Those who heard Ada Mar'a Isasi-D'az's moving keynote address on solidarity during November's Call to Action conference might be stunned to learn that she passed away this weekend.
Isasi-D'az succumbed to an aggressive cancer on Mother's Day, a touching irony since she is widely considered the mother of Mujerista theology, a theological tradition born out of liberation theology. Isasi-D'az was born in Cuba and arrived in the United States as a political refugee at the age of 17.
A scholar, activist and mentor, Isasi-D'az dedicated her life's work to empowering the voices of Latinas and Latinos in the fields of theology and religious studies. She was professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Drew University in New Jersey, where she founded the Hispanic Institute of Theology.
Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado, assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Miami and one of Isasi-D'az's many mentees, offers a tribute in Religion Dispatches that details her impact on Hispanic/Latino theology:
