Mónica Ramírez (activist)

Mónica Ramírez (Activist)

Mónica Ramírez is an activist, author, civil rights attorney, social entrepreneur, and speaker born in Fremont, Ohio.^[1][2] She has been specifically engaged in direct service and advocacy on behalf of farmworkers, Latinas and immigrant women. Ramírez employs a holistic, victim-centered approach to her work and she is an ardent supporter of worker-led movements. She also has a long history of promoting women’s leadership and political power.

Early life and education[]

Monica Ramirez was born in Fremont, Ohio.^[3] Ramirez graduated from Loyola University of Chicago in 1999, then proceeded to The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law for her Doctor of Law. In 2014, Monica joined Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and earned a Masters in Public Administration.

Career[]

Ramirez created the first legal project in the US focused on addressing sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination against farmworker women in 2003, which was incubated at the Migrant Justice Project of Florida Legal Services.^[4] She later scaled this project and founded Esperanza: The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center (which addresses sexual assault and harassment of female farmworkers) in 2006, which she directed for nearly seven years.^[1][5][6] In addition, she created the award-winning Bandana Project, an art activism project that raises awareness about workplace sexual violence against farmworker women.

From 2012 to 2014, Ramirez served as Acting Deputy Director for Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., the first transnational migrant workers’ rights organization based in Mexico.^[7] In 2014, she founded Justice for Migrant Women, a national advocacy and technical assistance project focused on representing female farmworkers and other low-paid migrant workers who are victims of workplace sexual violence.^[8] In addition to her work for Justice for Migrant Women, Ramirez acted as the Deputy Director / Director of Gender Equality for the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement from 2016 to 2018.^[9] While there, she developed a strategic plan for a campaign aimed at assisting and empowering Latina workers in the U.S. Ramirez is also one of the co-founders of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas (the National Farmworker Women's Alliance).^[10][1]

In 2019, Monica also co-founded The Latinx House — a gathering space to support the Latino community and to celebrate Latino excellence in film and entertainment — with Alex Kondracke and Olga Segura.^[11] The Latinx House was launched at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Dear Sisters Letter[]

In November, 2017, while in her role as Alianza’s Board President, Ramirez wrote the “Dear Sisters” letter, published in TIME Magazine.^[12] The letter, written on behalf of Alianza members and lending the support and solidarity of Latina farmworkers, went viral and helped spark the TIME’S UP movement.^[13] She remains active in the organization.

In 2018 she attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards as a guest of Laura Dern.^[2]

Querida Familia Letter[]

In August 2019, Monica organized the Querida Familia letter, a letter to the Latino community and allies, with America Ferrera, Diane Guerrero, Eva Longoria, Alex Martinez Kondracke, and Olga Segura, after 22 people were murdered in a mass shooting in El Paso by a white nationalist and following immigration raids in Mississippi. The letter garnered the support of more than 200 Latino leaders who included actors, activists, civil rights and labor leaders, business people and more. The letter was published in English in the New York Times. It was published in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald, El Diario, and La Opinión. The letter went viral after its publication, and Ramírez, along with the other letter authors and organizers, were presented with the Women and Media Center's 2019 Solidarity Award from WMC founders Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan in October 2019.

The Latinx House[]

In January 2020, Ramirez announced that she was launching a new initiative called The Latinx House with filmmaker and activist Alexandra Martinez Kondracke, and Mexican actress, producer, entrepreneur and activist Olga Segura. The Latinx House, which is a project within Ramirez's organization Justice for Migrant Women, aims to create gathering spaces to celebrate the best in Latino culture and bring important societal issues to the forefront. It is also the first Latino initiative to become an official Sundance Institute associate partner and will serve as the home for the Latinx community and their allies in the heart of downtown Park City from January 24–26, 2020.

Ramirez, Martinez Kondracke and Segura met through the TIMES UP Movement due to Ramirez's role as the author of the Dear Sisters letter. Martinez Kondracke and Segura are founding signatories and members of TIMES UP, an organization that seeks to achieve a "safe, fair and dignified work for women of all kinds." The trio began organizing events and programs together in the spring of 2018, including creating TIMES UP Latinx within TIMES UP. They decided to formalize their work together by founding The Latinx House in hopes of fostering unity, bringing together diverse individuals from within the Latino community and creating a bridge between the Latino community and its allies.

Awards and Distinctions[]

Personal life[]

Monica currently resides in her hometown of Fremont, Ohio, where she is married to Scott Derome.^[3] They are the parents of a son.

References[]