Graciela Sanchez

Graciela Sanchez
Born (1960-04-24) April 24, 1960
San Antonio, Texas
EducationYale University
Occupation(s)Social activist, executive director
Known forFounder of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

Graciela Sanchez (born April 24, 1960) is a community organizer and social justice activist based out of San Antonio, Texas. She is the founder and executive director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, known for being a long-time organizer in the queer community.

Early life and education

Sanchez was born April 24, 1960 in San Antonio, Texas.[1] While in junior high school, Sanchez joined with her classmates to organize a protest over the quality of the cafeteria food. She cites their successful results in collectively organizing as teaching her the value of advocating for a cause.[2] Sanchez also was influenced by her parent's involvement in the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s.[1]

Sanchez attended Yale University.[3] While at school, Sanchez recounts finding inspiration in the feminist anthology This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color.[4]

Career and activism

Sanchez started her career working for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.[2] She also worked with activist Willie Velasquez on the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.[3] 1986, Sanchez became the first American accepted to Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión, a film school in Cuba.[5] Interested in how America's policies at the time impacted people throughout the world, Sanchez made a documentary called Testimonios de Nicaragua on the Sandinista revolution.[2] She produced another film in 1988 about queer rights in Cuba entitled No porque lo diga Fidel Castro.[2]

In 1987, Sanchez founded the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.[6] The center was established to advocate for LGBTQ rights, basic civil rights, and economic justice.[7] The center also works to preserve historic buildings in San Antonio’s West Side.[8] In founding the center, Sanchez aimed to create a new organization that was more broadly focused than other civic organizations in San Antonio at the time.[9] Sanchez became director of Esperanza in 1988.[9]

Sanchez is a founding member of multiple organizations in San Antonio, including the Lesbian Gay assembly and the Lesbian/Gay Media Project.[1]

Awards and legacy

In 2019, Sanchez was honored by the National Women's History Alliance as a "Champion of Peace and Nonviolence".[5] In 2021, she received a Cornerstone Award from the Texas Society of Architects at its 82nd Annual Conference and Design Expo.[8]

The National Women's History Alliance describes her leadership as having "changed the political character of San Antonio".[5] Journalist Jade Esteban Estrada has said of Sanchez: "If it's unjust, she's on it."[4] In response to death threats she has received over her life's work, she says: "You can't separate art and culture from justice and respect".[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sanchez, Graciela (February 22, 2005). "Graciela Sanchez" (PDF). Voices of Feminism Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Ross, Loretta. San Antonia, Texas: Smith College. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Simón, Yara (September 6, 2024). ""This Work Should Also Be Jubilant": Graciela Sánchez on Organizing in San Antonio". New York University. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Degollado, Jessie (October 10, 2021). "Yale-educated Graciela Sanchez has family legacy of activism". KSAT-TV. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Estrada, Jade Esteban (July 12, 2018). "Sitting Down with Unerasable Graciela Sanchez". Out in SA. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Graciela Sanchez: Community Peace & Justice Activist" (PDF). Women's History 2019 Gazette. Vol. 11. National Women's History Alliance. 2019. p. 11. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Shilcutt, Katharine (April 5, 2021). "Graciela Sanchez, founder of San Antonio's Esperanza Center, will deliver keynote address". Rice University. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  7. ^ Milligan, Bryce (April 18, 2019). Literary San Antonio. TCU Press. ISBN 9780875656939. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "San Antonio's Graciela Sanchez Named 2021 Cornerstone Honoree". Texas Architect Magazine. Vol. 72, no. 6. November 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  9. ^ a b DeTurk, Sara (November 20, 2014). Activism, Alliance Building, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Lexington Books. p. 1. ISBN 9780739188651. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  10. ^ González, Bárbara Renaud (March 15, 1999). "Remember the Alamo, Part II". The Nation. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
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