Aurora Levins Morales
Aurora Levins Morales
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Aurora Levins Morales is a writer, poet, and activist whose work has been widely influential in feminist, anti-racist, and queer communities.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born in 1954 (exact date not publicly available), Morales passed away on January 16, 2017.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Aurora Levins Morales was an American writer, poet, and activist of Puerto Rican descent. She worked as a writer, educator, and community organizer throughout her career.
Early Life and Background
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Growing up in Philadelphia's Puerto Rican community, Morales developed a strong sense of social justice and activism from an early age. Her experiences as a Latina woman shaped much of her work, which addressed issues such as racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Morales' family was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement, with her mother participating in protests against Puerto Rico's colonial rule and her father fighting for racial equality in Philadelphia. This exposure instilled in Morales a commitment to social change that would guide her work throughout her life.
Major Accomplishments
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As a writer and activist, Morales made significant contributions to the feminist and anti-racist movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Her writing often explored themes of identity, community, and social justice, reflecting her experiences as a Latina woman in the United States.
Some notable achievements include:
Authoring influential works: Morales wrote several books, including "The Radical History of the US" (with Elizabeth Medina) and "Keeping Abreast: A Puerto Rican Woman's Story". Her writing provided a platform for marginalized voices and helped shape the discourse on social justice.
Founding and leading organizations: Morales was instrumental in establishing and directing various community-based initiatives, such as the Philadelphia Women's Center. These organizations aimed to empower women and challenge systemic inequalities.
Teaching and mentoring: Morales dedicated significant time to teaching and mentoring students, often focusing on topics like social justice, feminism, and community organizing.Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Morales' notable works include:
"The Radical History of the US" (with Elizabeth Medina): This collaborative project offers a radical perspective on American history, highlighting the experiences of marginalized communities.
"Keeping Abreast: A Puerto Rican Woman's Story": In this memoir, Morales explores her own life and struggles as a Latina woman in the United States.
Community-based initiatives: Morales was deeply involved in various community projects, such as the Philadelphia Women's Center, which aimed to empower women and challenge systemic inequalities.
Impact and Legacy
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Aurora Levins Morales' work has had a profound impact on feminist, anti-racist, and queer communities. Her writing continues to inspire new generations of activists and artists.
Some key aspects of her legacy include:
Challenging dominant narratives: Morales' work often subverted mainstream perspectives, offering alternative voices and experiences that highlighted the complexities of social justice.
Empowering marginalized communities: Through her writing and activism, Morales provided a platform for marginalized voices, helping to amplify their concerns and struggles.
Fostering solidarity and collaboration: Morales was known for building coalitions between different social justice movements, demonstrating the importance of cross-movement solidarity.Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Aurora Levins Morales is widely quoted and remembered due to her:
Groundbreaking writing style: Morales' work often blended elements of poetry, memoir, and social commentary, creating a unique narrative voice that resonated with readers.
Influence on social justice movements: Her commitment to social change and her role in shaping the feminist and anti-racist movements have made her a respected figure in these communities.
Enduring legacy: Morales' work continues to inspire new generations of activists, writers, and artists, ensuring her impact will be felt for years to come.
Quotes by Aurora Levins Morales
I say solidarity is knowing the future is long and wide, with room for everyone on earth to enter. I say it’s taking the long view of the job. Helping you onto the wall, so you can reach down and pull me up. Lifting you into the tree, so you can shake down peaches for two. That solidarity is a two-way street, fires burning at both ends, and the only well in the middle.
When we rely on written records we need to continually ask ourselves what might be missing, what might have been recorded in order to manipulate events and in what direction, and in what ways we are allowing ourselves to assume that objectivity is in any way connected with literacy.
The spiritual is whatever allows us to notice the miraculous nature of life.
What is required to face trauma is the ability to mourn, fully and deeply, all that has been taken from us. Only through mourning everything we have lost can we discover that we have in fact survived; that our spirits are indestructible.
I am not african. Africa is in me, but I cannot return. I am not taina. Taino is in me, but there is no way back. I am european.Europe lives in me, but I have no home there. I am new. History made me. My first language is Spanglish. I was born at the crossroadsand I am whole.
They are charged with trespassing, which means being on your own land when somebody else wants it.
I say solidarity is knowing the future is long and wide, with room for everyone on earth to enter. I say it's taking the long view of the job. Helping you onto the wall, so you can reach down and pull me up. Lifting you into the tree, so you can shake down peaches for two. That solidarity is a two-way street, fires burning at both ends, and the only well in the middle.
What is so dreadful is that to transform the traumatic we must re-enter it fully, and allow the full weight of grief to pass through our hearts. It is not possible to digest atrocity without tasting it first, without assessing on our tongues the full bitterness of it.
I want to see a flowering of Arab and Jewish cultures in a country without racism or anti-Semitism, without rich or poor or spat-upon: everyone beneath the vine and fig tree living in peace and unafraid. A homeland for each and every one of us between the mountains and the sea. A multilingual, multireligious, many-colored and -peopled land where the orange tree blooms for all. I will not surrender this vision for any lesser compromise.
The life I chose when I promised my six-year-old self never to forget being a child, never to grow frightened and dishonest like the grownups I saw, nodding politely to each other without affection, and decided to put my true self in a time capsule for later use.