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Abstract

This piece explores the resistance strategies of Latina mothers grappling with

racism and legal precarity in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, a “hostile” new

destination with restrictive anti-immigrant measures. It draws on 18 months

of ethnographic research to show how women derived a sense of

empowerment from becoming involved in their children’s schooling. They

also turned schools into “counter-spaces” of sanctuary and support for fellow

Latinx parents. The author sees this educational activism spanning both

domestic and public school spaces as an expression of m(other)work. M

(other)work is the gendered labor of care that supports Latinx children and

communities as they fight against intersecting forms of exclusion. This labor,

stemming from traumatic experiences of border crossing, is at the heart of

emerging forms of immigrant activism in new destinations. In conclusion, the

author urges educators to abandon traditional deficit framings of immigrant

groups in favor of initiatives that support Latina mothers’ educational activism.