DR. LORENA CAMARGO GONZALEZ

Lorena Camargo Gonzalez [she/her/ella] is an Assistant Professor of Undergraduate Studies in Education and Gender Equity at Sacramento State University and the Follett Chair for the School of Information Studies at Dominican University. A proud Chicana, first-generation college graduate, and immigrant, she earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA with a focus on Race and Ethnic Studies. Her interdisciplinary research, grounded in Critical Race and Chicana/Latina Feminist theories, examines Latinx representation in children’s literature and the role of Latinx librarian activism in advancing racial justice.

WHAT'S THE TOPIC OF YOUR PRESENTATION?

My presentation “Latina/o/x (Im)migration Picture Books as Racial Microaffirmations” examines how (im) immigration themed picture books can serve as racial microaffirmations for adult readers.

WHY IS THIS TOPIC IMPORTANT?

While much scholarship addresses microaggressions and harmful stereotypes less attention has been given to racial microaffirmations— “the subtle verbal and nonverbal strategies People of Color engage in that affirm each other’s dignity, integrity, and shared humanity” (Pérez Huber et al., 2023, p. 702). This project extends the conceptual tool theorized from Critical Race Theory, racial microaffirmations, to explore how Students of Color in higher education engage in storytelling that centers their identities and experiences of their communities to affirm other young readers.

HOW DOES THIS WORK FIT WITHIN YOUR BROADER RESEARCH PROGRAM AND/OR WORK AS FACULTY MEMBER?

This particular project is part of my larger research and teaching interests on Latinx representation in children’s literature and was inspired by students across my Education 121: Multicultural Children’s Literature courses. Additional areas of interest are Critical Race and Chicana/Latina Feminist theories, and the role of Latinx librarian activism in advancing racial justice.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE AUDIENCE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENTATION?

The importance of integrating anti-racist, culturally affirming practices in their teaching, mentoring, and scholarly activities to better serve our diverse students.

LINK TO A RECENT ARTICLE, PROJECT, OR OTHER SCHOLARLY-RELATED WORK:

Theorizing a Critical Race Content Analysis for Children’s Literature about People of Color (Pérez Huber, Camargo Gonzalez, Solórzano, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920963713

Convivencias across space and time within educational history: a critical race feminista approach (Camargo Gonzalez, 2024) https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2024.2318269

More on racial microaffirmations:

“Life was brought back into my body”: a Critical Race Feminista analysis of racial microaffirmations (Pérez Huber, Robles & Solórzano, 2023) https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2023.2165514