We were lucky to catch up with Brenda Perez Mendoza recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brenda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In 2020 in the height of the pandemic I was teaching 4th grade in a bilingual classroom. I taught fourth grade to predominately Hispanic students. Many of my students were undocumented or had parents who were undocumented. This time was one of fear for many however for me it became an opportunity to transmit hope. My students had such profound questions, that they wanted to know why undocumented people were called illegal. Why do we call ourselves Latino or Hispanic? What are Dreamers? What is DACA? The questions kept coming but I couldn’t find the answers. No resources could support my students and their curiosity about their culture. I then decided I needed to find a way to provide my students with a resource that helped them answer the questions about their identity. TI created the Racial Justice in America: Latinx American bilingual series. This series was published by CherryLake Publishing and is sold nationwide everywhere books are sold. My series explores issues, histories, and achievements specific to the Latinx community. I made sure the books were written in a comprehensive, honest, and age-appropriate way. I became an author and advocate and won the 2022 Latinx Educator Impact Award from the Latinx Education Collaborative. The series reaches children of all races and encourages them to approach race issues with open eyes and minds, I knew could give my students answers to their questions and find a way to empower them along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

SInce I was not a connected person and I was first generation Latina, I didn’t know anyone in any publishing companies. I didn’t even know where to begin however I had to make a way because the work was that important. The first thing I tell my new readers is that you have to be so passionate about what you are creating that you can’t imagine it not existing in this world. I started small by reaching out to others who had written books similar to those I wanted to write. Some people answered back, some people ignored my messages, and some people were so immensely kind that they gave me advice. It was those people who gave me advice and helped guide me that made all the difference. I started to write books and eventually through my journey of learning and asking questions the right people were brought into my life. That led me to Cherrylake Publishing and they believed in the project as much as I did and together we made it a reality.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The audience I built on social media is like-minded educators who have become advocates for their students. I needed to be authentic because authenticity is the highest frequency of energy we can radiate. The advice I can give you is to be real because that’s what will build the right audience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2018 I had the most difficult year of my life I miscarried my only daughter in my 2nd trimester, and I was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I was so lucky to be able to recover quickly from both the miscarriage and I was also blessed with not having to have tradition or chemotherapy, removing my thyroid was enough to keep me healthy. After these very challenging life barriers, I learned that I needed to live life to the fullest. This was the fire I needed to become the educator I always wanted to be, to dedicate my life to my students, to learn new practices, and to stop putting my life on hold. This experience drove me to become the author I always wanted to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cherrylakepublishing.com/contributors/1903
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maestramendoza?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamaestramendoza
• Twitter: @maestramendoza
• Youtube: @maestramendoza

Image Credits

Photographs by Dulce Rodriguez