Teresa Fraga is a Mexican-born teacher, community organizer, and activist in

Pilsen, Chicago Lower West Side is a community area on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is three miles southwest of the Chicago Loop and its main neighborhood is Pilsen (). The Heart of Chicago is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of ...

.
Teresa Fraga Papers
'' DePaul University Special Collections and Archives. Accessed February 7, 2017 She is an executive board member and the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of Pilsen Neighbors Community Council (PNCC), and the co-chair of the Pilsen Planning Committee.

Early life

Teresa Fraga was born in a tent near a construction project in

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, around 1943. She moved to the United States with her family when she was seven years old. Fraga worked as a migrant farm worker around the United States, then moved to Chicago with her husband, Refugio, and children in 1966. They settled in the Pilsen neighborhood, and bought a home there in 1981.

Public life

Raising six children, Fraga was concerned with crime, drugs, and inadequate schools in Pilsen. In the 1970s, Fraga got involved with local education and community organizing. She got involved with the construction of Benito Juarez High School, and served as President of the Jungman Local School Council from 1975 to 1977. She ran and was elected president of the Pilsen Neighbors Community Council (PNCC) in 1977, at age 33. She was president of the PNCC for seven years, until she stepped down in May 1982. She was also president of the Cooper Upper Cycle School Council from 1981 to 1983. Next, Fraga was president of the United Neighborhood Organization from 1986 to 1990. During this period of heavy community involvement, Fraga earned her

G.E.D. The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

and

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and worked as a teacher at José Clemente Orozco Academy. She was president of the PNCC again in 1989 and 1990. She was appointed to the board of trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago by Mayor Daley in 1990. Fraga ran for

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

of the 25th Ward in 1995 and 1997. In addition to contributing to the funding and establishment of Benito Juarez High School, Fraga has had other major impacts in the Pilsen community. She pushed for a $26 million, five-year sidewalk repair program, and worked for newer and better parks in Pilsen. Fraga has worked for the past 20 years on a project to develop a paseo, or multi-purpose path, between Pilsen and

Little Village, Chicago South Lawndale is a community area on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Over 80% of the residents are of Mexican descent and the community is home to the largest foreign-born Mexican population in Chicago. Neighborhoods Little Village ...

. Since the 1990s, Fraga has contended with

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

in Pilsen, working to keep housing prices, property taxes, and utility costs manageable for lower income residents of Pilsen.

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Special Collections and Archives holds the ''Teresa Fraga Papers'', a collection of materials documenting Fraga's public life and activities with community organizations.

Media coverage

Fraga and her family have been the subject of two

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, each airing on WTTW in Chicago: "Pilsen: Point of Entry" and "The More Things Change," part of the ''Inside Housing'' series. Fraga is also featured in a 2002 textbook, ''Reading Adventures'', from Pearson Education, in a section called "Today's Immigrants."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraga, Teresa 1940s births Living people Community development American community activists Educators from Illinois American women educators Mexican emigrants to the United States Northeastern Illinois University alumni People from Zacatecas DePaul University Special Collections and Archives holdings 21st-century American women