As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’d like to highlight community activist Martha Cotera’s impact in Austin. Dedicating many years of her life to activism, civil rights, feminism, and Latino history, Martha Cotera is one of the many supporters of preserving Palm School and its vibrant cultural history.
Located at the corner of Cesar Chavez and the I-35 Frontage Road along Waterloo Greenway, Palm School and Palm Park play important roles in the life of Austin’s Mexican-American communities starting as early as the 1940s.
Along with her continued efforts to help #SavePalmSchool, Martha worked for nearly three decades as a community liaison at the UT Benson Latin American Collection and has helped found more than twenty-three local, state, and national organizations advocating for women and families. She is also the author of Diosa y Hembra: The History and Heritage of Chicanas in the U.S. and The Chicana Feminist.
You can learn more about the history of Waterloo Greenway here.
Sources: Chicana por mi Raza, The Latina History Project and Life & Letters, a publication of the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin.