She was a suffragist and educator. She also risked her life driving through the

She was a  suffragist and educator. She also risked her life driving through the

war torn cities of Europe as an ambulance driver during World War I.

In 1902, she was the youngest instructor on staff at the University of California.

When World War I broke out, she left her teaching job to aid the war effort, going to France to become an ambulance driver, where she received citations for bravery for carrying wounded soldiers to safety. Some sources say she even learned how to fly a plane.

In an article she wrote for the Los Angeles Herald, “making the bold claim that men and women deserve equal rights, that should not be distinguished by gender, under the foundations of democracy,” according to the Women’s Museum of California.

There is very little information about her online.

Her name is Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez, and she “played an important role in the campaign to enfranchise California’s women by translating suffrage materials into Spanish in order to reach Hispanic women” and helping “win the vote for Californian women,” according to the National Women’s History Museum.

This is part of a continuing series on the Peace Page for Women’s History Month.

“During the early 20th century, women suffragists all throughout the country lobbied, marched and fought for woman suffrage . . . Latina women played key and sometimes overlooked roles in this fight,” according to Victoria Galarraga of IQ Latino. “They stood up not just for all women to gain the right to vote, but for Hispanic women to be included in the process.”

“Latinas were present in all phases and chapters of the suffrage movement from east to west from north to south,” according to National Women’s History Museum Board Member Mónica Gil.

“Latinx women contributed to the success of the suffrage movement at both the state and federal levels, particularly with their efforts to reach out to Spanish-speaking women,” according to American Experience.

“In California, the inclusion of Latinx women into the fight for the right to vote was critical to the success of the movement,” according to the Women’s Museum of California.

“One of the major leaders of the Suffrage movement in California” was Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez.”

“Lopez [also spelled de Lopéz] was born in Los Angeles in 1881, at Casa Vieja, her family’s home at the San Gabriel Mission,” according to the National Women’s History Museum. “She lived there with her parents, Juan and Guadalupe, and several siblings. Throughout her life she also went by Lupe, Eva or Marie. Her father, a blacksmith, was born in Mexico and was descended from the prominent Lopez family.”

“Lopez graduated from Pasadena High in 1897, and later completed college at the Los Angeles Normal School,” according to the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley. “She soon began teaching English as a second language at Los Angeles High School. 

“Her time working in higher education was groundbreaking,” according to writer Sabrina Reichert.

“By 1902, de Lopez became the youngest teacher hired by UCLA.”

She also “has the honor of being the very first confirmed Latina instructor at the university,” according to the Women’s Museum of California.

“When her father died in 1904, [Lopez] and her younger sister, Ernestina, moved back into the family home to help care for their mother,” according to the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley.

In 1911, the year Californians were to vote on women’s suffrage,  in a rally, “Lopez rose up to give her speech in Spanish, which was unprecedented at the time,” wrote Reichert. “One of her most notable contributions to the movement was her Spanish translation work throughout the 1911 campaign. This opportunity, combined with her previous experience, launched her further in making her mark on the world.”

She organized rallies and traveled the state, speaking, in both Spanish and English, about women’s voting rights,” according to the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley. “She is often credited with being the first in the state to deliver suffrage speeches in Spanish.”

She also “authored a forceful opinion piece in the Los Angeles Herald on August 20, 1911, arguing that California could not call itself a democracy while disenfranchising half its citizens,” wrote Brandman.

“Lopez must have left a lasting impression on the staff of the Los Angeles Herald and later on in 1913, the Herald published that Maria Lopez ought to be selected as a suffragist representative [for] the 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Reichert.

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When the U.S. entered World War I, Lopez took a leave of absence from her teaching responsibilities at UCLA and moved to New York City.

“At the time of the First World War, most women were barred from voting or serving in military combat roles,” according to the National World War I Museum and Memorial. “Many saw the war as an opportunity to not only serve their countries but to gain more rights and independence. With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front. Others provided support on the front lines as nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, translators and, in rare cases, on the battlefield.”

“Thousands of women in the United States formed and/or joined organizations that worked to bring relief to the war-torn countries in Europe, even before official American entry into the war in April 1917,” according to the National Museum of American History. “After the United States joined the Allies, women continued to join these organizations and dedicate themselves to supporting and expanding the war effort.  These groups were highly organized, much like the military, which helped women garner respect from their fellow citizens and have their patriotic endeavors taken seriously.”

There were many organizations, some started by women, others organized by the Red Cross, which were designed to offer transport services, such as ambulance drivers, in Europe. 

One photograph of the women in France was captioned: “These are the noble women who did work which would tire any man, they managed, repaired and drove any kind of an automobile through the streets of Paris day and night during the war. In the inky nights of Paris, they plowed through the streets at all hours, never stopping. They were highly praised for their courage by all who had to do with them.”

With very little information about her, it is not known specifically which Motor Corp or transport services Lopez joined, but according to the National Women’s History Museum:

 

“She took courses in auto mechanics and flying . . . She then went to France to work as an ambulance driver. In 1918, the French government cited Lopez and three other American women for bravery after the chateau-turned-hospital where they were stationed was bombarded by enemy fire and the four worked all night carrying wounded soldiers to safety.”

“Just leave it to a group of fiercely determined women to make a name for themselves behind the wheels of the Motor Corps’ ambulances, as they drove to the battlefront and shed layers of societal stereotypes that had previously confined them to a narrow sphere,” according to the National Women’s History Museum. “Women of the Motor Corps didn’t take narrow confines for an answer as they persevered into the broad expanse of roadways, delivering care and comfort during the chaos of World War I.”

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Lopez’ work in the suffrage movement in California ensured “that the message of the suffrage movement reached the Latina community,” according to the National Museum of American History. “Gaining the vote offered Latinas the opportunity to affect change in civil and labor laws that directly impacted their communities.”

As an educator and translator, “Lopez helped win the vote for Californian women with her oratory and the writings she translated into Spanish,” wrote Brandman.

“The contributions of Asian American, Latina, and Native American suffragists are just beginning to be examined by scholars,” according to the Library of Congress.

“Many are not aware of the significant role that Latina women have played in this national suffrage movement,” according to Gil. “Extraordinary Latinas . . . courageously fueled this movement . . . [and] proved to be invaluable.”

“These unstoppable women led efforts to create important civic organizations that continue to fight for justice today.”

“Extraordinary Latinas” like Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez.

~ jsr 

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“María de López movilizó a una multitud congregada en Los Ángeles Plaza el 3 de octubre de 1911 con un discurso a favor del sufragio femenino íntegramente en español, un acontecimiento sin precedentes en ese tiempo. Educadora, traductora y miembro de clubes, López ayudó a obtener el voto para las mujeres californianas con su oratoria y los textos que tradujo al español. Junto a su trabajo en pro del sufragio, López luchó durante décadas para preservar la herencia cultural española y mexicano-estadounidense.”