Credit and Credit Solutions

'Women of Color in Resistance' continues celebration of Womyn's Herstory Month

Date 3/11/1999 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Racial diversity may be slim in rural Iowa, but racial tensions still exist. Womyn's Herstory Month will examine these issues Saturday, March 13. A panel discussion titled, "Women of Color In Resistance," will be held at 7 p.m. at Terran Station, 206 1/2 W. Water Street in Decorah.

The panel will consist of several women of color who reside in Decorah and Postville, Iowa. Each panelist will share her challenging experiences living as a minority in the United States.

Some of the women speaking include Hortencia Vega, a child care provider in Postville; Chayo Lopez, a factory worker in a meat packing plant; Heidi Quintanilla, a senior Luther student and president of the Hispanic Latino Student Association; Gizelle Prieto, an exchange student from Columbia; and Laura Coste, a first-year Luther student from the Dominican Republic.

"Each of these women have hispanic heritage, but each have differing backgrounds and experiences involving race," said Quintanilla. "The backgrounds range from foreign exchange students at Luther College to working mothers from factories in Postville. Each woman will give a various angle and dimension to the panel."

Quintanilla began organizing this panel discussion after talking with Hispanic mothers during her student teaching experience last semester in Postville. The mothers expressed concern about increasing racial tensions present in the Postville community and its schools.

In 1996 Postville tallied a population of 1,412 people. The population was 99.6 percent caucasian, while 0.4 percent constituted a minority class (most commonly Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic). In Decorah, 97.1 percent of the population was caucasian, while the minority population was 3.2 percent.

According to Quintanilla, within the last two years the number of minorities in Decorah and Postville increased. The meat packing factory and turkey plant in Postville have employed many minorities (mostly Russians and Hispanics) who have moved into the area. This increase in minority population intensified race relations, especially in Postville.

"Postville is very rooted in tradition," stated Quintanilla. "When the factories began hiring minorities the town began to feel threatened by the changes."

As the community of Postville begins feeling the effects of racial diversity, international students at Luther are finding tensions of their own in Decorah.

"These women feel it is important to inform various communities and schools of the racial tensions that exist in rural Iowa," said Quintanilla. "Hearing these stories will be beneficial for all."

A question and answer session will be held after the speakers' presentations.



--

Rachel Nicholas
Chips Staff Writer

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]