Nonprofit organization Arizona Humanities hosted Felipe Hinojosa to speak to members of the Phoenix community about his book “Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture” at the historic Ellis-Shackelford House in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Hinojosa, a professor at Texas A&M University, grew up Mennonite near the Mexican border in Brownsville, Texas. However, he was never taught Mennonite history in the United States. He dedicated his grad school career to studying his church’s impact on American history.
“Latino Mennonites” chronicles stories of Mexican-Americans and other Latinos who joined the Mennonite Church in the mid-20th century. In the 1960s and 1970s, these Latinos challenged the policies of the church in a quest for civil rights.
Latino Mennonite migration to the Midwest from Texas and Mexico was made possible because of the church’s missionary efforts. Some joined because the church gave them a place of comfort and worship, others because they had success as migrant workers in the Midwest.
“The church has stood as a marker of colonization,” Hinojosa said. “It is also a place that Latinos are given hopes for a better life.”
Ellie Hutchison, the program manager for Arizona Humanities, said she was was excited to have the professor speak for Arizona Humanities.
“He speaks about liberation theology, and there wasn’t much humanities and religion being covered in the Phoenix area,” Hutchison said. “In the Arizona Humanities, we want to promote partnership throughout the community and to fulfill the community with new experiences.”
The Latino Mennonite migrants pooled their efforts to change the church and advocate for civil rights through the Minority Ministries Council. The organization was created by African-Americans, Native Americans and Latinos who traveled through the Midwest promoting peace and equality among people of different races and religions.
“The important thing about these Mennonites is that their ideas really started to make a difference, like having Sunday school in Spanish and Hispanic ministers,” Hinojosa said.
In an environment of white supremacy that continued into the late 1960s, cultural acceptance of Latinos expressing themselves was a major change, he said.
In 1973, the Minority Ministries Council was featured in a Latino magazine called “La Luz.” After this feature, they began to be recognized by the national Latino community for the changes they made in theology and civil rights.
The Latina Mennonite women who were involved in the movement were denied membership to the Minority Ministries Council. Female activists agreed that they needed to have the right to worship God in Spanish.
“Women carved out their own space through a series of conferences across the Midwest and Texas,” Hinojosa said.
The short-lived Minority Ministries Council lasted six years, from 1968-1974, because of a disagreement over the misuse of funds. The organization still meets for a reunion every two years.
Hinojosa advocated for an “I am not free until you are free” mentality for protecting civil rights, encouraging the white community to step up.
“We need each other and to create coalitions together,” Hinojosa said.
Contact the reporter at josiah.destin@asu.edu
