That's Not Fair! / ¡No Es Justo!: Emma Tenayuca's Struggle for Justice/La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia by Carmen Tafolla

That's Not Fair! / ¡No Es Justo!: Emma Tenayuca's Struggle for Justice/La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia Reviews

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  Vamos a Leer

  This compelling tale, best for grades 2-6, recounts the biographical story of Emma Tenayuca, a young, Mexican-American activist. This book is an excellent contribution to our effort to diversify the immigrant narrative, as it exposes not only the initial hardships of immigrating to the U.S., but also the myriad of injustices and human rights abuses that have existed and still do exist for Mexican-Americans upon arrival in the U.S. Emma Tenayuca, from a very young age, recognizes the importance of education and the unfairness of the society around her. Her sympathetic viewpoint, coupled with a focused desire to redress wrongs, leads her to become a pioneer for Mexican-American rights in the U.S.
  
  The illustrations nicely complement the themes of the story, the rights of Mexican-American laborers and pecan-shellers, and reinforce Emma’s bold agency throughout. In a review of the book, Beverly Slapin of De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children, comments upon the illustrations: “Ybáñez’s full-bleed double-spread illustrations, rendered in watercolor and pen-and-ink on a palette of bold, flat colors with bright highlights, are reminiscent of traditional Mexican murals. While Emma’s red sweater on almost every page focuses the reader’s attention on the subject, the pecan trees and branches that frame each illustration focus the reader’s attention on the issue.” Indeed, the illustrations, as you can seen in the image to the right, subtly show images of trees (the border) and pecans (the illustration on the back wall), reminding readers of the issues at hand. This story, though inspired by real events, reads as a picture book with bright, kid-friendly illustrations. In contrast, the last page of the book provides non-fiction, historical information about Tenayuca, as well as black and white photos of her in the midst of civic engagement. This tale is also written by Emma Tenayuca’s niece as well as one of her friends, adding a layer of intimacy to the biographical telling.
  
  Tenayuca was born in 1916 in San Antonio, Texas. She was one of eleven children and at a young age she was sent to live with her grandparents. As readers will see throughout the story, Emma’s grandfather played a very important part in both her personal life, and in her community activism. According to the synopsis at the back of this book, Tenayuca’s feats of activism marked the beginning of a long history of civil rights movements: “Historians regard this action as the beginning of the Mexican-American struggle for civil rights and justice.”
  
  The story starts in the year 1925, when Emma is 9 years old. As Emma walks on her way to school, she passes other communities of Mexican-Americans and she is struck by the scarcity of their food and clothes. While Emma is moved by the instances of extreme poverty all around her, she also feels discouraged by her inability to help; the food she offers the children on the street will quickly run out, and once again they will be in need. However, when Emma decides to teach her young neighbor how to read, she realizes, this “would last her forever.” While exposing readers to the history of poverty and human rights abuses that Mexican-American workers suffered here in the United States, this story also emphasizes the importance of education in a move towards civil rights.
  
  Emma’s attention is focused especially on the rights of the pecan shellers, or nueceros, who worked long hours and developed a variety of health conditions from an unsafe and unhealthy factory environment: “She saw so many people go to work when it was still dark and not come home again until late at night. Many worked so many hours that they were coughing and sick, and still they did not earn enough to feed their children.” Many of the nueceros were women and children.
  
  As the story progresses, Emma teaches the nueceros how to organize and resist. A review by De Colores contributes to the biographical information presented by the book:
  
  "By the time she was 16, young Emma had already been jailed several times. ‘I never thought in terms of fear,’ she later said, ‘I thought in terms of justice.’ A brilliant orator, activist and educator at a time when Mexican and Mexican American women were not expected to speak out, Emma became known as ‘La Pasionaria,’ and took on one battle after another. In 1938, Emma was asked to lead the strike of some 12,000 pecan shellers, most of them Mexican women; and in fewer than two months, they forced the factory owners to raise their pay. This historic victory was the first significant win for Mexican American workers in the struggle for political and economic justice."
  
  Emma Tenayuca is an important figure in the history of Mexican-American rights and of the U.S. overall. Yet, she is still one of the lesser-known labor rights figures. For teachers looking to diversify their classroom texts, this book would be a perfect way to complicate students’ understanding of immigrants, women’s rights, and the history of labor rights in the U.S. This book could surely inspire a lesson plan on history, social movements and civil rights, while focusing on lesser-known biographies.
  
  The book offers students another valuable lesson through the relationship Emma shares with her grandfather. When Emma speaks with him about the horrible injustices that she witnesses, he tells her, “Sometimes things are not fair. But still, each one of us can usually do something about it, even if it’s just a little thing.” This is an important message for young readers who may be struggling with a growing awareness of hardship and injustice: you can always help, even if it is just a little bit.
  
  This wonderful story has received an abundance of great reviews and we are adding our voice to the choir. Emma Tenayuca’s biography provides a perfect way to teach kids about the history of Mexican-Americans in the United States, as well as values of education, activism, and social and justice.
  
  For access to the full review and additional resources, check out our Vamos a Leer blog at teachinglatinamericathroughliterature.com
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  Sam Grace

  great story for those who want to raise their kids to be activists. one to own, for sure
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  Emelda

  Lovely, easy to understand book for young kids with a great social justice theme.
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  Prabhat sharma

  That’s Not Fair- Emma Tenayuka’s Struggle for Justice- Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuka, Illustrator Terry Ybanez- Coloured illustrated Children’s Picture Book- I have read this book in Hindi language. This is a story of black Mexican-American child. She was born in 1916. They were 12 brothers and sisters, therefore, in order to reduce the burden on her parents, she was shifted to live with her grandparents in San Antonio. She was sent to school. On the way she met a poor lady with a young child, 3 young boys sharing Pecan shells. In her school. She was informed that a new book has arrived and she can read it. On reaching home, she met her friend and neighbor Maria. She shared the book with Maria. Maria informed her that last year she had joined school but later her she and her family had to go to a farm to pluck onions, strawberry, cabbage, cotton, beetroot & maize. After the work was over, the Owner of the farm did not pay them wages and turned them out. Year 1925, this was the period of the great depression. She went to a park with her grandfather. Here they witnessed a family of 5 members begging. Head of the family informed them that they worked on a farm but as wages were not paid, they are penniless. Emma shared her pocket money with them. Here they saw an old man singing on a guitar. The words of eh song were ‘Oh Sun! you share your light with all persons equally. Please teach our factory owner to be kind to us. “Her grandfather taught her to be kind. She had gifted her woolen sweater to the lady with a young child, she shared her apple with the group of three boys. She taught Maria to read and write. At the age of 16, she found that Pecan factory workers have to work in closed factory and the dust fills their body. Poverty, hunger, starvation, unreasonable long working hours for workers brought them illness. Various ailments developed in factory workers. At the age of 16, she met the owners of the factory and requested them to pay better wages to workers. They refused to listen to her. Then Emma educated the workers that we should unite and fight for better wages. She collected the workers and planned that they should go on strike until better wages are paid to them. She was arrested but the strike was successful. She educated the workers to vote for such people who would bring labour favouring laws. This book brings to light the history of struggle by poor black workers and how their united efforts brought justice, better wages, education for their children. Coloured illustrations help the reader to associate with the story and understand the script.
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  Liz Murray

  Essential reading for all elementary classrooms, and beyond. Emma Tenayuca is not as well known as some other civil rights activists, and this is an excellent introduction to her and her work as a young girl, a teen, and then a young adult. From a very early age Emma recognised injustices and did what she could to address these, such as giving food and clothing to a struggling family, and helping her friend learn to read, as this friend had to miss many days of school to work in the fields.
  
  The book is written by Emma's niece, Ms. Sharyll Teneyuca, and Emma's friend, Dr. Carmen Tafolla, in Emma's memory. There is clearly more to Emma's story than this book can contain, this is but a jumping off point.
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  Book Buying With Katie

  YES. This is what children's books should be about. Young people of color seeing injustice in their communities and doing something to fix it. Yes yes yes. I'm upset that I had never heard of Emma Tenayuca, and good for the author/illustrator/publisher for highlighting her important story. Great for Latinx/immigrant/young person/women representation. Here for all of it.
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  Maura

  Wonderful picture book biography of Emma Tenayuca, a brave Mexican-American woman born in Texas in 1916, who led 12,000 pecan-shelling workers in San Antonio in a successful strike for higher wages and better conditions at the age of just 21. An amazing labor history story I did not know. My son and I both enjoyed that it was in both English and Spanish, too.
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  Kalynda

  I love these empowering stories, especially when they are made for multiple audiences!! Yes, one person can ignite change! :-) I need to start a collection of civil rights picture books. Love!
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  Lori Goshert

  It's a great book for those who want to raise their children to be compassionate. What a wonderful role model for them to have!
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  Alex Bergland

  Fantastic book to use as a read aloud or as a research reading book option for 5th grade EL curriculum when teaching Esperanza Rising and Human Rights.
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  Dedra

  I would have given this three stars, but I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations. I did like that the story was written in both English and Spanish on the pages though.
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  Jill

  This bilingual book tells the story of the labor organizer Emma Tenayuca, who, through her work as an educator, speaker, and labor organizer, was known as “La Pasionaria.”
  
  In the 1930s Texas pecans accounted for approximately 50 percent of the nation's production, with nearly 400 shelling factories in San Antonio alone! But it was one of the lowest-paid industries in the United States, with a typical wage ranging between two and three dollars a week. According to the
  Texas State Historican Association, "Working conditions were abysmal-illumination was poor, inside toilets and washbowls were nonexistent, and ventilation was inadequate. Fine brown dust from the pecans permeated the air, and the high tuberculosis rate of San Antonio-148 deaths for each 100,000 persons, compared to the national average of fifty-four-was blamed at least partially on the dust.”
  
  In 1938, Tenayuca, only 21 years old, led 12,000 workers in a strike of pecan shellers (mostly Hispanic women) in San Antonio, Texas. Historians have described this as the first successful large-scale act in the Mexican-American struggle for civil rights and justice.
  
  The workers who picketed during the strike were gassed, arrested, and jailed. It ended after thirty-seven days when the city's pecan operators agreed to arbitration. [Over the next three years, cracking machines replaced more than 10,000 shellers in San Antonio shops when the plant owners mechanized operations to avoid the higher labor costs.]
  
  Tenayuca also founded two international ladies garment workers unions, and organized a protest of the beating of Mexican migrants by United States border patrol agents. She was arrested several times, and finally had to leave Texas to ensure her safety. She is now honored in Mexican-American history, but barely known in the United States.
  
  The book depicts some of the injustices against Mexican-Americans that Emma encountered as a young girl in San Antonio. She felt angry: "She saw so many people go to work when it was still dark and not come home again until late at night. Many worked so many hours that they were coughing and sick, and still they did not earn enough to feed their children."
  
  Emma refused to stand by and do nothing, and became an active advocate for justice in her early teens. Young readers will be inspired by how, with enough passion and commitment, even one young person can make a difference.
  
  The illustrations by Ybáñez echo traditional Mexican mural art, using bold colors and stylized shapes.
  
  At the back of the book, there are additional resources on Tenayuca, including pictures and a more detailed biography.
  
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  Michiko

  Emma Tenayuca from a young age recognized the unfair treatment of the pecan shellers working in factories in San Antonio. She spent her life fighting for more humane treatment and fair wages for the people. The author's note and photographs add to the story and really show her as a strong woman fighting for what she thought was right. This book paired makes a great pairing with a book about Cesar Chavez to give a broader picture of the fight for rights that took place all over our country and was lead by many individuals.
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  Cris

  I like the parallel texts in English and Spanish.
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  Elizabeth

  Based on the true story of Mexican-American labor activist Emma Tenayuca -- and written by her niece Sharyll Teneyuca and her friend Carmen Tafolla (who are apparently working on a full-length biography of her?).
  
  The story does a nice job of showing Emma's awareness of instances of poverty around her and her frustration with that injustice -- and then her background of her grandfather saying, "Sometimes things are not fair. But still, each of us can usually do something about it, even if it's just a little thing" -- and her awareness that individual charitable actions are insufficient (though that doesn't stop her from engaging in individual acts of charity #ThePerfectIsTheEnemyOfTheGood). And then as she grows up, she works for more systemic change.
  
  I really appreciated that when she calls for a strike, she says, "We will make a soup kitchen to feed your families. If we all help each other, we can win" -- if you're asking people to give up what little money they have, you have to have a plan to keep them from starving. (Also, I like that the Spanish phrase is "una cocina común" -- a communal kitchen.)
  
  The text doesn't make explicit that Emma herself is Mexican-American like the poor people she is surrounded by and advocates for, but she is clearly drawn with the same brown skin. (And the note at the back does make it explicit.) While the note at the back isn't a full biography (it doesn't mention her Communist Party membership, for example) it does include some cool stuff like how she was arrested for joining a picket line at age 16 -- and it gives some more background about the plaza where she goes with her grandfather and hears someone talking about labor issues.