Cristina Tzintzún
Cristina Tzintzún is the Executive Director of Workers Defense Project (WDP), a statewide, membership-based workers’ rights organization that is winning better working conditions for Texans. At WDP, Tzintzún has spearheaded efforts to ensure safe and dignified jobs for the nearly 900,000 construction workers that labor in the state. Her work has led to a federal investigation by OSHA into Texas’ deadly construction industry, the passage a statewide wage theft law, and better, safer jobs for thousands of low-wage workers in Austin and Travis County. She has been named “Hero of the New South” by Southern Living Magazine and won the national Trabajadora Community Leader award from the National Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. Her work has been covered in the New York Times, National Public Radio, Univision, and USA Today.
Presentations from Facing Race 2014
Roots and Wings: Southern Histories, Legacies and Innovations for the Future
When some outside the region think of the US South, often the imagination leads to images of slavery, struggle and protest that starts in the 1800s and stops in the 1960s. For the many of us- people of color, immigrants communities, LGBTQ people - who populate and call this region home, we experience and understand “the South” as not only the place where race, power, and revolution is best understood but also where history and legacies give way to 21st century innovation for our movements. Our dynamic plenary speakers, spanning the Southern region, will offer their insight on some of the challenges and opportunities facing the region and our movements to achieve racial justice and equity. From the continuing legacy of youth organizing and direct action in Florida; the role of faith in building inclusive communities and organizing for social change in NC; the realities of shifting demographics and the opportunities for worker organizing in Texas; and implementing community centered methods to build real economic, political and community power in Jackson this plenary will highlight how the South continues to build on its history and towards freedom.
Speakers: Bishop Tonyia Rawls, Cristina Tzintzún, Chokwe Antar Lumumba