This past Saturday I went to see the new Cesar Chavez film in theaters. I was excited to know that the director of the film was Diego Luna, a Mexican-born actor, director and co-founder of film festival Ambulante, which brings documentaries to places where there aren't any. I imagined that Luna would portray a radical view of Cesar Chavez, the farm workers movement, and the people that were activists in it, and in many ways it was radical. However, I was disappointed to see that the women who were part of this movement and major contributors of placing Chavez at the forefront of the movement, were more or less downplayed in the film. An article by Colorlines talks about this: The Neglected Heroines of 'Cesar Chavez'

This got me to thinking about the ways that in communities/circles of activists/community organizers there still tend to be issues of sexism, transphobia and homophobia.Some people say they work for the betterment of the community and presume to be conscious individuals, and yet in other aspects of their identities they are still oppressing others. Can there be real change in a community if there aren't honest reflections over other aspects of people's lives?

I did a bit of research and found this blog post I think is pretty interesting and on point in many ways:
A Letter to Male Activists
"Simply asserting that you are a "feminist" does not make it true. In fact, by calling yourself a feminist in the face of criticism of your attitudes and those of other men, you not only fail to actively reject and challenge the sexism within yourself and society, you also deflect our critique of your behavior and silence our already marginalized and seldom heard voices. If you truly wish to join the fight for female liberation then you must listen to us when we are detailing our experience in your and other males' oppressive behavior - denying its existence does not make it go away. You must engage with our perspective and embark on a long and arduous journey of self-criticism, analysis and reflection."