Uvalde School Shooting Gives Rise to Latina Advocacy Group, Fierce Madres
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The tragic school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022 that killed 19 students and two teachers shocked the foundation of this rural southwest Texas community as well as that of Texas and the United States. Gun violence and school safety issues rose again to national debate in the United States, leaving a predominantly Hispanic community grieving and devastated by the senseless gun violence and inaction of public representatives of passing common sense gun safety laws to protect children and increase school safety.
The families of Uvalde school shooting victims and survivors vowed to not let their children’s deaths and trauma be in vain chose to come together in the midst of their grief to form an advocacy group to support themselves, protect other children and communities from gun violence and demand accountability from publicly elected officials at local, state, and national levels for the systemic failure of government and society to protect children from gun violence, establishing a non-profit advocacy organization called Fierce Madres.
The strength and foundation of Hispanic families runs through its women, the Matriarch of the family. Uvalde women began communicating among themselves while grieving for their children and teachers and decided to start Fierce Madres to demand accountability and seek answers and change to the issues giving rise to the tragedy.
One Uvalde woman who answered the call to action was Angela Villescaz, an alumni of Robb Elementary and a 1985 graduate of Uvalde High School. Together with other Uvalde women, Villescaz founded Fierce Madres and is now its Executive Director.
Since its founding, Fierce Madres has organized a peaceful march and rally through downtown Uvalde and attends every public meeting of the Uvalde City Council and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees demanding accountability of the May 24th tragedy, including the termination of former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo as well as his resignation from the Uvalde City Council.
Villescaz stated Fierce Madres has received support from other women advocacy groups such as the national group of Moms Demand Action, a gun control group led by mothers after the Sandy Hook school massacre, and Moms Against Greg Abbott, a women-led political action committee seeking gun control in Texas.
Many Uvalde families support gun control in Texas and are requesting Governor Greg Abbott to call a special session of the Texas Legislature to raise the age to purchase an AR-15 assault rifle in Texas from 18 to 21 and pass other common sense gun control measures, which Abbott has refused to do. It is quite obvious that the Texas Republican Party led by Governor Abbott are not going to call a special session nor pass common sense gun control laws to protect school children.
Villescaz noted Fierce Madres plans developing programs to assist Uvalde families of victims and survivors of the May 24th massacre, educate the public, seek common sense gun control and school safety laws, develop advocacy and educational programs, and open a research center in Uvalde.
Villescaz stated that a Fierce Madres member, Eloisa Medina, a 1985 graduate of Uvalde High School, is replacing Pete Arredondo in the Uvalde City Council.
Villescaz invites all persons interested in protecting school children, passing common sense gun control laws, demanding accountability from publicly elected officials, and supporting Uvalde families of victims and survivors of the May 24th Robb Elementary massacre to join Fierce Madres.
