Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Women Who Dared, IV


Romana Banuelos
b. 1925
Ms. Banuelos' family provided farm and mine labor until 1933, when they moved from Arizona to Sonora, Mexico. In 1949, divorced and with two children, Ms. Banuelos returned to the US and started a tortilla factory in Los Angeles which by 1990 grew to become the largest processor of Mexican food in California. Ms. Banuelos is a founder of the Pan-American Bank. She was appointed US Treasurer in 1971, the first Latina to hold the office.
I salute you, Ms. Banuelos.

4 comments:

Jesse Torres said...

On behalf of Mrs. Romana Acosta Banuelos and Pan American Bank, thank you for your acknowledgment of her great effort. She is a true Latino leader and an example to Latino youth on the great things that can be accomplished through dedication and following of your dreams.

Saludos,

Jesse Torres

President and CEO
Pan American Bank
East Los Angeles, CA 90063
"California's Oldest Latino-Owned Bank"

Unknown said...

Wasn't Nixon in power in 1971?

=p

"...In addition to desegregating public schools, Nixon implemented the Philadelphia Plan, the first significant federal affirmative action program in 1970. Nixon also endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment after it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the states for ratification as a Constitutional amendment. Nixon had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968, though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election, which led to a much stronger women's rights agenda. Nixon increased the number of female appointees to administration positions. Nixon signed the landmark laws Title IX in 1972, prohibiting gender discrimination in all federally funded schools and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. In 1970 Nixon had vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act, denouncing the universal child-care bill, but signed into law Title X, which was a step forward for family planning and contraceptives..."

Jennifer said...

@ Jeremiah - Since I know you (and I know you'll not take this the wrong way), I will say to you in the nicest way possible - what's your point?! :)

If you'll notice, my posts since March 1 have been discussing women who have contributed to history, yet who are not necessarily as well known as the men of their eras. March is Women's History Month, and the theme this year is Writing Women Back into History. Which I am trying to do in my own way.

Unknown said...

Sorry for the delay... I failed to enable e-mail follow-up...

Like a typical "pushy," I was riding on Jennifer's coat-tails (possibly read: "hijacking" -- while you do the work...) to demonstrate how Nixon, like me and all of us, though flawed characters and receive rampant deserved and undeserved criticism, are also capable of nobility. Nixon is seen, by "some," as an emancipator of women and women's rights - though, arguably, such rights should not need to be emancipated in the first place...

I do think, however, we should have a men's history month... And, a point in one of my class papers in being the sex and race of privilege is that, in some ways, there is very little cultural distinctiveness I can celebrate with regard to my gender and ethinic identity besides sports, politics, the military, corporate success, etc. Oh, and maybe hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza... wait a minute...