Interview with Yohana Barajas Hinojosa

Interview with Yohana Barajas Hinojosa

A one-hour and ten-minute-long audio interview with Yohana Barajas Hinojosa. The interviewer is Gloria Sosa, and the file is dated September 23 (year unknown).

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Gloria Sosa: 00:00:04 So we're gonna get started now. So thank you so much, Joanna,
for, um, giving me this time to talk to you and, um, just sharing
your stories with me. So, um, can you please share with me
your age, your preferred pronouns, and during and what years
you were at Cal State LA.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:00:22 Yeah. So I am 33 years old. My preferred pronouns are she and
her, and I was at Cal State LA from fall 2007 till spring 2013.
Gloria Sosa: 00:00:41 Great. And were you a student or what was your role?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:00:45 I was a student, yes. Undergrad student.
Gloria Sosa: 00:00:50 Undergrad. Perfect. Uh, can you describe uh, describe to me,
uh, your current occupation.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:00:58 Yes. So I'm currently a grad student at California Baptist
University, um, doing a dual program for marriage, family
therapy and, um, professional clinical counseling.
Gloria Sosa: 00:01:10 Okay. What was your major at Cal State LA?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:01:13 Social work. Social work, and a minor in Chicano studies.
Gloria Sosa: 00:01:19 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. That's very good. So it aligns with
what you're doing now, right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:01:22 Yeah. <laugh>,
Gloria Sosa: 00:01:24 It's like the combo. Um, could you please describe your family
background?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:01:31 Yes. So I am a first generation, uh, immigrant. Uh, my parents
and I, um, came to the US when I was eight months old, I
believe. Um, and ever since I grew up in South Central Los
Angeles, that's where my roots are. Um, come from a family of
four. Um, my mom has always been a, that immigrant stay at
home, but provided childcare for all the other moms that work
in factories, um, in the area. My dad had different jobs and
factories, um, um, and, and landscaping and so forth. So they've
had different odd jobs just to pay off the rent. Um, and I just got
a younger sister. Um, I'm still the first in my family to have a
degree, and so I'm also gonna be the first in my family to get a
master's degree.
Gloria Sosa: 00:02:28 Yay. you go! So, um, you're from Mexico. Do you mind sharing
from where? What state?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:02:38 Oh, yeah. I'm from Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Gloria Sosa: 00:02:42 And are you the oldest sibling?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:02:44 Yes, I'm the oldest.
Gloria Sosa: 00:02:46 So then all of your um, siblings were born here?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:02:50 Yeah, I only have one, and she was only born here.
Gloria Sosa: 00:02:53 Oh, okay. Okay.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:02:53 <laugh>. Yeah.
Gloria Sosa: 00:02:54 So your family of four. Okay. I under- misunderstood <laugh>.
Nice, nice. It's the only one. Okay. Um. When you moved from
Guadalajara to here, did you stay in the LA area?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:03:11 Yes, yes. We never moved anywhere. We've always lived in
South Central.
Gloria Sosa: 00:03:19 Did you live in the same house or was it moving around? Just
the area?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:03:25 Mm, moving around the area, just, but within the same like
little community, like maybe like when we moved from one
house and then two blocks down, we ended up renting another
house, but within the same small community.
Gloria Sosa: 00:03:39 And what was that community like?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:03:45 Uh, growing up in the nineties, it was hard. It was a lot of gangs
around that time, a lot of shootouts. Um, but it was different.
Like you still had such a diverse community. I had such a diverse
group of friends, you know, learning English. My mom said I was
able to, you know, catch school really quick. The language, the
culture. Um, mostly all my friends were always African
American. My best friends still this day they are African
American, like my best friends. So I've always had that
connection, the black and brown unity connection with, you
know, those in my community. Um, it was hard, but I think it
made me very alert of my surroundings. It made me be the
different hustler in, in that sector of it hustling for an education
and opportunities. So, so yeah, it was different. <Laugh>
Gloria Sosa: 00:04:53 So it was a diverse community. And how did you deal with the
violence? You were, um, alert your surroundings and can you
perhaps give an example how that looked like?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:05:07 Um, just looking over your shoulder at the time, making sure,
you know, um, we knew the gang members in the streets, um,
and I never felt threatened by them. Um, I think because my
mom also took care of the kids, so it was more like they
protected us or they protected me. Um, I was, I was known in
the community because I was so involved in my community. I
was a youth activist. I was always doing workshops with, you
know, immigrant rights workshops and everything. Everybody in
my community knew me. They all knew my parents. And so, you
know, going to Cal State LA on the bus, <laugh>, um, carrying a
laptop or, you know, just my books, everything. Um, I
remember that there, there would be nights that, you know, we
live in the hood, so sometimes the street lights didn't work. Um,
and my mom would send a few of the gang members to wait for
me at the bus stop so that they can walk me home, <laugh>. So
it's that community sense, like, they always protected me. They
knew that I was gonna make it out and I was gonna be
somebody in the future. So it kind of felt like, I know it felt good
to know that, you know, that they also believed in me, you
know?
Gloria Sosa: 00:06:28 Yes. So since an early age, you were aware that through
education, and I quote what you said, you were going to make it
out of that community?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:06:40 I, I never saw myself making it out, like living out. I just saw
myself as my mom would aw. Like, we came here for a reason,
you know, the American dream, all of that, yada, yada. But I
didn't know I was undocumented. That all changed when I was
in middle school. So how I found out was I was selected or
nominated for a scholarship, $5,000, and I got it. I didn't it.
Yeah. But they required a social, and I remember going to the
dinner and the awards ceremony and everything, and then they
put all the awardees and their parents in a room so they can fill
out all the paperwork with the taxes on their social so that
those scholarships can be dispersed to, um, to them. Um, and it
was gonna be done through like an account, like a bank
account, and we would have access to it when we turned 17 or
18 like that or something like that. And so I remember my mom
pulling in, my counselor out and talking to her, and my
counselor kind of looking at me and started crying. And I was
just like, well, what's going on? You know? And they pulled me
to the side and told me like, you're gonna still be part of the
ceremony, but you cannot get the money. And I was just like,
what do you mean I can't get the money? Mm-hmm.
<affirmative>. But yeah, you can't because you don't have a
social. And then like monday, it was a Saturday night type of
award ceremony. So my construction was like, on Monday
we're gonna explain it to you a little bit more just in your, enjoy
the dinner, enjoy the award, you still, you know, you still won
that and you still deserve that. Monday came and my mom
went to school and sat down with my counselor and they
explained to me that I don't have papers that I was born in
Mexico, and because of that I don't have a social security
number. And I was just, well, just, I'm, what is it, 12, 11 years
old? I, I don't know what immigration is. I don't know what
immigration status is. I don't know what a social security card is
or number. That's never defined me or that's never really been
a part of my lab or sense or anything like that. Um, and my mom
was, the only way my mom was able to explain it to me because
I was just like, well, just put any number there. You know, like,
just put something until you get, I can get the money, I can get
the scholarship. Like, fix it. You're an adult. And the only way my
mom could explain it was this. She was just like, your sister, she
was born in the US so she has US papers. You were born in
Mexico, which I already knew mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And
she's like, you were born in Mexico. And I was like, yeah. She's
like, well, because you were born in Mexico, like in Spanish. Um,
she was telling me, you have Mexican papers. So then I told her,
well, then put my Mexican number in there, <laugh>. And I still
didn't get it. Uh, but they had to explain it that they wanted the
American number, the American papers, and I don't have that.
And so that to me really sunk in. And in that moment, I really
realized that, okay, if these few digits, if this little number had
such a drastic change in me receiving this form of scholarship or
money for me to go to college, because for me, college was
everything for me. College was everything. Then how else and
what else is gonna be taken away because of this? So in that
moment, I realized the impact of my undocumented status.
Gloria Sosa: 00:10:29 Right. At a really young age.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:10:32 Yeah. So I made it my mission, my, I don't know what to call it,
but it was like the fire in me that like lit up. And in high school I
was like, I'm not gonna be quiet about this. I know there's other
people I know that we can do other stuff. So I became kind of
like a voice of the young immigrant movement. And I was
joining MEChA and I was joining other stuff, and I was being a
part of, you know, community organizations and I was going to
classes and telling my story that I'm undocumented, and that
kind of like a way of other students letting the teachers know,
"Hey, I'm undocumented too. Like, what can we do? What are
resources out there for us?" You know?
Gloria Sosa: 00:11:23 So, um, so this happened in the scholarship happened in middle
school mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And then this is when it hit you
right. That you were undocumented. Okay. So moving a little
forward, I guess, to high school first. Where did you go to high
school?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:11:43 So, I went to two high schools. I went to Jefferson High School,
which is in South Central, very historical high school. <laugh>
We had, riots when I went to high school, it was they gang
related. Um, I went there for two years and then I finished my
11th and 10th and 12th grade at Santi Education Complex,
which is also South Central.
Gloria Sosa: 00:12:09 Okay. So what was it like at Jefferson?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:12:17 Um, I mean, at Jeff to me it was just like, you get the kids that
don't want to study, then you get the kids that want to study
(inaudible) I mean, no matter what my circumstance were, I put
education first. Can you hear me?
Gloria Sosa: 00:12:46 Yes, it was, cut it up a little, bit okay. Yohana so you were
sharing with me how was, uh, how was it like at your Jefferson
high school? Your first high school where you did the 10th and
the 9th grade?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:13:01 Yes. Um, yeah, so I mean, I think any normal high school, I didn't
experience anything different aside from just the riots that
happened in 2000 and, um, 2005 or something like that? Um,
you know, um, which were gang related. It put a hold in my
education in the sense that it interrupted the education during
time with the teachers. Um, but I mean, I did what I had to do
with projects, with homework. I, I just continued. Um, and then
Santi education opened, so that was a brand new high school.
Gloria Sosa: 00:13:52 Okay.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:13:53 So we went from an old high school, very historic, where, um,
my cousins, my aunts, many of my family members have gone
there. Um, and the community, um, to a brand new, like you
took the plastic off type of high school <laugh> that had a pool,
had tennis courts, had everything you can think of. Um, and at
Jeff, I was, I played, I played tennis. So at Jeff you had to walk to
the park to play tennis, to practice for tennis, um, for our high
school. So that's kind of like the little difference that we had.
Um, but yeah, I just, I mean, it's, my education was normal to
the extent, but, um, just about just me being more aware of my
situation. Um, and I think the only club I had joined there was
Big Brother, Big Sister. That was the only thing available there.
Um, Santi, Santi was a whole different story. <laugh> Santi, um,
we had MEChA, we had, uh, we created Somos Raza We had
really strong young teachers who were coming in ready to talk
and provide ethnic studies. So we were learning about Che
Guevara, we were learning about, um, the different, uh, you
know, revolutionary, just, not just Pancho Villa but Las Adelitas.
You know, we were learning so much there. And I remember,
um, just going after school to just learn and grab books that
were not part of the American educational system, like we were
reading Malcolm X, you name it. Um, and even though that
sounds crazy, right? Like, that was revolutionary at that time.
That was right. That was different in those moments because
that was not part of the curriculum. You know, we had people,
um, who were, for example, really good community, um,
activists, uh, Ron Coches, Jose Lara. We had, um, those type of
key elements in our high school. Um, so yeah, we were, we
were in there creating curriculum for us, learning about our
history, um, and, and creating programs and organizations that
were for us. And for me, Santi was more of that awakening for
my story. That's where I started sharing more. Um, we had
social workers, um, therapists in there, and I remember just
starting my healing process there about my journey. Um,
because if you were to talk to me back in 2017, I mean, 2007
<laugh>, I would not be able to say everything I'm saying
without crying. You know, the trauma would hit harder. Um, but
because I healed in therapy, because I, I healed that part of my
life and my identity, um, I'm able to talk to it now in a way that's
more of a healing than a trigger. And the passive was for
triggering. So we had that kind of support there. Um, you know,
and I believe that the teachers there really believed in me. I, I
still have them down as friends, they become mentors. Um, and
I was kind of the, I don't wanna say Guinea pig, but I was kind
of, uh, <laugh>, how do I say it? I was a lot of, so a lot of them
were first time teachers or educators in this com- in this
community. And I was their first undocumented senior <laugh>,
I guess openly, I guess, you know, maybe other folks were, but
openly I was their first, even my college counselor there. And I
remember like, I was valedictorian, so I had a really high GPA.
And they're trying to get me into Berkeley. They're trying to get
me into UCLA, you know, these are prof, these are all
educational UC's. Um, UCLA, I'm applying to USC. So I
remember sitting down and doing the UC applications. And
remember, this is before the Dream Act, right? Before any of
that, the only thing that was in, in, in our world during that time
was AB 540. That's the only thing we had. Um, but nothing else.
Everything else that was in the news or in the political, um, I
guess air, was the Federal Dream Act. Um, that was it. There
was nothing else educational wise, financial aid wise, that would
support aside in California, aside from AB 540 Um, so I
remember some submit. I remember being ready to submit my
four UC's, and of course I don't have papers. So they were like,
well, let's figure out, let's see what's gonna happen. And of
course, it didn't take the waiver because I don't have a social, so
it asked for a credit card. And I believe each application was, let
me see, Cal States were $50, each UC's were $66 or $65 each.
So, if you, if you were to times, let's say 65 times four
universities, that's $260, right? That's $260 that I did not have.
<laugh>. I was working already under the table. I worked in the
fashion district, I sold prom dresses. Um, at the age of 16, I
started working around in that area. So that was my way of
earning income. Um, but I didn't have that money with me in
that moment. So I remember looking at my counselor, I
remember having a counselor, my college counselor in the back,
assistant principal on the other side, and three other senior, uh,
teachers in the room helping other students too. And when my
college counselor gasp, she's like, oh, no, they'll turn, because I
get, I was like, Guinea pig. So I was the one kind of separated
from everybody else and seeing how they're gonna help me,
what's gonna happen. And I was just like, what happened? And
she's like, you have to pay. And I'm like, oh, how much is it? And
she's like, um, if this is the amount, it was like two something.
And I was just like, look, I will have the money on Monday. Like,
I'm gonna work Friday, Saturday, Saturday and Sunday, and I
will get you the money on Monday. I can, you know, I don't
even have a, I didn't even have a debit card, <laugh>. So I was
like, can I borrow the debit card? Can I borrow money? And, or I
can have my mom come and pick and, you know, give you the
money. Like, I'm over here figuring out. Right. And I remember
my, my college counselor picking out her debit card and she up,
she said, I'll pay for it. Then one of my other teachers took out
his debit card and she's like, I have the Cal States. Then my
other two pay for my private, um, applications, which was UC,
USC and Mount. No, what is the amount? The All Girls college? I
forgot that Private School. Um, but yeah, they all took other
cards and they paid. And I remember just crying. I was like,
whoa. Like, she's like, no, like we believe in you mija and we're
not gonna let any, uh, you know, nothing stop you from
achieving your dreams.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:21:42 You know, you just have to get to just one. And, you know, and
that was a goal. Just get to one. And I remember them putting
the fire under me, like, okay, so I can't get financial aid. I am
working, but it's not a lot of money. What's my next option?
They're like, scholarships. Okay. pos ponte. And I was applying
to, I wanna say two scholarships every week. And I was able to
graduate with a total of $10,000 in scholarships. Yeah. <laugh>
outta the $10,000, I wanna say two of those scholarships were
renewable until I graduated. Those scholarships were $2,000
each. So, every year, as long I kept and maintained a certain
gpa, I was able to renew until I graduated from Cal State LA. uh,
from college, right. So, I ended up getting into UC Riverside, I
got into UC Berkeley, I got into Santa Cruz, I got into Cal State
LA. I got into Cal State Dominguez Hills, and I was waitlisted at
USC.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:22:58 Um, because they needed me to complete one more class. I was
missing one more class they wanted me to complete. Um, but I
mean, financially that wasn't gonna be the best choice either
way. Um, so, but I was just happy over there. Alright. I got at
least, I got a wait listed <laugh>. Um, I remember sitting down
my parents and just spreading out the packages, all my
acceptances and going over all the financial aid, like looking at
the numbers, realistically, right? And yeah, I could've gone to
Berkeley, I could've gone to any UC, but realistically I wasn't
going to be able to afford it. Not even, not even the scholarships
that I have were gonna be enough to afford it. So I then looked
at the Cal State's and I said, okay, what can I afford? Which one
is best? We went, I took my parents, we took the bus and we
went to Dominguez Hills, we took the tour, we visited, and ah, I
liked it, but it wasn't giving me the energy, the vibe I wanted.
Gloria Sosa: 00:24:00 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:24:00 I went to Cal State LA. And, um, I remember the high school was
like, I need you to go to Epic Center. And he's no longer there.
He retired, but she's like, um, I need you to go and speak to
Jorge Uranga. He was the director of Epic. And I'm not sure if
you ever met him, but, um, he was a director of Epic. And I went
in, I took the bus, I went, I met him, and he was like the
Godfather I never knew <laugh> <laugh>. He welcomed, "Hola.
mija como estas?" And just, I spoke to him about my story. He's
like, you know, oh, I know Fermin. I know there's an
organization here. It's called SURGE. You need to go meet them.
And this is in the summer. So this is before, before I would start
school or anything. This is still like, I was still a senior in high
school.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:24:57 I was about to graduate. Um, so he's the one that connected me
to SURGE, um, and to Fermin. And I remember reaching out to
Fermin. I said, Hey, I, I'm about to graduate from high school,
like, I have like one more month and I'm going into Cal State LA
in the fall. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, you know, I, I heard
about SURGE I, you know, I wanna join an organization, I wanna
join something. Um, can you let me know? And he said, join us.
They're having a two day or weekend retreat that I believe in
that, in that moment, I think SALEF or MALDEF had provided the
funding for. Um, and so I went, hotel was included. Everything, I
think we say like around Boyle Heights or something like that.
<laugh>, I met everybody. I met the original members. Um, you
know, Fermin was also a freshman. Um, so when I went in, he
was a second year.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:25:53 Um, I met Jose, I met Jorge, I met Martha. I met kind of like the
OG originals <laugh>. Um, and I kind of became that OG original
too, in a, in a sense. But I was like the baby original <laugh>.
Everybody was there before me. Um, but I remember that
feeling of like, just, I was able to breathe and say, I'm not alone.
You know, I'm not, I'm not alone in my thoughts. I'm not alone
in my struggle. I'm not alone in the sense that I'm first gen and I
don't know what to do. They SURGE was that family, that
support group that, that system, I really needed to not just
succeed at Cal State LA but create that story at Cal State LA. If, I
don't think, if SURGE was not there, I don't think we would've
done, we would've done, and we would've been a part of that
historical movement.
Gloria Sosa: 00:27:04 Right. So yes, SURGE does have this story of bringing people
together. Right. And that's beautiful. Um, so that was beautiful.
There's a lot to cover there. So let me come back a little to, um,
your high school. So, at Jefferson it was pretty much, um, just
doing classes, right? And, um, once you got to Santi, that's
where everything unraveled. Yeah. Um, so it sounds like
everything started because you were able to find the people
who was willing to help you, right? Yeah. So how did that, how
did you find the people willing to help you? How did you
disclose your status?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:27:52 I was never afraid of my immigration status because that fear in
a way was never instilled me. And, and the only way I could
describe it was, you know, my dad was, um, my dad was
deported a few times, so I was able to experience that. Um, he
was deported because he was doing stuff he wasn't supposed to
be doing <laugh>. So, and I remember once he got out of jail
and (inaudible) and just kind of started doing the right thing, I
remember him sitting to me down and, and telling me. Um, so
he came outta jail when I was in, in the eighth grade. Um, and
he was in jail for like 10 years. So he was outta my life for a long
part of just my childhood. But I remember him just saying like,
you know, no matter what, no matter what happens because of
our status, because you know, nobody can take away your
education. Nobody. Es lo unico que no te pueden quitar. Te
pueden quitar la casa, el carro, las tarjetas, todo, Una educacion
nadie te la puede quitar ni el gobierno.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:29:04 So that's stuck with me. You know, if I were to ever get
deported, if I were to able go back to Mexico or, you know, my
Rancho in Santo Domingo, I know that I can go back with a
sense of education, resources and start from there, you know?
Um, and that really helped me. And so I was able to just really
just, if the teachers were like, you know, "Hey, I need help with
this." Or, I remember doing my project, um, for my AP
government class on AB 540, um, where, um, I was able to fly.
So I represented SoCal, Southern California Girls Coalition,
something like that, where one girl from each city was, um,
nominated and represented, and the house assembly members
paid for our trip. So we got our flight book hotel booked for the
whole week, and we spent the week in Sacramento. Um, so I
represented South Central <laugh>. I represented South Central
<laugh>.
Gloria Sosa: 00:30:12 Was that the first time you were, um, going away from home?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:30:18 No, I, um, before that there was, there was another event in
Sacramento before that. There was a, there was another event
in Sacramento that, um, I was nominated for as well. Mm-hmm.
<affirmative>. Um, and again, flight, everything paid for. Um, so
that was my second time. But I remember just being in the
plane scared. I remember, you know, my mom letting them
know that because I'm underage, I'm able to travel, you know,
on the plane with my school ID and the school field trip. So it
protected us. Um, so I remember just like going over that with
my mom and, you know, making sure that I didn't do anything
dumb in the airport or anything, like <laugh>. I was just so, I was
such a stickler for like the rules because I didn't wanna break
any rules, <laugh>. But yeah, like I, I was just, I've always been
very open about my situation.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:31:16 I've never, even to this day, I've always been, because I've
always said, if I can say it, maybe I can give power to somebody
mm-hmm. <affirmative> who might not be able to say it in that
moment, who still, you know, we, we call it 'coming out of the
shadows', right? Who's still part of those shadows. So, um, I've
always been able to say it. And to me that's always been a really
great powerful, I don't wanna say tool, but just a way of me to
connect with people. Um, because I was able to humanize being
undocumented. Nobody knew unless I said it. Um, you know, I
spoke at different conventions. I spoke at different educational
conferences. Um, I, I was getting paid to go to, uh, grad, um, to
different graduate classes at, you know, Northridge, Fullerton,
different universities, UCLA, um, and the professors, because
they knew my story, um, by networking that, you know, they
would figure out, you know, a grant or a scholarship, 200, I did
speak in engagement and they figured out how to pay me. And
it was like a scholarship rate. And I went to speak. And for that
one hour I would get paid $200. Um, but it was sharing my
story, it was me and just being part of the movement. But yeah,
I was able to connect with people and that really helped me
build a really strong network of educators, professors, lawyers. I
can count how many lawyers I have in my phone because of
that <laugh> free services as well. Um, you know, I was able to
have a really great support system. And I think that, like I said, it
takes a village. I was able to create and build a really strong
village to help not just myself, but my parents in a way they
were able to benefit from that village. You know, they, at
moments we didn't have a car, so they're the ones that were
able to pick me up and take me to different speaking
engagements and so forth.
Gloria Sosa: 00:33:37 That's very, um, a touching story. Thank you for sharing that.
Um, I'm sorry my connection is not stable. Um, but thank you
for sharing that. But so again, um, and you we're doing a lot of
things during your high school years then. Yeah.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:33:57 <laugh>. Yes.
Gloria Sosa: 00:33:58 Yes. You were doing a little of everything. You were a local
celebrity, you were flying, and, um, that is a beautiful
experiences. So did you remember, when was the first time you
disclosed your status to someone at school? Uh, during, um,
your time in high school?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:34:24 I think, I think I first talked my friends about it. Um, I think I was
just like in, I, I don't know what we were talking about. I
remember, you know, I was born in Mexico and you know, I
don't have papers, so I have to kind of, we were talking, we
were talking about college, but I don't remember how I came
out and they all just looked at me, but like, but you don't look
undocumented. What do you mean? And I was just like, what
<laugh> What does that mean? I'm just getting that from my
friends. And my other friend was like, well, I was born in Mexico
too, but I have papers. I know. So I don't, I don't know what you
did, but <laugh>, I don't have papers. I was just like, I'm, I was
born in Mexico, but I, I grew up basically here, you know?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:35:14 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, and you know, they, but they
kept, they kept saying that you, you don't look undocumented.
And I think when I told my peers, that was mostly what I got,
you don't look undocumented. And it came to a point when I
started saying, what does undocumented mean? Like, what do
you mean with that? And like, oh, like your English is good. You
don't look like you just from Mexico, or you just crossed the
border. Or like, what does that mean? Like, I'm really trying to
comprehend, you know? And I was like, well, you don't have a
really strong accent or, you know, you're into the, the fashion.
You, you're, you're dressing. You don't dress like somebody who
just came. I don't know what that means. I was like, that's still,
but I think that's from my peers. That's really what I got. You
don't look undocumented.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:36:02 I think that was like their first, you don't look like an immigrant
<laugh>. I don't know what that means. I still, to this day, I'm
like, what not look undocumented mean? Um, but yeah, that's
what I got. Um, I remember disclosing to a teacher, um,
because she was talking about college. And I think that in that
moment I was just like, oh, I have to apply to college. Like I'm in
high school and this was at Santi. And I was just like, I have two
more years. How am I gonna do this? And I really just said like,
"Hey, this is my situation." Um, it was like after the class ended
and we, we were gonna go to lunch and I said, um, and she's
still a really good support system to this day. And I just told, I
know, I was just crying. Cuz I remember I couldn't even say
without just crying.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:36:52 Like it was just a trigger for me. And she's like, don't worry. Like
I have your back and we're gonna figure it out together. And
that's what we did. And they were very good at making me be
very self-sufficient. They were really good at not doing things
for me, but allowing me to kind of like treating me like a grad
student. Because now that I think of it, it was like that, it was
like, I need you to research what's, what's going on, what laws
you qualify for now. And that's how my paper on AB 540 started
because I was able to research that. I didn't know it unless I was
able to, I was doing research work in the 11th grade and I had to
provide articles to her. I remember it being APA style <laugh>.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:37:45 I had to do that. And that was my way of also educating myself,
understanding the language. And if you go back to 2006, the
language AB 540 law had was way different than what it looks
now. Now the language, a lot of the language changed because
of our movements. And I remember reading like "illegal alien",
you know, that word alien and, and a lot of those, uh,
immigration laws. And I would just like I'm no alien, like, what,
what does that mean? Like, why, why are they using these
terms? And it was just so dehumanizing, not just to myself, but
just to anybody. And you know, which illegal alien are you? Are
you the top one that's been in high school for three years? Or
you're the bottom one that has to visa? Like Right. That's crazy.
<laugh>
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:38:42 And I, I guys didn't sit well with me. Like, I didn't like it. Like no
me gusto. I'm like, I'm gonna fight this. Like this is not, and that
was kinda like the circulator. So I'm not just an undocumented
person, but now I'm also an alien and I'm in a, in a world or in a,
in a government that really tries to stigmatize and dehumanize
the undocumented population. How do we change that? Well,
we create the narrative. That's how we change it. We, we
choose a language we wanna use. That's how we change it. So
we ended up starting moving, oh, what are you, I'm an AB 540
student. You didn't wanna say you're undocumented. You said
I'm an AB 540 student or dreamer student. That's our code for
being undocumented. And that was a way for those teachers
who were educating themselves knew, oh, I have a, I have an AB
540 student, or I have a dreamer student.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:39:38 Right. And without saying I have an undocumented student,
that's how we started moving on those terms. We started
making them see like, this is who I am. The law does not, it is
not an alien. This is a student. Right. There was a little damage
to that. And I can say this because I wasn't, in a way I benefited
from it, but I, we didn't know the damage it was causing the
long-term damage it was causing. So the dreamer student was a
dreamer that student that was defined was that Valedictorian.
Right. Got to the UC's, got to the Cal States, um, top of the top
undocumented students. You, uh, leader in the involving the
community, Valedictorian, 4.0 and above to the top colleges
universities. Right. And the damage was, there was
undocumented students who were unfortunately, and it's okay,
they weren't going to go to college.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:40:45 They had other aspirations, they had other dreams, they had
other goals. But even if they wanted to use that word Dreamer,
they couldn't because "Oh, you're not a Dreamer student." You
know? And even in our group, in in our group of other
undocumented students from other campuses, you saw the
narrative change from a UC to a community college. The, the
students who were in community college really weren't seen as
much as they really wanted to be seen. Um, and I was fully
aware of that. Like, I was just saying, "What's going on and why
is this going on?" You know? But it's new, it's a new movement.
We didn't know how much damage it was gonna cost to the
extent Right. But at the same time, we knew that it had to be
used kind of like a weapon in a political system because
governors, politicians, anybody in the, in the stance, if they
wanna put something upfront along the Dream Act, anything,
the news had to show the Dreamer student. We were the ad,
right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:41:58 We had to show the dreamer student if you were this
revolutionary student doing, because we also had to walkouts.
So we were doing walkouts, everything, but you had to have a
balance. So I learned how to do that balance. I learned to be
that revolutionary student, but also that dreamer student, you
know, because I knew that I needed to do one thing or have an
image in order for these politicians to listen to us in order for us
to be heard. And in order for, for the movement to be taken
serious because we were not just students. We were gonna be
the future of America, basically.
Gloria Sosa: 00:42:42 Right. The next generation. Right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:42:45 Yes.
Gloria Sosa: 00:42:47 Very true. Yes. Thank you for sharing that. So, I mean, again, I, I
wanna get a feeling of you during this time. I know that you
have, um, the, the drive in you and the force that it's, it, it was
given to you and fostered by the teachers who help you. But
when, when you were telling this teacher about your
undocumented status, were you ashamed of it? Or why do you
think you had the, uh, reaction of crying?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:43:21 I had the reaction of crying, mostly because it was a trigger of
trauma. And I'm gonna use some mental health words, <laugh>.
It was a trigger of trauma. You know, being undocumented is
not something easy. It's not something that people want. It was,
it wasn't something. And most important, it wasn't something I
really asked for. Right? I was kind of brought here by my parents
and well, this is, we want you to have the American dream. But
not realizing I had to really work really, really hard for that
American dream because I'm undocumented, you know? So.
Gloria Sosa: 00:43:57 Okay.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:43:57 You know, in a life where you can choose battles, that was a
battle I couldn't choose. And I had to learn how to fight. So even
saying that I was undocumented, I think it, it wasn't. No me
daba verguenza. I was not ashamed of it. It was more of that
hurt that came with it. The pain that came with it. That's what,
that's where the connection of my trauma was. That that pain
and that anger that, and the teachers would cry because they're
like, whoa, you're a valedictorian. You can go to any university
you want, but because of your status, that's, just really gonna
limit us. Right? And, and they will cry with me because it's just
like, I don't know how to help you <laugh>. And I was like, I'm
asking for help. And they didn't know how to help me, you
know? And it's, it was really like, I was like, that guinea pig, like
we had to figure it out together.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:44:54 We really had to figure it out. And, and yeah, me, me saying it
when, when I was in high school, it was that pain that, that of
fear, the pain of the unknown, most important. I didn't know
what I wanted, but I remember the school social worker, she's a
therapist there also continues to be my mentor to this day. So I
still have connections with everybody, <laugh> in high school
mentors. They continue to be my mentors. But, um, I remember
her saying, don't let your immigration status break you, always
bend. Bend to the forces, but don't let it break you. And, you
know, and she's like, you're gonna be somebody who's gonna
follow her heart blindly. And in therapy, I was able to know that,
again, I was, I was doing therapy sessions with her in high school
and I was like, how can I follow my heart blindly being
undocumented?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:45:57 Because I think the number one thing, the number one fear to
this day for any undocumented person is fear of the unknown.
What awaits us in the future because of our status. Right. Um,
and that was my biggest connection. That was my biggest thing.
I didn't know what the future would help. I know I wanted to go
to college. I know I wanted to be somebody in life. I know I
really wanted all of that. And I remember doing a vision board
and putting down everything I was gonna do before the age of
25. And that helped me. And this was a therapeutic technique
that we used because I helped me envision what I wanted to do
or be by the time I was 25.
Gloria Sosa: 00:46:47 So one, one thing that I would love to know, it's who refer you
to the social worker at school. Was it mandatory that you, um,
visit the therapist at school?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:46:58 No. So because of the community we grew up in, and because
of a lot of the riots in the moment at the other high school, um,
they basically did like a little boundary and anybody within that
boundary had to go to this new high school. Anybody outside
the boundary had to stay in that old high school. Um, and so
they were putting in, um, gangs in the new high school that
weren't supposed to be together. So I, I think for like the first
week of school or the second week of school, we still had riots
in the new school because they were gang related. Mm-hmm.
<affirmative>. Um, so we had to have, you know, more police
officer on campus. It looked like a prison, you know, <laugh>.
Um, we had to walk in, you know, uh, metal detectors, all of
that good stuff, <laugh>. And, um, they brought in social
workers.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:47:52 They brought in and, and the, the, the perfect terminology or
the perfect title for them were, um, psychiatric social workers.
So these are school therapists, not counselors, school
therapists, they're licensed school social workers. Um, so they
brought 'em in and it was, I believe three of them. Um, and they
told us, these are free services. And I just went in and, um, her
name was (inaudible) Salazar. And I remember just connecting
with her, just her office embracing the Mexican culture, um, just
having decorations, her being a Latina, just that. And I
remember her just sitting down and telling me like, how are you
doing? You know, how are you feeling? And I just remember
crying. And even now that I'm a therapist, it's like, why, why did
you cry? Is that because nobody ever asked me how I was going
in that sense. Um, you know, I have that older sister syndrome
where I took care of everybody and I bent care of everybody.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:49:01 Um, and I was the one that's always there for everybody. Mmhmm. <affirmative>, you know, and for somebody to sit down
and really look me in the eye and kind of connect with me and
say, how are you doing? You know, I don't wanna hear about
your mom, dad, nobody, how are you doing that broke me. And
that I made a connection in that moment that says, I need, I
need to come. So I would see her, I believe like once a week.
Um, I had a session with her and I was able to learn about
mental health, about the importance of it. And I was able to use
it to strengthen my story to, you know, um, look at my trauma
and not normalize it, but heal it. So that when I went to Cal
State LA I remember like, I remember getting, um, at Cal State
LA offers, mental health services too.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:49:55 And right. You get even, um, health benefits as students. So I
remember like taking advantage of everything. I got contacts, I
got glasses, I went to a chiropractor, <laugh>, and I saw a
therapist every semester I went in and I was able to do different
forms of therapy to be able to heal different parts of me; of my
traumas. Um, even with, um, um, there's a form, there's a
storytelling therapeutic technique. And I remember using that
in a way to help me continue to write my story, rewrite my
story, um, and use it to write paper, use it to be a public
speaker, use it to write scholarships, but use it to strengthen my
story.
Gloria Sosa: 00:50:49 Thank you for sharing that. It's very powerful. Um, so let me,
make sure I understood it right. So you went to the, to see this,
uh, school, um, therapist just at a maybe curiosity. Yeah. Okay.
And this led to, um, cover notice, um, in your words on your
trauma, right? That you were carrying?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:51:15 Yes.
Gloria Sosa: 00:51:17 Okay. And you continue and, and um, it might have something
to do with what you're doing now as a career right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:51:24 Yes. Like I think she's the reason I went into Cal State LA cuz she
was also a Cal State LA alumni. Um, and her mentor was her,
her, she was a Cal State LA alumni and her mentor was Jorge
Uranga. So she's the one that connected me Jorge Uranaga. So
she's the one that, she's always had that strong Chicana just
everything. Like I, till this day, she's already, she's also the
reason, um, you know, I'm at a grad program because I had her
do a reference letter <laugh>, you know, so she's, she continues
to be a part of my life to this day. Um, you know, um, she, you
know, and, and I'm in the field because I've always admired her
and her work and her professionalism. But I I always admired
what she represented. She represented what I wanted to see as
a kid and I saw her, but I wanted to be another Mexicana in the
mental health field. I wanted other girls to know that we have
them, you know, that, that we understand that we spoke their
language, you know, for her to switch from English to bilingual,
you know, me decia tienes que enteder you know, like you have
to understand. No te pongas terca. And I was just like, okay. You
know, she was able to connect with me in a way that, you know,
not other counselors might.
Gloria Sosa: 00:52:52 Right. Right. So yes, when you see, seek a therapist, you need to
connect at some level.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:53:00 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah.
Gloria Sosa: 00:53:00 Yes, definitely. So, um, I mean, I'm so amazed by that story of
just finding the courage because a lot of the times we don't find
the courage right. To seek, um, to see a, therapist. It might be
because it's stigmatized in our community or, you know, for
other reasons.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:53:21 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Gloria Sosa: 00:53:23 But I was very brave of you and, um, you know, it got your here.
So I'm glad that you make that choice. Um, so I wanna touch up
on when you were in high school, you were doing a lot of stuff.
So you were giving this talks for grad students, is that right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:53:45 Yes. So, so my mentor, I don't know if you know him, Miguel
Savala he's a professor at Cal State LA. Um, so I have a few, I
had a few organization I was a part of, uh, some organizations
where there were different professors from different campuses
there. ELAC, Fullerton, Cal State LA, UCLA was a big one too.
Um.
Gloria Sosa: 00:54:10 What was the organization name?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:54:13 Um, this was called Somos Raza. So this, Somos Raza was a
group of, um, educators who were high school teachers and
college professors who wanted to provide ethnic studies. And
they're still on until this day and resources and scholarships for
students. And it's also open to undocumented students. Mmhmm.
Gloria Sosa: 00:54:38 So you got, um, to meet professors through this organization?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:54:44 Yes, I got to meet them. We got to be comrades in a way, um,
because Somos Raza there was also, um, lawyers who were part
of the organization, um, and they were teaching graduate level
classes for individuals in the programs who were gonna be
teachers. Um, and they, um, what, what is that word called? Oh
my god, I'm looking up. Um, oh, teachers in urban areas and you
know, I went to Fullerton and if you know Fullerton, Fullerton's,
like Orange County, right? <laugh>. And so they wanna be
teachers in urban areas. So I would go and I would present do
talking and growing up in, you know, in my community , kinda
how I did now, just my story, um, what we kind of expected and
what we want in teachers going into those neighborhoods. Um,
you know, what kind of language, what kind of support, what
kind of resources, but also what are the obstacles, you know,
that we face as students of minority, uh, just coming from
minority communities, um, and even students who are
undocumented.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:55:55 And so I would always end with sharing my story, um, and how
they can, they can be impactful in those students' lives. And I
would always tell, and I remember getting questions like, well,
how do you get undocumented students to come out? And I
was like, well, you're not gonna put cookies out and tell them
they're free for undocumented students. Right. <laugh>. And I
would just like make them laugh. Yeah. I would say, I would say
host like this, the way this professor's doing it host, it's very
important for other undocumented students to see another
undocumented student coming from a college, whether it's a
Cal State, a community college or a UC, and sharing their story.
Because then that humanizes them. It humanizes the process is
not somebody who's third, fourth generation con papales
coming here telling you about college. Like, how are we
connecting? What can you provide to me?
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:56:48 Right. Or coming from a goody good neighborhood, and I'm
from the hood, like, okay, your parents are gonna pay for
college good. My parents can't even pay for a bike. Like, it,
there's no connection. And to me, community connection was
always important. And, and if you don't have that, you lose your
audience. You lose everything, you know? And that was
important for me. So for me to go into those spaces to be able
to teach, to be able to be a speaker, I was able to carry that into
Cal State LA too. But in high school, my main role was how do I
help my teachers help other kids <laugh>? How do I get them
to, you know, make it so that they know that they're being
supported? How do I get them to, what kind of resources can
we look for? You know? So I would have them in, you know, our
rising board, you know, and hey, we need snacks or we need
this.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:57:48 Or, I remember working with a few teachers and we were able
to move a whole dash, like a bus, a city bus because we didn't
have a lot of transportation within our new school system. So
we were able to talk to city council, the mayor, everything, um,
and be able to move a dash in front of our high school so that
we are not crossing the different gang territories. Um, so my,
my movement in high school was social justice. It wasn't just
immigration, it was social justice. Um, it was educational justice.
Um, I remember we were about to graduate, we had a principal
who was just very militant, very coming from a very established
family and always wanting to have Navy Army recruiters in our
campus. And I was so against that because again, I was part of
Somos Raza where we educated ourselves about, you know,
Latinos and Mexicanos and, you know, individuals, people of
color, even black, black, um, even our black brothers and sisters
being part of the army.
Yohana Barajas ...: 00:58:59 And how that made more of a damage than provided any help.
And I remember organizing to get the recruiters out, we made
sure that we had the schedule for the recruiters so we can go in
and talk to them as we were interested. And that way they
could just talk to us through the whole break, the lunch break
with the nutrition break, and then talk to nobody else, um, to
the point that we protested them and we ended up getting
them banned. So since 2006 or seven, we've never had army
recruiters in our high school. We completely had it banned.
Yeah. And that's powerful because that was another way of
individuals who didn't see themselves going to college, seeing
that path as, as a reason. And for us was no, you have more
options than that.
Gloria Sosa: 00:59:49 It's a very powerful story. Um, that's very, very powerful and
brave. Can you elaborate on that story a little bit? How, how did
you, um, organize like a group of students and do you have
support from the teachers who were already supporting you to,
um, to do this to kick out the recruiters?
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:00:13 Yeah, so we were part, well, so this was a, this is the, um, Somos
Raza and MEChA club at Santi. And, um, we were, we were just
look at what's going on in our campus. So one thing was the
transportation, right? We got that done. Um, I was also the
president, no vice president of the senior class. Um, so a lot of
that was able to, I was able to get the agenda for a lot of the
school to see what's going on, but it was being part of the clubs
and seeing what's happening, what we were not okay with, and
how we wanted to organize. And our teachers are MEChistas
from UC San Diego, <laugh> from UCLA and they have a
background in organizing. Um, and they have a background in
politicizing and, and being, creating a movement. And they
taught us how to organize just the concepts, the foundation,
the, the formula of organizing one-on-one as Raza period.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:01:20 That's, really how it does. They, taught us, um, one of the key
features was Ron Gochez. If you google him from South Central,
you will know who he is. <laugh>. But he was Ron Gochez. The
other one is Jose Lara. He's one of the biggest, um, components
of ethnic studies and why ethnic studies is part of the
curriculum in LAUSD now. Um, so I had really strong players my
side, um, and knowing who to make friends with, knowing who
to have on your side, and knowing that the fights that we were
fighting were for good, right? That we're actually making good
movements in our community for other students for the next
generation. That's what the, the, the key role. A lot of, uh, not
backlash, but there was a few hiccups that happened. Um, the
principal and then, so we got our, our principal fired.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:02:19 So that was the other, the next step. Um, because he, he was
very against us. He was very against the teachers that were
organizing with us. Um, but he was not doing stuff, um, the way
he was supposed to do. He was very a shady principal. So, um,
se llamaba Carmino and we got him fired because, um, he
threatened, well, he threatened me that he would deport me if
I, in that moment the news was going on about us moving the
dash and that I had to go. And he pulled me outta class, um, and
I, that I wa he wanted me to talk to the news about how
impactful it was. Basically he would take credit for all the good
things he were doing right. And he would always have the news
there pa enseñar la cara and he loved that. But he wanted to
used me to be that student face that, you know, that we're up
in the hood, but you know, he's doing such an amazing job here,
giving him credit.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:03:20 And I said, no, I'm not doing it. Um, and he threatened me. He's
like, well, if you don't do it, I'm gonna make sure you don't get
into the UCLA. I'm gonna make sure that I can use your
immigration status. We can deport you. I have your address.
And I went to tell my teachers about him. I went to tell him
about what he did. Um, and so from there we ended up starting
a report of all the things he started doing, um, to us, not just to
me, but to the other, um, students. Um, to the point that on
one day on a Friday, he had police in the school go look for us
because he called our names in the intercom and said that we
needed to be in the principal's office immediately. Like whoever
did the announcement for him was really mad.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:04:06 And I looked at my teacher, I was in ballet class <laugh>. So I
was in my ballet outfit, <laugh>. And I looked at my teacher and
I was scared, like, I don't wanna go. Like I know he's mad. And I
was just like, I don't wanna go. And he said, what happened? I
told her what happened? And she's like, well, you don't have to
go. So our class was behind the auditorium and they said that
we didn't go, that we were gonna have campus security, um,
look for us, escort us. Well it was in campus security, it's LAPD
on campus. So we had LAPD go to the classes that we were in
on our schedules and go look for us. I had an actual LAPD officer
looking for a student for I don't know why. And my teacher had
to hide me in the restroom, in the auditorium, so they didn't
look for me.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:04:55 Then we all, I remember when the class finished and the
teacher was like, well, I don't know if she went to go to the
principal's office, but I don't know if she's not there. She's not
there. She tried to cover for me and she's like, Mija, get ready.
We're gonna call your parents. So I remember getting ready,
calling our parents, and our parents were furious because it
wasn't just me, it was all our student club. And those are the
ones that who were, they got, like they found, um, they wanted
to speak to their parents, but that's not the way you speak to
our parents. So from there we started doing community forums.
Our parents came, yelled at the, principal came in with six
police officers, like bien wanna be, I don't know, <laugh>. And it
was just chaos. It was so chaotic. And that was the moment that
we turned against them. And we started gathering information.
We started gathering the community, our parents, we made our
parents organizers so that we can make sure we got the
principal out. And yeah we got him out. So the next class I
graduated 2007, 2008, the new class year. Um, didn't have that
principal. Yeah. <Laugh>
Gloria Sosa: 01:06:06 Oh my God. It's like you did it all. You did it all. You, you really,
um, the revolution you were right when you used that word.
Yes. Oh my god. That's like.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:06:21 I was a disrupter. <laugh>.
Gloria Sosa: 01:06:23 Indeed. Indeed. Yes. Oh my God. So I have so many questions.
So one was, so your, with your group and your coalition of,
Somos Raza um, you were just looking for things that you could
change around campus, right? Sounds like it.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:06:42 Yeah.
Gloria Sosa: 01:06:43 And then, um, trying to, from your advisors and your, um,
teacher mentors who were, um, part of their own revolutions
during their time, um, found the structured to actually make
the, the change that you wanted mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um,
was it a, like a structure that you would follow to do perhaps to
move the dash?
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:07:11 Um, not necessarily like, oh, here's how you do it. They would
really just sit back. We would meet after school and say for
example, like, "Hey, like this is going on. We keep, you know,
every time we cross a gang boundary, we always get, you know,
stopped. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> Hit at, it's always even scary
to walk there with certain friends because, uh, those friends
belong to another gang." And so it was just hard just to get from
home to school or from school to home. And so we talked about
like, "What if we were able to, you know, move transportation
or, or something like that." And we will bring it up to the
assistant principals. And, and that moment, um, the Peace
Committee opened, oh, that was another organization I was
part of. <laugh>, I forgot about the Peace Committee. Okay. So
think about, think about Somos Raza as Malcolm X and think
about the Peace Committee as MLK.
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:08:24 So you get the dynamic. So the Peace Committee was really
different students from different grades. So we had 9, 10, 11,
and 12. And that was the year I was in 12th grade. Um, each
one of us represented, um, our classes, um, and our grades
cause there was a track B track and C track. So I represented C
track and we, the Peace Committee, our facilitators were the
counselors, the social workers, and the city council member, uh,
Jan Perry in that moment. And then two LAPD officers who
wanted to establish and build, um, support and report with our,
the students and the community. So, a lot of those ideas were
like, how do we do that? So what I would do was Somos Raza
we need to help the kids who are in the hood. We're trying to
walk from home. We need to build the system, get that
information, how do we do it? Bring it to the Peace Committee,
introduce it as the Peace Committee. Jan Perry is right there.
We had city council right there in front of us. How can we get
this done? Everybody else is on board because we had other
Somos Raza members on that, that organization. And that's how
we basically moved up. We went from one organization, get the
agenda and give it to the other one.
Gloria Sosa: 01:09:56 So really to create collaboration, right?
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:09:59 Yep. Coalition.
Gloria Sosa: 01:10:01 Coalition, collaboration, and make a really good use of the
resources available to each organization. Mm-hmm.
<affirmative> Very clever. I love that <laugh>. I love, love that.
Um, yes. So do you wanna continue for today or would you like
to, um, stop now?
Yohana Barajas ...: 01:10:25 We could stop there. I think that's a good, that's a good stop.
Um, and then, yeah, that's a good stop.