Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Hearing The Silence: Acknowledging The Voice Of My Latina Sisters, Emily Martinez-Vogt

Business Faculty Publications

Latina community college students experience a number of challenges during their transition to college. Findings from a larger study indicated that Latina community college students experienced racism and stereotyping on campus responding with silence. Silence occurred in two ways: (1) Latinas were forced to be silent, and/or (2) Latinas chose to be silent. This article presents the Latina Silence to Resilience Pathway Model illustrating the four phases experienced by Latina community college students beginning with the experience of racism on campus ultimately resulting in personal outcomes. Along the continuum of the model Latinas also often experience an identity transition.