The holidays are a time to invite friends to your house, and that's true for this blog, too. I'm honored to have Sandra Neil Wallace with me this week. Sandra is a former ESPN sportscaster and author of Muckers (Knopf 2013), a YA novel for anyone who loves fútbol Americano and underdog stories. But more important to me, it's also a thoughtful look at anti-Latino racism in the 1950s and the difficult circumstances of Mexican-American families in Arizona at that time. Based on true events, the novel follows Red O'Sullivan, team quarterback, and his friend Cruz as they cobble together their high school's last football season. It offers us not only an inspiring look back, but also a way to ask questions about where we are now in sports and race. ________________________ How did you discover this story? I was living in Sedona, Arizona, working as an ESPN announcer and discovered the Muckers story in a box of letters written to the principal of Jerome High School. Most of the letters were from young Mexican-American men who had graduated and gone to war. The letters helped me uncover the incredible sports triumph of the 1950 football team. Despite being the smallest squad in the state, playing on a rock field, and facing ridicule for being an integrated team, they made a run for the state championship. The football season in Muckers is modeled after theirs, and I interviewed surviving players to create characters I’d imagine experiencing the hardships of that time period.…
This came across my desk this morning, and I wanted to pass it along.You know that I'm big on strong girls, so this seems like a painless way for real people to add to the body of information we have about how we encourage Latina girls to have healthy relationships. If you have a couple of hours to spare and you care about girls and Latino families, contact Carla (info at bottom). She's the study coordinator and graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University who can answer your questions. Interviews can be conducted in English or Spanish. In addition, interviews can take place in the Richmond or DC metropolitan area. Flyers in English and Spanish here. Study Title: Talking with Adolescents About Healthy Behaviors We are looking for Latina teenagers (14-17 years old) and their mothers to participate in individual interviews about healthy relationships and behaviors. Who can participate in the study? - Latina adolescents who are 14-17 years old - Mothers of Latina adolescents who are 14-17 years old What will I receive if I am in the study? - If you participate in the interview, moms and daughterw will each receive a $20 gift cerfificate to Walmart What do you need to do? - Mothers will need to agree to participate in an interview - Latina adolescents will need to agree to particpate and they will need to get their parent's permission to be interviewed - Particpate in an interview that will take about two hours - Share what you…
