UNDOCUMENTED ALLIES OF N.C. (CLICK THE TITLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT US)
THIS IS A GRASSROOTS GROUP (MOVEMENT) THAT I CO-FOUNDED & CO-FACILITATE

NEW 2021 ACADEMIC ARTICLE PUBLICATION!!!

Kolano, L. Q., Gutierrez, L., & Sanczyk, A. (2021). Establishing Teacher Allies Through Critical Multicultural Coursework Curriculum. Teachers College Record: Volume 123, Number 13, ID Number: 23746. 

“NOBODY’S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY’S FREE” -FANNIE LOU HAMER

My Dissertation Abstract:

Title: (Re)framing the Immigrant Narrative: Exploring Testimonios that Counter the
Essentialized Image of (Un)documented People in the Discourses of Contemporary U.S. Rhetoric

Author:  Leslie  Nicole Gutierrez

Director: Dr. Sharon K. Deckert

This qualitative participatory action research (PAR) dissertation positioned within a critical race theoretical (CRT) framework examines testimonios of five adults living in North Carolina from various countries, cultures, linguistic and religious backgrounds who live or have lived undocumented in the United States. It chronicles a social justice study where a researcher-advocate in collaboration with various North Carolina community stakeholders create and implement strategies that work towards social change around issues facing (un)documented members of their state.

This study explores how dominant immigrant discourses positioned within a United States-Mexico border framework shapes the lives of these five non-Mexican (un)documented adults. It examines how a partial narrative unfairly targets some, while hiding the complexity of the undocumented migration phenomenon in general as well as the true diversity of these communities more specifically.

What Do ‘Native Americans’ Think About “Illegal” Immigration?” (*video)   *Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to this video. It is for educational purposes only

Data were collected collaboratively through individual interviews, which are compiled and presented as testimonios. Emergent themes from these first-person call-to-action-narratives were co-constructed and analyzed by the researcher and participants. The (un)documented adults’ expert lived-knowledge along with a CRT analytic lens was employed to reveal how larger power structures affect their experiences, struggles, and aspirations. The findings of this study indicate that the participants’ lives have been shaped by biased dominant border discourses that tend to construct racialized and criminalized depictions of them which in turn guides how they are talked about, treated, and (mis)perceived.

Their diverse testimonios oppose the commonly Mexicanized (un)documented migrant border story and call for multiple counter-narratives that nuance the complexities of undocumented migration by historicizing and contextualizing global push-pull factors as well as indexing the multiple identities, cultures, ways of becoming undocumented, and experiences within these communities. Findings add to critical race theory scholarship, which actively fights against racism and other forms of oppression. It informs future research by revealing alternate ways of re-presenting dominant (un)documented immigrant discourses.

BLACK & UNDOCUMENTED: Networks Fighting for Black Immigrants

POLICING AND CRIMINALIZING BLACK IMMIGRANTS (video below)

Keywords: Undocumented Migration, Testimonio, Critical Race Theory, Participatory Action Research, Counter-Narratives

UNDOCUMENTED ALLIES OF NORTH CAROLINA (1ST WORKSHOP)

UNDOCUMENTED ALLIES OF NORTH CAROLINA (1ST COMMUNITY INITIATIVE)