‘Fierce Madres’ Plunge Into Gun Control Debate

‘FIERCE MADRES’ PLUNGE INTO GUN CONTROL DEBATE When a teenage assailant shattered the lives of a predominately Hispanic community in Texas, a group of mothers channeled their grief into action.   ‘Systemic Failures’ Sarah Brown in Rio de Janeiro @BrSarahTr  In the late morning of May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old ex-pupil of Robb Elementary drove to his former school in Uvalde, Texas, and left his ramshackle truck in a ditch nearby. He entered the school through a side door and walked into a classroom where students were having class. Armed with a legally-purchased semiautomatic rifle, he fired over 100 rounds across two classrooms, killing 19 children and two teachers. We’ve been ignored and neglected, but one thing about [Hispanic mothers] is you do not mess with our kids.  - Angela Villescaz      It was one of the deadliest school shootings in the U.S., leaving the predominantly Hispanic community of Uvalde reeling from grief. Local and state law enforcement officers waited outside the classroom for over an hour before the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit reacted and fatally shot the assailant. A Texas House committee subsequently found that “systemic failures” had caused the delay in action by law enforcement. In the wake of the massacre, Angela Villescaz told a reporter, “We’ve been ignored and neglected, but one thing about [Hispanic mothers] is you do not mess with our kids.” She then vowed, “We’re going to do something about this. I promise.” Villescaz is the founder of Fierce Madres, a Latina advocacy group that has united hundreds of local mothers and grandmothers seeking to turn profound tragedy into what they see as a revolution to eliminate gun violence and promote firearm safety. In this week’s episode of the Sheroics podcast, host Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto talks with the Fierce Madres founder and Hispanic mother who is determined to make her hometown of Uvalde a safe place for her community and its kids. Villescaz didn’t lose a child in the May shooting. She is driven by a commitment to protect all children. “Don’t mess with fierce mothers,” said Cruz Soto.

‘They’re Just Children’   While law enforcement waited almost 80 minutes after the first emergency call before confronting the shooter, officers also held back parents who were trying to rescue their children. One of those parents was Angeli Gomez. Gomez was briefly handcuffed by police after trying to rush into the school to save her kids. When the handcuffs were removed, she jumped a fence and grabbed her sons from their classroom. She later joined Villescaz to become one of Fierce Madres’ first volunteers. Prior to founding the advocacy group, Villescaz had spent more than 20 years working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. “I’ve always, my whole life, been a Mexican American activist wanting equality,” she told OZY. Gomez was briefly handcuffed by police after trying to rush into the school to save her kids. When the handcuffs were removed, she jumped a fence and grabbed her sons from their classroom.        Under Villescaz’s leadership, the Fierce Madres have become vocal advocates for change. They initially demanded the removal of Uvalde school police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who was blamed for the police’s hesitant approach and was later dismissed after a unanimous board vote. The Madres are now lobbying for more stringent gun control, including raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21 years old. They also seek to improve school safety by recruiting what they call “gun-sense” candidates to run for political office. They are also setting up gun safety chapters across Texas. In the pipeline for next year are partnerships with grassroots organizations, such as Moms Demand Action, to promote firearm safety in localities across the country, and exploring further options for other legislative reforms. “They’re just children,” said Villescaz. “They depend on us to protect them, and we need to protect them with our laws.” She has vowed to spend the rest of her life safeguarding children from gun violence.

OGA WINNER SPOTLIGHT At age 10, Youssef Hasweh learned that his family would not be able to afford college tuition. At 17, he was off to the University of Chicago on a full scholarship. Determined to “pay it forward,” Youssef’s Your Success Scholarship program has already given away more than $17,000 in scholarships to disadvantaged students. To “change the face of access,” Youssef’s program has built “a student-led higher education advocacy platform for low-income, first-generation students of color.” The challenge Youssef hopes to overcome with his OGA? “How do I continue to satisfy the demands of a growing community and serve every student possible?” WATCH MORE HERE

Imbalance of Power   Once a town where Mexican Americans were largely segregated from the white population, Uvalde has a history of social uprising. A six-week protest in 1970 led by hundreds of students after the dismissal of one of Robb Elementary’s few Latino teachers set in motion a series of regional reforms, including changes to segregation and more diverse representation on the school board. Yet the history of discrimination lingers today. In a place that is around 82% Hispanic, just 10 to 15% of the town’s wealth belongs to that group and a fifth of the population lives in poverty. Noting that power remains imbalanced, Villescaz said, “Our county judge is white, our mayor is white, our superintendent is white, and our state representative. They call all the shots.” I’m a woman of faith. I believe that something good can come out of all of this.  - Angela Villescaz      The Fierce Madres face other challenges as well. Several social movements, including the advocacy groups that emerged after the Sandy Hook massacre, have mostly failed to win any significant federal gun reform or secure other major changes. This does not deter Villescaz. “I’m a woman of faith. I believe that something good can come out of all of this,” she said. “I don’t believe that we should just move on.” In this week’s episode of Sheroics, Cruz Soto focuses on the way the Fierce Madres turned tragedy into a campaign to uphold the values they hold dear. In her view, Villescaz and the Fierce Madres prove that grief can be a powerful catalyst for action.

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