Comadrismo: Tejidos Fostering Endurance Amidst Sociopolitical Turmoil in School Communities

Abstract

Without a community of care, we cannot care for our communities. Webs of care have long shepherded our building of solidarity with one another to foster endurance during our most difficult times. This solidarity building and flow of reciprocity in webs of care as defined by the concept of comadrismo is what strengthens us to endure and fight back. Barragan Santoyo & Perez (2023), explain that comadrismo describes the relationship between “...women who share common goals, values, and seek to utilize their bond to advance the betterment of their surrounding community.” (p. 44) and that women use their lived experiences to build community and trust while taking care of each other. We extend this spirit of comadrismo to describe the webs of care we develop to resist current attacks on our communities.

It is through the webs of solidarity which we form with colleagues, families, and community members, that we can find the strength to resist, fight back, and ultimately change the trajectory of our generation. This journal has created its own web of care as it brings intodialogue/diálogo the perspectives and leaders who shape our educational settings: students, teachers, counselors, researchers, practitioners, and community members. In this issue, juntos, we want to extend the ideology of comadrerismo, to harness its spirit and attempt to describe our newly created realities by webs of care, endurance, and solidarity which folks are creating to resist the ongoing assaults on our communities.  In the following pages, we highlight experiences, contributions, and tejidos across K-16 that serve as testament to the endurance of our collective communities.