Mutuality in El Barrio

Carey Kasten (Author) Carey Kasten is an associate professor of Spanish language and literature at Fordham University. She researches contemporary Spanish culture and Spanish-speaking communities in New York City. She is the author of The Cultural Politics of Twentieth- Century Spanish Theater: Representing the Auto Sacramental (Bucknell, 2012). Dr. Kasten works with the Kino Border Initiative to take students to the Arizona- Mexico border and learn about the complex realities of migration. In 2021, she curated "Hostile Terrain 94," an art installation that depicts the loss of migrant life in the Sonoran desert, at Fordham University's Lipani Gallery. Brenna Moore (Author) Brenna Moore is a professor of theology at Fordham University. She is a specialist in the area of modern Christianity, with a focus on Catholic intellectual and cultural history in twentieth- century Europe. Her most recent book is Kindred Spirits: Friendship and Resistance at the Edges of Modern Catholicism (Chicago, 2021), in which she explores a community of Catholic artists and thinkers who responded creatively to the far-right surges of xenophobia and nationalism in the mid- twentieth century. She is a longtime volunteer at the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service and serves on their board of directors.

Foreword by Norma Benitez Sanchez ix Introduction: Humanizing Stories: Relationships and Beginnings 1 1. "The Power of Growth Is in Relationship": The History of the Little Sisters of the Assumption Nuns in East Harlem, 1865- 1970 21 2. "LSA Is Like a Second Home": The Story of Melina Gonzalez 62 3. Voices from the Neighborhood: Immigrant Mothers at Little Sisters 87 4. Mutuality for a New Era 122 Epilogue: On Sister Susanne's Passing and the Shadow Side 165 Acknowledgments 179 Appendix: Data on Mothers Interviewed 183 Notes 185 Index 199

This inspiring book offers a history of the Little Sisters of Assumption (LSA), an association of religious women. . . The story of the LSA is enriched by Kasten and Moore's rigorous assembly of personal accounts by families whose lives were made better through the LSA's present-day work. . . It becomes clear that the 'little' in LSA's name is a misnomer; the goals and spirit of this determined organization are big, especially in the face of scarce resources and daunting circumstances. VERDICT Highly recommended for collections supporting sociologists, social workers, social justice research, and the study of grassroots and nonprofit organizations.-- "Library Journal" In this affectionate and detailed profile of the work of the Little Sisters of the Assumption in East Harlem, Fordham professors Carey Kasten and Brenna Moore deeply explore the concept of mutuality. Centering on profiles of immigrant mothers from the Mixteca region of Mexico who found their way to the Little Sisters' East Harlem home, this book is a powerful tribute to flourishing, care and sociality, and the human capacity to generate community even in the most challenging circumstances. The mothers' determination, combined with the Little Sisters' stalwart solidarity and generosity, are a powerful recipe for cooperation and empowerment built over time. This book is an inspiring roadmap to a better world.---Alyshia Galvez is Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at Lehman College, and of Cultural Anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center.