Yolanda Lopez, "Your Vote Has Power"

One of the pieces created by Yolanda Lopez is Your Vote Has Power (1997) in which she depicts a Latina woman voting with a child on her back. I think this piece is powerful both for the message it gives women and the political statement it makes. It was common for Latina women then to either be stay at home mothers or just barely enter the workforce and so they are gaining their independence step by step. One other thing they were gaining was this right to vote and representation. Yolanda Lopez was also playing on the insecurities of the time which included politicians being scared of minorities voting. There was also the attacks on Latina women and the questioning of their fertility. So by making this image, not only a Latina woman voting but also she has her child with her spoke volumes. In the end saying how family is important and so is participating in our democracy.

I think for me when I saw this piece I felt empowered. It's a piece that is timeless and continues to speak to women. We're gearing up to go into another election and all I can think about is how through voting we can have more representation and get people in power who know what it's like to be a minority. Women for years were kept out of voting and although women got the "right" to vote in 1919, that was more for white women and wasn't inclusive for women of color.