil rights attorney, social entrepreneur, and speaker born in Fremont, Ohio. She has been engaged in service and advocacy on behalf of farmworkers, Latinas and immigrant women. Ramírez employs a victim-centered approach to her work and she is a supporter of worker-led movements. She has a history of promoting women’s leadership and political power.

Early life and education

Ramírez was born and raised in Fremont, Ohio.[1][2] Ramírez graduated from Loyola University of Chicago in 1999, then proceeded to Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for her Doctor of Law. In 2014, Monica joined Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and earned a Masters in Public Administration.[3][4]

Career

Ramírez created the first legal project in the US focused on addressing sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination against farmworker women in 2003, which was incubated at the Migrant Justice Project of Florida Legal Services.[5] She later scaled this project and founded Esperanza: The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center (which addresses sexual assault and harassment of female farmworkers) in 2006, which she directed for nearly seven years.[6][7][8] In addition, she created the award-winning Bandana Project, an art activism project that raises awareness about workplace sexual violence against farmworker women.[3][9]

From 2012 to 2014, Ramírez served as Acting Deputy Director for Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., the first transnational migrant workers’ rights organization based in Mexico.[10] In 2014, she founded Justice for Migrant Women, a national advocacy and technical assistance project focused on representing female farmworkers and other low-paid migrant workers who are victims of workplace sexual violence.[11] In addition to her work for Justice for Migrant Women, Ramírez acted as the Deputy Director / Director of Gender Equality for the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement from 2016 to 2018.[12] While there, she developed a strategic plan for a campaign aimed at assisting and empowering Latina workers in the U.S. Ramírez also co-founded Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (the National Farmworker Women's Alliance) with Mily Treviño-Sauceda.[13][6]

In 2019, Ramírez also co-founded The Latinx House — a gathering space to support the Latino community and to celebrate Latino excellence in film and entertainment — with Alex Kondracke and Olga Segura.[14] The Latinx House was launched at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.[15]

Dear Sisters Letter

In November, 2017, while in her role as Alianza’s Board President, Ramírez wrote the “Dear Sisters” letter, published in TIME Magazine.[16] The letter, written on behalf of Alianza members and lending the support and solidarity of Latina farmworkers, went viral and helped spark the TIME’S UP movement.[17]

In 2018 she attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards as a guest of Laura Dern.[18]

Querida Familia Letter

In August 2019, Ramírez organized the Querida Familia letter, a letter to the Latino community and allies, with America Ferrera, Diane Guerrero, Eva Longoria, Alex Martinez Kondracke, and Olga Segura, after 22 people were murdered in a mass shooting in El Paso by a white nationalist and following immigration raids in Mississippi. The letter garnered the support of more than 200 Latino leaders who included actors, activists, civil rights and labor leaders, business people and more.[9] The letter was published in English in The New York Times.[19] It was published in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald, El Diario, and La Opinión. The letter went viral after its publication,[20] and Ramírez, along with the other letter authors and organizers, were presented with the Women and Media Center's 2019 Solidarity Award from WMC founders Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan in October 2019.[21]

The Latinx House

In January 2020, Ramírez announced that she was launching a new initiative called The Latinx House with filmmaker and activist Alexandra Martinez Kondracke, and Mexican actress, producer, entrepreneur and activist Olga Segura. The Latinx House, which is a project within Ramírez's organization Justice for Migrant Women, aims to create gathering spaces to celebrate the best in Latino culture and bring important societal issues to the forefront.[22][23]

Awards and Distinctions

  • Casa de Esperanza’s National Latina Transformational Leadership Award[24]
  • LCLAA Central Florida Trabajadoras’ Award[25]
  • William Oxley Thompson Award[26]
  • National Hispanic Council on Aging, Outstanding Community Service Award[27]
  • Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Hispanic Heritage Award for Leadership[28]
  • Women’s Media Center, Solidarity Award[29]
  • YWCA USA Leadership Award[30]
  • Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Social Progress[31]
  • Jessie de la Cruz Community Activist and Service Award from California Rural Legal Assistance[32]

Personal life

Monica currently resides in her hometown of Fremont, Ohio, where she is married to Scott Derome. They are the parents of a son.[22][2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, and More Are Speaking Out: "The Integrity of Our Country Is at Stake"". Vanity Fair. 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  2. ^ a b "Collective Thriving | Engaging Voices". Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  3. ^ a b Finn, Natalie (2018-01-08). "Why the Activists at the Golden Globes With Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams & More Stars Should Be Household Names". E! Online. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  4. ^ "Mónica Ramírez". National Women's Law Center. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  5. ^ "Florida Legal Services". Florida Legal Services. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  6. ^ a b "Monica Ramirez – Netroots Nation". Netrootsnation.org. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  7. ^ Cindy Marroquin (2009-08-27). "The Bandana Project: Raising Awareness about the Exploitation of Farmworker Women". Calcasa.org. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  8. ^ "Latina Impact Fund - About". Facebook. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  9. ^ a b "This international day of the girl be a part of the latest viral challenge". HOLA. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  10. ^ "Home". Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  11. ^ Women, Justice for Migrant. "Justice for Migrant Women". Justice for Migrant Women. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  12. ^ "LCLAA - Labor Council For Latin American Advancement". www.lclaa.org. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  13. ^ "Who Is Monica Ramirez? Laura Dern's Golden Globes Date Is An Advocate For Women". Elitedaily.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  14. ^ "Time's Up Partners For Latinx House Launch With America Ferrera, Gina Rodriguez". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  15. ^ Chuba, Kirsten (2020-01-15). "The Latinx House Takes Sundance: Voices for Change (and Cocktails)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  16. ^ "700,000 Female Farmworkers Say They Stand With Hollywood Actors Against Sexual Assault". Time. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  17. ^ "Time's Up (movement)", Wikipedia, 2019-10-24, retrieved 2020-01-05
  18. ^ CNWN Collection (8 January 2018). "Golden Globes 2018: How to Support the Activists' Causes". Allure. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  19. ^ "Selena Gomez, José Andrés, Gina Rodriguez, and other prominent Latinx figures publish letter in New York Times condemning hate". The Week. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  20. ^ QueridaFamiliaLetter. "In The News". QueridaFamiliaLetter. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  21. ^ October 01; Steinem, 2019 | Gloria; Fonda, Jane; Media; Morgan, Robin. "Announcing 2019 Women's Media Awards Honorees - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  22. ^ a b Shoup, Craig. "Fremont activist named to Time magazine's 'Next 100' list". The News-Messenger. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  23. ^ "The Latinx House: Mónica Ramírez talks of how her new project will strengthen the Latinx community". HOLA. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  24. ^ "celebrating 35 years of latina leadership". Casa de Esperanza. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  25. ^ "Monica Ramirez - LCLAA BLOG". www.lclaa.org. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  26. ^ "Moritz College of Law - Alumni Relations: This Month @ Moritz". moritzlaw.osu.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  27. ^ "NHCOA". Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  28. ^ "Leadership". Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  29. ^ October 01; Steinem, 2019 | Gloria; Fonda, Jane; Media; Morgan, Robin. "Announcing 2019 Women's Media Awards Honorees - Women's Media Center". www.womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  30. ^ "YWCA USA Honors Extraordinary Women Leaders at National Conference Awards". YWCA USA. 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  31. ^ "Smithsonian Ingenuity Award Winners: Mónica Ramírez and Mily Treviño-Sauceda". www.smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  32. ^ super (2018-09-10). "2018 La Tardeada". California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
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