Cherríe Moraga
A foundational voice in Chicana feminism, she gave literary power to the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.
Born 1952 (age 74)·American writer and activist·Birthday: September 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Cherríe Moraga emerged from the cultural ferment of the 1970s as a writer who refused to split her identity into pieces. Born in Los Angeles to a Mexican mother and an Anglo father, she navigated the complex terrain of mixed heritage, a journey that would fuel her life's work. Her co-editorship of the groundbreaking anthology 'This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color' in 1981 was a seismic event, creating a new space for voices that feminism and civil rights movements had often marginalized. As a playwright, essayist, and poet, Moraga has consistently centered the lives of Chicana and Indigenous women, exploring themes of family, sexuality, and political resistance with unflinching honesty. Her academic career, most notably at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been a platform for mentoring generations of scholars and artists, ensuring that the bridge she helped build continues to carry traffic.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Cherríe was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Cherríe Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Cherríe's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1982Turned 30
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 40
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 50
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 60
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 70
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 74 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-edited the landmark feminist anthology 'This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color' in 1981.
- Authored the influential semi-autobiographical work 'Loving in the War Years: lo que nunca pasó por sus labios'.
- Received the United States Artist Fellowship in 2007 for her contributions to literature and theater.
- Served as a co-founder of the lesbian of color theater collective, Brava! For Women in the Arts, in San Francisco.
Did You Know?
Her godmother was the celebrated Chicana novelist and activist, Helena María Viramontes.
She initially pursued a career in theater before turning fully to writing and activism.
Moraga has described her writing process as an act of 'cultural archaeology' for her Mexican heritage.
“I am a woman with a foot in both worlds; and I refuse the split. I feel the necessity for dialogue. Sometimes I feel it urgently.”
