Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Wimanica. This month, we're highlighting ragers, women who use their anger, often righteous, though not always, to accomplish extraordinary things. Today's Womanicuan isn't as well known as other labor leaders like Cesar Chavez or Dolores Huerta, but her contributions as a labor organizer and civil rights activist were just as significant. Let's talk about Luisa Moreno. Blanca Rosa Lopez Rodriguez was born on August thirtieth, nineteen oh six in Guatemala. Her family was upper class and sent her to a boarding school run by nuns in Oakland, California. She returned to Guatemala as a teenager, but for Blanca, school was over. At the time, women in Guatemala weren't allowed to go to college, but Blanca wouldn't accept this. She organized a group to lobby for a woman's right to hire education and one after that. Blanca spent a few years in Mexico City. She spent her days writing news articles and her nights writing poetry. In nineteen twenty eight, Blanca moved to New York City with her artist husband and infant daughter. To help pay bills, she worked long hours for very little pay at an industrial garment factory. It was there that Blanca experienced a political awakening. She and her fellow workers, many of whom were people of color, faced additional discrimination. Blanca started participating in strikes. At one she was beaten by the police. She shed her birth name, separating herself from her wealthy family who didn't approve of her radical politics. She selected two new names instead, Luisa, after the Puerto Rican labor leader Luisa Capetillo and Moreno Dark and Spanish, a literal nod to the non white working clas people she wanted to fight for. In nineteen thirty she registered with the Communist Party. Set up with poor working conditions, Luisa finally quit her job at the garment factory. In nineteen thirty five, joined the American Federation of Labor and became a full time organizer. Luisa's first stop was Florida, where she organized tobacco workers who labored for hours under the hot sun for meager wages. This was the first of many wins. Next, Luisa joined the United Cannary, Agricultural Packing and Allied Workers of America. She traveled across the country and successfully organized pete harvesters in Colorado, pecan shellers in Texas, and cannery workers in California. She went on to become vice president of the organization. Louisa was elected to the Cio Council, becoming its first Latina and first female member. In nineteen thirty eight, USA combined her passion for workers' rights and civil rights and founded a Congresso di Pueblos a blan Espanola, or the Spanish Speaking People's Congress. More than a thousand delegates from upwards of one hundred and twenty organizations gathered in a compact, poorly air conditioned room in Los Angeles for the Congress's first convention. Luisa enraged the audience with stories of unsafe working conditions, often swept under the rug by shady business owners. One worker's face was seriously deformed while working in a chemical factory. Another lost three fingers while operating machinery. A railroad worker lost his leg while on the job. The Congress worked tirelessly to earn protections from deportation and discriminatory legislation, as well as for housing and education reform. The organization was a monumental resource for Spanish speaking laborers in California. After World War II, a new potent fear of communism was sweeping across the country. Louisa had only been involved in the Communist Party for a short time and already retired from organizing, but her radical history was enough to make the US government suspicious and to consider her a threat. In nineteen fifty, Luisa has issued a deportation notice. The federal government offered her citizenship if she routed out one of her fellow organizers. Louisa refused, why wait to be forcibly removed, so in November of that same year, Luisa went ahead and returned to Mexico alongside her daughter and her second husband, a former navy man and activist named Gary Bemis. Luisa emerged once again as an organizer, as fierce as ever. She made her way back to Guatemala and worked for the Guatemalan Labor Federation until a CIA sponsored coup overthrew the Guatemalan president in nineteen fifty four. After Luisa's husband passed away in nineteen sixty, she moved to Cuba, then under the rule of communist Fidel cast and organized workers there for some time. Louisa spent the rest of her days in Guatemala. She died on November third, nineteen ninety two, at eighty five years old. All month we're talking about ragers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.

Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Wimanica. This month, we're highlighting ragers, women who use their anger, often righteous, though not always, to accomplish extraordinary things. Today's Womanicuan isn't as well known as other labor leaders like Cesar Chavez or Dolores Huerta, but her contributions as a labor organizer and civil rights activist were just as significant. Let's talk about Luisa Moreno. Blanca Rosa Lopez Rodriguez was born on August thirtieth, nineteen oh six in Guatemala. Her family was upper class and sent her to a boarding school run by nuns in Oakland, California. She returned to Guatemala as a teenager, but for Blanca, school was over. At the time, women in Guatemala weren't allowed to go to college, but Blanca wouldn't accept this. She organized a group to lobby for a woman's right to hire education and one after that. Blanca spent a few years in Mexico City. She spent her days writing news articles and her nights writing poetry. In nineteen twenty eight, Blanca moved to New York City with her artist husband and infant daughter. To help pay bills, she worked long hours for very little pay at an industrial garment factory. It was there that Blanca experienced a political awakening. She and her fellow workers, many of whom were people of color, faced additional discrimination. Blanca started participating in strikes. At one she was beaten by the police. She shed her birth name, separating herself from her wealthy family who didn't approve of her radical politics. She selected two new names instead, Luisa, after the Puerto Rican labor leader Luisa Capetillo and Moreno Dark and Spanish, a literal nod to the non white working clas people she wanted to fight for. In nineteen thirty she registered with the Communist Party. Set up with poor working conditions, Luisa finally quit her job at the garment factory. In nineteen thirty five, joined the American Federation of Labor and became a full time organizer. Luisa's first stop was Florida, where she organized tobacco workers who labored for hours under the hot sun for meager wages. This was the first of many wins. Next, Luisa joined the United Cannary, Agricultural Packing and Allied Workers of America. She traveled across the country and successfully organized pete harvesters in Colorado, pecan shellers in Texas, and cannery workers in California. She went on to become vice president of the organization. Louisa was elected to the Cio Council, becoming its first Latina and first female member. In nineteen thirty eight, USA combined her passion for workers' rights and civil rights and founded a Congresso di Pueblos a blan Espanola, or the Spanish Speaking People's Congress. More than a thousand delegates from upwards of one hundred and twenty organizations gathered in a compact, poorly air conditioned room in Los Angeles for the Congress's first convention. Luisa enraged the audience with stories of unsafe working conditions, often swept under the rug by shady business owners. One worker's face was seriously deformed while working in a chemical factory. Another lost three fingers while operating machinery. A railroad worker lost his leg while on the job. The Congress worked tirelessly to earn protections from deportation and discriminatory legislation, as well as for housing and education reform. The organization was a monumental resource for Spanish speaking laborers in California. After World War II, a new potent fear of communism was sweeping across the country. Louisa had only been involved in the Communist Party for a short time and already retired from organizing, but her radical history was enough to make the US government suspicious and to consider her a threat. In nineteen fifty, Luisa has issued a deportation notice. The federal government offered her citizenship if she routed out one of her fellow organizers. Louisa refused, why wait to be forcibly removed, so in November of that same year, Luisa went ahead and returned to Mexico alongside her daughter and her second husband, a former navy man and activist named Gary Bemis. Luisa emerged once again as an organizer, as fierce as ever. She made her way back to Guatemala and worked for the Guatemalan Labor Federation until a CIA sponsored coup overthrew the Guatemalan president in nineteen fifty four. After Luisa's husband passed away in nineteen sixty, she moved to Cuba, then under the rule of communist Fidel cast and organized workers there for some time. Louisa spent the rest of her days in Guatemala. She died on November third, nineteen ninety two, at eighty five years old. All month we're talking about ragers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow.