These Ladies were Organic Intellectuals

Ada María Isasi-Díaz, in Mujerista Theology (p. 74), describes organic intellectuals as everyday people, particularly Latinas, whose lived experiences, cultural knowledge, and communal wisdom generate critical theological insight beyond traditional academic spaces. These are not scholars confined to ivory towers, but theologians shaped in the streets, kitchens, pulpits, and storefront churches.

The concept itself traces back to Antonio Gramsci, who used the term to describe intellectuals who emerge from within a social class and stay rooted in its struggles, aspirations, and everyday life. These figures do not observe from a distance; they engage fully, giving voice to the hopes and needs of their people.

Rev. Dr. Kittim Silva always said it, and my spiritual dad, Bishop Raymond Rivera, would co-sign it without hesitation: the base has something to teach us all. Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier also deepened my understanding by teaching me about tacit knowledge — the profoundly personal, informal, and experience-based wisdom that is difficult to articulate or transfer fully. It is the knowledge gained through intuition, practice, and lived experience, not formal instruction, and yet it is no less powerful.

The women highlighted on this Hidden Figures site embody this reality. Many had no formal theological degrees (though some would later pursue them), yet they interpreted Scripture through the eyes of their communities. They preached liberation while feeding the hungry. They organized worship while sheltering the unhoused and the addicted. They built churches while resisting sexism, racism, and economic oppression. Their theology was not only proclaimed, it was lived.

The academic works featured here, spanning liberation theology, Mujerista theology, intersectionality, and progressive Pentecostalism, provide language and frameworks that articulate what these women knew in their bones. Their ministries are not simply moments in history but case studies in embodied, Spirit-led theology. These writings help honor their legacy and validate their voices as essential contributors to theological discourse, even if they never wrote a single paper.

Dissertations

Separated to Serve: Three Latina Pentecostals Becoming Senior Pastors and Ordained Ministers- a dissertation by Rev. Dr. Ramon Luis Ortiz, Jr. (Sito)

The Ladies are Warriors Chapter in Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the U.S. by Elizabeth D. Ríos

Not by words alone!: Mujerista and Pentecostal missiologies of liberation from the Latina/o margins by Angel Santiago-Vendrell.

Hispanic Pentecostals: Azuza Street and Beyond by Carmelo E. Alvarez

Apostolic Exhortation Evangel II Gaudium of the Holy Father Fracis to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful on the proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World