Best Of: Mamá Tingó

This back to school season, we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. Today's Womanican is Mamá Tingó (1921-1974). She was an Dominican activist who is often overlooked in historical accounts. She led protests to save her farm — and the farms of 350 other families — from an illegal land seizure. She was assassinated for trying to bring justice to her community. 

For Further Reading:

• Mama Tingo: The Black Dominicana Revolutionary You Should Know | BELatina 
• The female revolutionary history forgot - Women’s Media Center
• Dominican Republic hero killed to end her fight for black people's lands 
• Florinda Soriano Muñoz (Mamá Tingó) (1921-1974)

This month, we’re heading back to school – and we’re taking you along with us! For all of September, we’ll be bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. You’ll hear me – and some talented guest hosts – share both iconic and under-appreciated stories. But there’s a twist... each week is dedicated to a different school subject. This week: Women you should be learning about in social studies classes!

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Lauren Willams, and Adrien Behn. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, listeners, it's Jenny. This month, we're heading back to school,
and we're taking you along with us. For all of September,
we're bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you
might have missed. You'll hear me and some talented guest
hosts share both iconic and underappreciated stories, and there's a twist.
Each week is dedicated to a different school subject. This week,

(00:23):
we're sharing women you should be learning about in social
studies class politicians, activists, legends. There are so many ways
people have shaped our societies and cultures. We've picked just
a few of our favorite stories to transport you to
different times, places and perspectives. And they're all stories that
I wish i'd learned more about in my social studies classes.

(00:44):
So onto the show.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hey y'all, I'm Eron Hank. I'm the editor at large
for The Nineteenth News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender
politics and policy. I'm also the host of a brand
new weekly podcast from the Nineteenth News and Wonder Media
Network called The Amendment. Each week, we're bringing you a
conversation about gender politics and the unfinished work of American democracy.

(01:16):
Our very first episode features my dear friend and Pulitzer
Prize winning journalist Nicole Hannah Jones. It's out now, so
please go listen and follow the show. On top of
all of this, I'm your guest host for this month
of Womanica, this Black History Month. We're talking about revolutionaries,
the black women who led struggles for liberation from violent governments,

(01:39):
colonial rulers, and enslavers. These women had the courage to
imagine radically different worlds, and they use their power to
try and pull those worlds into view. Today, we're talking
about an activist often overlooked in Dominican history. This poor
black farmer was villainised in her lifetime, but fought tirelessly
to save farmers from an illegal and violent land grab.

(02:02):
Please welcome Mama Tingo. Mama Tingo was born Florinda Soriano
Munoz on November eighth, nineteen twenty one, in Villa Maya
in the Dominican Republic. She came from a poor, working
class background and didn't have any formal schooling. Her friends
nicknamed her Mama Tingo because of her caring maternal nature.

(02:27):
In nineteen fifty one, she married another farmer named Felipe.
The new couple inherited land from Felipe's father in the
Atto Viejo region and ran a small farm to support
themselves and their son. Then, in nineteen seventy four, trouble struck.
A wealthy landowner named Pablo Diaz Hernandez claimed ownership of

(02:49):
the land that Mama Tingo and other neighboring farmers had
been farming for half a century, the only source of
income for three hundred and fifty families. Hernandez pro imply
started clearing the land. His claim was bunk, but fighting
back was risky. Hernandez had institutional power and wealth. Mama
Tingo and the other farmers were poor and black, overwhelmingly

(03:11):
ignored or victimized by the government. Resistance to the land
grab was met with swift violence. Saving their farms seemed hopeless,
but Mama Tingo was determined to keep her land and livelihood.
She joined the Federation of Christian Agriculture Leagues and started
organizing for the rights of her fellow farmers. She quickly

(03:34):
became a leader within the group. She and other farmers
met to discuss how to stop the land grab and
support each other through the financial strain it had caused.
She also organized public protests against Hernandez. The government of
the Dominican Republic tried to paint her as a dangerous
black radical to discredit the movement attacking her in pover's
background and lack of education, but Mama Tingo kept pushing. Eventually,

(04:00):
she and her husband got a meeting with the President
of the Dominican Republic to ask him for his support.
He promised them he would make sure that the land
in dispute was divided fairly among the three hundred and
fifty families who depended on it, but he didn't keep
his word and a plan failed to materialize. So the
farmers kept making noise about the landgrab, and finally a

(04:21):
hearing was scheduled for November of nineteen seventy four, But
the day of the hearing, Mama Tingo was missing from
the courtroom. She'd heard that her pigs had gotten loose
and raced back to her farm to round them back up,
but it was a trap. A man hired by Hernandez
was lying in wait armed with a gun. When Mama
Tingo showed up, he fired twice, shooting her. She tried

(04:45):
to defend herself with a machete, but her injuries were
too serious. She died without ever making it to court.
She was fifty two years old. As the decades have passed,
Mama Tingo's fierce advocacy and bravery have often gone unacknowledged
in Dominican history. As a poor black woman, her contributions

(05:07):
to farmers rights have been overlooked in the dominant narratives
of our country's history, but her organizing work helped play
the groundwork for other farmers to continue to fight for
their rights after her assassination. Today, a statue of Mama
Tingo stands in the town of Monte Plata to honor
her legacy as an activist.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Thanks for listening to this best of episode of Womanica.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Womanica Podcast Special Thanks to lose Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator, join us tomorrow for another one of
our favorite episodes, honoring the back to school season. Talk
to you then,