Advancing Relationships among Critical Race Feministas: Maintaining Ethical Ambitions within the Coloniality of Academia

Derrick Bell articulated the possibilities of ethical ambitions to “live lives that matter,” to make honorable decisions, to advance morality, and to maintain relationships with those who are committed to similar goals. Guided by Bell’s premise, we are three critical race feminista theorists (CRFT) who experience academia at multiple intersections: as Chicanas from working-class families, faculty, mentors, colleagues, and friends. Through these intersections, we define our work within the parameters of ethicality, with the intent to move forward social justice, and make a difference within our communities. Our goals are often at odds with the merit- and competition-driven academy that can lead down the opposite path toward betrayal, immoral decision making, and divisiveness. In this article, we place the idea of ethical ambitions in conversation with Teresa Cordova’s discussion of colonialism in the academy to identify strategies that demonstrate ethical ambitions. This includes relationship building, collective writing and attribution mentorship, and teaching. In our work together, spanning more than a decade, we practice these strategies to survive and thrive in a space we know was not created for us. We offer this discussion to consider how we engage our praxis as critical race feminista scholars.