Luz Rodriguez (born March 7, 1956) is a Puerto Rican reproductive rights advocate.

Biography

Luz Rodriguez was born on March 7, 1956, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Puerto Rican immigrants Elsa Rodriguez Vazquez and Luis Rodriguez Nieto, Sr. She was raised in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

and gravitated to community organizing and owned an apartment in the first

sweat equity Sweat equity refers to work one does to build up value without a salary. This ownership interest, or increase in value, is created as a direct result of hard work by the owner. For example, homeowners who renovate or repair their house themselves a ...

and

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

at 519 East 11th Street. Rodriguez's community activities and movements of the time including the

Young Lords The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization (YLO), were a left-wing political organization that originally developed from a Chicago street gang. With major branches in Chicago and New York City, they were known for their direct act ...

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California ...

, and the civil rights movement influenced her political and social justice awareness throughout her career. In 1974 she graduated from Seward Park High School. From 1976 to 1978 Rodriguez studied dance at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

before going on to receive her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1982. While at NYU, she researched the sterilization of and the pharmaceutical companies' birth control experimentation on Puerto Rican women after hearing some of their stories growing up. This was her first exposure to

population control Population control is the practice of artificially maintaining the size of any population. It simply refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species from ...

and impacted her later reproductive rights activism. She earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Nonprofit Leadership from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. In 1996, she became the director of the Latina Roundtable on Health and Reproductive Rights. From 1997 to 1998, Rodriguez led a series of meetings focusing on reproductive-tract infections among women of color with the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

. What came of these meetings was the consensus that women of color ought to represent themselves and their communities. This led to the founding of

SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective The SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, also known as SisterSong, is a national Activism, activist organization dedicated to reproductive justice for women of color. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, SisterSong is a natio ...

. She became co-chair of the SisterSong Management Circle in 2011. She has also been involved with Casa Atabex Aché, the Dominican Women's Development Center, the

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Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the ...

, East Side Family Resource Center, and the Dominican Women's Development Center. In 1994, Rodriguez was awarded a Windcall Residency for her activism. Her oral history and papers are preserved in the “Voices of Feminism” Women History Archives at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Luz 1956 births Living people Puerto Rican activists Reproductive rights activists Activists from New York City Seward Park High School alumni Pratt Institute alumni New York University alumni Fordham University alumni