Mary E. Mendoza
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Ways of Seeing: Reflecting on Dr. King’s dream
Equality is not equity. Dr. King made this point repeatedly. He argued that while white Americans were acquiring free land in the American West, Black Americans, Asians, and…
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Ways of Seeing: November as a time for reflection
As we approach the holiday season, I ache to hear my grandmothers’ voices, to hug them, to spend time with them.
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Ways of Seeing: Other precedents for civil rights
Since I wrote the piece about my grandmother, I’ve been stewing about the revocation of abortion rights and reading more on the ways in which we can argue…
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Ways of Seeing: Choice makes America great
In 1948, my grandmother married my grandfather. Soon after, they had their first child. He was the first of ten.
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Ways of Seeing: Why we put women of color in power
There is a lot of pain in the world right now. People continue to fall victim daily to a global pandemic. War has broken out in Europe. In…
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Ways of seeing: Vaccine failures challenge our values
When I moved to Vermont for college, I was 18 and had barely left Texas. My family drove me, and I was terrified when I realized how far…
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Ways of seeing: Immigration is a bipartisan issue
Recently, news and media coverage highlighted video footage and images of border agents near Del Rio, Texas, grossly abusing Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande into the United…
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Ways of Seeing: A More Nuanced Approach to Vaccines
When I sat down to write this column, I have to admit that I really struggled to decide what to write about. There’s so much going on in…
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Ways of seeing: Cinco de mayo is more than a party
Last week was cinco de mayo. For many Americans, it’s just another day. For others, it’s a day to celebrate something Mexican. Mexican culture? Mexican independence? Most Americans…
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Ways of seeing: Death from a distance
A couple of weeks ago, my Grandmother died. I had to say goodbye to her on the screen of my tiny phone. She could not hear or see…
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Ways of seeing: New border control stance needed
A reporter called me this week to ask me about the history of the border. He wanted to know if I thought that there was any chance that…
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Ways of Seeing: View the election through a new prism
It’s been a long couple of weeks to say the least. The election has been called for former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. Now comes…
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Ways of Seeing: Rethinking American political progress
On Aug. 18, Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Susan B. Anthony. who voted illegally in 1872, well before the 19th amendment granted some women that right in 1920. I…
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Ways of Seeing: Landscapes of insecurity
“Wow, it’s been a rough couple of weeks!” So many people have said that to me in recent days and each time I hear it, rage swells in…
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Ways of Seeing: Virus outbreak of 1924 overtook California in unprecedented ways
In 1924 a virus outbreak overtook the state of California in unprecedented ways. The virus, known in Latin as aphtae epizooticae is a hardy virus that can spread rapidly. Virus…
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Ways of Seeing: Crisis underscores good fortune
There is a lot going on in the world right now, but I confess that I have been frequently and somewhat blissfully unaware of most of it. At…