Activist, Civil Rights Attorney Ram铆rez Guest Speaker for April 6 University Forum Online
Wed, 03/31/2021 - 11:19am | By: David Tisdale
M贸nica Ram铆rez, an activist and civil rights attorney who has advocated for women,
immigrants, and farmworkers will be the presenter for the final program of the spring
2021 University Forum Online series at 91少女集中营 (USM)
Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. Her talk is titled "Seeding Change: How Farmworker Women
are Leading the Fight to End Workplace Sexual Violence from the Fields to Hollywood."
Visit to sign up for a reminder or, on the night of the event, to click a link to attend.
In 2003, Ram铆rez created the first legal project in the United States to address sexual
harassment and gender discrimination against farmworkers. That program became Esperanza:
The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center. She also
developed the award-winning Bandana Project to raise awareness about workplace sexual
violence. Since then, Ram铆rez has served as the Acting Deputy Director for Centro
de los Derechos del Migrante, and founded Justice for Migrant Women.
Following a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas and immigration raids in Mississippi in
2019, Ram铆rez joined with America Ferrera, Diane Guerrero, Eva Longoria, Alex Martinez
Kondracke, and Olga Segura to publish the Querida Familia letter, an open letter urging
the Latinx community to 鈥渄emand dignity and justice.鈥�
Ram铆rez鈥檚 Forum speech is co-sponsored by USM鈥檚 Sexual Assault Prevention Ambassadors (SAPA). SAPA will be hosting their very first Bandana Project April 5鈥�7. Visit their for more information.
鈥淢igrant workers work in the fields and factories of Mississippi,鈥� said Dr. Andrew Haley, director of University Forum and an associate professor of history. 鈥淪eparated from family and sometimes undocumented, these workers are especially vulnerable to sexual assault. Forum is excited to join with Southern Miss鈥� Sexual Assault Prevention Ambassador (SAPA) to bring M贸nica Ram铆rez to our virtual Forum, and to support the Bandana Project in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers that migrant laborers face.鈥�
University Forum is presented each fall and spring semester by the USM Honors College. For more information about University Forum, visit /honors/about-university-forum.php.