The Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional (National Mexican Women's Commission, abbreviated as CFMN), is a Mexican-American organization geared towards the political and economic empowerment of Chicanas in the United States.
The start of the Comisión Femenil Mexicana Nacional began during the National Chicano Issues Conference in October 1970. There, a group of women spoke up about the issues pertaining to Chicanas because they felt as though their issues were not being prioritized in the conferences.The lack of prioritization of Chicana issues in the annual National Chicano Issues Conferences were due to the fact that it was issues of women, not men, the group of women believed. Therefore, the group of women decided to create an organization to address their issues without having to deal with, "the male sexism in the Chicano Movement or the racial discrimination in the Women's Movement". [2]Because of these events, the Comisión Femenil Mexican Nacional was created.
In1972, CFMN created the Chicana Service Action Center. Its creation was in response to the need for training low-income, unskilled Chicana women.
In1973, CFMN had a conference in Goleta, California. Topics such as education, childcare, sex education, and family planning were discussed. At this conference, the first constitution was drafted. In the draft the decided on the following terms: "to direct efforts to organizing women to assure leadership positions within the Chicano movement and in community life, to disseminate news and information regarding the work and achievement of Mexican and Chicana women, to concern themselves in promoting programs which specifically lend themselves to help, assist, and promote solutions to female issues, to spell out issues to support and explore ways to establish relationships with other women's organization" [3] During this year, CFMN created Centros de Niños, a bilingual and bicultural childcare geared towards helping working and poor women in school or training.
In1975, CFMN participated in the opposition of involuntary sterilization of Chicana women by filing a class action lawsuit, Madrigal V. Quilligan. However, they failed to stop the sterilization of Latina women but achieved to generate public outcry to the situation. The public outcry helped in creating bilingual consent forms and the enforcement of the 72-hour waiting period prior to performing operation. During this year, CFMN attended United Nations International Decade of the Woman's Year Conference in Mexico City.
In1977, CFMN attended the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. At the conference CFMN was recognized as "the leading Latina Organization in the United States" [4].
In1978, members attended the National ERA March in Washington, DC. There, members lobbied for the expansion of the Equal Right Amendment, all the while actively asking Chicanas to take action in decision making processes.
In1985, CFMN organized 23 chapters. The founded Casa Victoria, "a residential treatment program for adolescent girls who have been involved in the juvenile justice system. The program provided bilingual counseling, family therapy, education and vocational training, and positive role models as well as positive alternatives to incarceration" [4]
During the early 1980s, the CFMN's president Gloria Moreno-Wycoff met with former United States President Jimmy Carter in Washington, D.C.
By 1985, the CFMN had taken on other feminist causes, such as aid for teenage girls who were involved with the criminal justice system. To that end, the CFMN inaugurated the Casa Victoria center. A newsletter, La Mujer, started publication, and the CFMN spread to 23 chapters nationally. Having achieved many of the goals set during their first conference, the Commission stopped holding the annual conferences during this year. Business meetings, however, continued to be held for another decade.
In 2000, the CFMN's archives were established at the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA) of UCSB's Davidson Library. Although the national organization eventually waned, the CFMN still has local chapters that actively work on Chicana issues. In 2003, CEMA hosted the CFMN's 30th anniversary conference, with Representative Nell Soto scheduled as keynote speaker. The student group MUJER (Mujeres Unidas para Justicia, Educación, and Revolución) coordinated the involvement of local high school girls as a means to inspire, educate, and demonstrate the achievements of which women are capable with education, organization, and dedication. Comision Femenil of the San Fernando Valley is the longest-standing active chapter. Established in the early 1990s, Comision Femenil of the San Fernando Valley annually holds its Adelante Mujer Latina Career Conference. This one-day conference strives to engage, encourage, and inform high school Latinas about college. Participants are presented with career workshops led by professional Latinas, most of whom are from the same neighborhoods as the attendees. A college and resource fair is also a large part of this conference. Keynote speakers have included Dolores Huerta and Catherine Sandoval. Ana Guerrero was scheduled to speak at the 22nd Annual Adelante Mujer Latina Career Conference on March 21, 2015 at California State University, Northridge.
Francisca Flores: 1970-1972
Josephine Valdez Banda: 1972-1973
Anita Ramos: 1973-1974
Yolanda Nava: 1974-1975
Gloria Molina: 1975-1977
Sandra Serrano Sewell: 1977-1979
Christine Fuentes: 1979-1980
Gloria Moreno-Wycoff: 1980-1981
Leticia Quezada: 1981-1982
Angie Cisneros: 1982-1983
Beatriz Olvera-Stotzer: 1983-1985
Carmen Cantu: 1985-1987
Carmen E. Luna: 1987-1989
Magdalena Cervantes: 1989-1991
Desiree Portillo-Rabinov: 1991-1994
Nina Sorkin: 1994-1996
Julia Vera-Andrews: 1996-2000
"Comision Femenil of the San Fernando Valley"
