ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which this Chicana/Latina-led organization challenged the use and control of urban space in San Antonio, Texas. Established largely as a safe space for marginalized people, namely queer, poor and working-class, and women of color, to come together and to celebrate women and the culture of working-class Mexican Americans, the organization has mobilized against sexism, homophobia, racism, classism, Islamophobia, colonization, gentrification, and environmental destruction. DeTurk’s chapter focuses on three major projects that illustrates how Esperanza has applied a Chicana feminist praxis to challenge the use and control of public spaces: (1) the creation of the Free Speech Coalition—a campaign to protect the public’s right to march in the streets; (2) the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group and its efforts to protect public land from corporate takeover; and (3) Westside Preservation Association which has advocated for the preservation of historically relevant Mexican American buildings and neighborhoods. From lobbying for the right to march in the streets to combatting gentrification and protecting the histories of racially and class segregated Mexican neighborhoods, Esperanza exemplifies Latinx and Chicana feminist traditions of organizing in defense of urban space, especially in ways that seek to restore and protect.
