Cherríe Moraga’s Changing Consciousness of Solidarity

Abstract

In over thirty years since This Bridge Called My Back was first published, Cherríe Moraga has continuously reevaluated her imaginary of solidarity, taking into account socio-historical changes and the mutability of her own political beliefs. Moraga’s commitment to self-reflexivity, revision, social justice, and activist writing has meant that her contributions to This Bridge remain prescient for feminist of color theory into the new millennium. Here, I read Moraga’s prefaces, forewords, and introductions to the groundbreaking anthology—including the 1988 Spanish language edition Esta puente, mi espalda: voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los estados unidos edited by Moraga and Ana Castillo (1988), and the 1981, 1983, and 2002 English language editions coedited by Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa—as a conceptual map for understanding how she has theorized solidarity and women of color activism in the United States during more than three decades, and as a lens for thinking about ongoing transformations in feminist of color theory. I trace Moraga’s imaginary of solidarity from 1981 to 2002, arguing that her perspective regarding the possibility of alliances between women of color was initially US-centric, eventually becoming increasingly hemispheric, and ultimately more global.