Elena Herrada; lifelong Detroiter, mother of four daughters, member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Detroit,  graduate of Wayne State University, Master of Arts in Industrial Relations; graduate of the labor school at Wayne State, 1980, Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, minor, Chicano Boricua Studies, currently a PhD student in Chicano Studies at  State University and oral historian, documenting the history of Mexicans in Detroit.

In 2001, Herrada, along with several other members of the community, produced a video documentary of Detroit’s Mexicans who were repatriated during the Depression and held screenings and dialogues of the first public discussion of the repatriation since it occurred 60 years prior. Following this, Herrada and others were invited to Mexico for the first binational discussion of  Mexicans in the diaspora. For the first time, repatriates from both sides of the border met and several people from Detroit found relatives who had never returned to the US following the deportations. Until this time, most of us never knew that our families had been deported. We continue to do oral histories and document the journey and experiences of Mexicans who settled in Detroit in the beginning of the last century.

Herrada is currently an adjunct faculty member at Marygrove College in the Master of Social Justice program. It is the first of its kind in the country. She is also on the national planning committee of the United States Social Forum, which is scheduled to take place in Detroit June 21-26, 2010. (www.ussf.org).

Herrada has been a labor educator at Wayne State  University, Wayne County Community College and has been president of a cafeteria workers union. Coming from a working class union family, Herrada grew up in the labor and farm workers movements. She worked with the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez on boycott campaigns, union organizing with Service Employees International Union and also worked as manager of labor relations at Wayne County Community College.

Herrada, along with several other community activists, started Centro Obrero in 2006 in response to an unprecedented march by immigrants in Detroit, which shed light on endless injustices from unpaid wages to workplace injuries for which workers are ineligible for compensation. The center continues its work in coordinating legal clinics, advocacy and English as a Second Language, completely on a volunteer basis by several advocates, attrorneys and volunteer instructors.

Herrada decided to run for charter commission in order to participate in the rewriting of the most important document in Detroit’s governance. In order to strengthen the ethics provisions, making them enforceable and effective, to revisit the language on mayoral power over appointments, to create  greater  transparency in matters of spending priorities, settlement of claims, structure of commissions and compensation of commissioners, consideraton of distrcits instead of at large election of city council members, and most importantly, civic engagement and democratic renewal.

I believe that a lifetime of activism in our beloved city,  my experience in negotiatons on labor and community agreements, rasing four daughters, navigating educational options, battling insensitive institutions to demand equal treatment and access for all, regardless of race, class, national origin, makes me  particularly sensitve to the nuances in documents that others may not see as important. If we are to be a truly great city, we must provide a way for us to keep ourselves,  elected and appointed officials accountable and become worthy stewards of our meager resources. The charter commission has the capacity to help us to restore our city. I hope to be worthy to serve on it.

Awards

• 2009 – Spirit of Detroit Award – community activist

• 2009 – Detroit City Council Women’s Equality Day Task Force – honoree

• 2009 – Michigan Coalition for Human Rights presented by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano

• 2008 – Hispanic Heritage award – community activist

• 2003 – MANA de Metro Detroit Adeilitas award – In recognition of “courage and support of the Latino community.”