Iris Mercado is a native Memphian with a passion for social justice. She devotes her time to grassroot organizations on campus like Rhodes United and Culture of Consent. In addition, she’s recently been recognized as one of Memphis’s top 20 under 30. Let’s leap into her life!
Her Campus: Iris, you seem to be one of the most well-known activists on campus, so can you describe what an activist is to you?
Iris M: I think an activist is someone who cares deeply for a social justice cause and works with those who are directly affected in order to achieve their goals as an activist. I didn’t grow up with the differentiation of activist and non-activist because both of my parents raised my sister and I to know about social justice, so being involved in social justice issues was just normal.
HC: Do you consider yourself an activist and if so, why?
IM: I’ve been called one. I guess I do consider myself an activist. It is the only thing I’ve known growing up. It’s what I was born and bred to do. There are a lot issues that I care about and that I’m affected by as well. I think tapping into those feelings, emotions, and that sense of helpless is what helped me to be an activist as I define it today.
HC: What organizations influence you here in Memphis?
IM: I was heavily invested and involved with TIRRC which is the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition. My first action with them was when I was 12 during lobby day in Nashville paired with the march. They helped shape and focus and hone in on what I wanted to do. My next step in making more local connections was the Bridges center. That’s actually how I got onto Rhodes campus, funny story. I snuck into a peace term conference my first year of high school. I fell in love with the people that were facilitating it, and I wanted to continue to do that. I stayed in Memphis for that reason. Well, there were a lot of other key factors like tuition equality and the Dream Act was something that I had been fighting for. I also really wanted to continue to be involved with and help organize other undocumented students here in Memphis. Bridges and TIRRK have played a really big role in my life. If it hadn’t been for the training and hard skills that I got at the Mid-South Peace and Justice center, which is where I currently hold a position as an organizer for the Immigrant Rights Project, I don’t think I would be able to link all of these different experiences. I am sure I’m leaving others out, but those are the big three that keep me sane.
HC: Do you feel like Memphis is good place to be doing social justice work and why do you think so?
IM: I think that I could be doing social justice work anywhere in the world, especially in the US. I moved around a lot growing up. A couple months ago I made my 11th move, and I’ll be making my 12th in May. I’ve been in Memphis for almost half of my life, and it’s really uncomfortable for me to acknowledge that I’m here and that I’m actually setting roots in Memphis, in this one city. But with that came a strong sense of community. I saw community as my family and my family as my community, so I’ve created many strong links to Memphis. I honestly couldn’t see myself working in any other place.
HC: How has living in RUKA influenced your sense of community?
IM: So RUKA is the Rhodes’ intentional community. It was a perfect place for me and my friends to focus in on what we were interested in gaining from Rhodes and in developing here as a community. I’m the Memphis community liaison. [This position] was a perfect place for me to center myself at Rhodes, [without being restricted to] campus, and be able to bridge those connections [between what] I have considered to be separate communities. I wanted to break down those gates, literally and figuratively. I think I’m learning a lot about what it means to be a Rhodes student and [about] Rhodes students in the process.
HC: Can you also describe what RUKA is?
IM: It’s the Rhodes intentional community. There are three pillars: loving the community, loving the environment, and loving each other. Loving the community aspect is what my role is. We have the Rhodes community liaison, a scribe, a treasurer, and an environmentalist. Throughout the semester there will be a series of events that we’ll be publicizing on campus.
HC: Have you learned anything in your Urban Studies Major that can help you with the projects you’re working on?
IM: The reason I’m in college is because “education is the great equalizer.” I actually asked Bridges for a position my senior year of high school, and they told me that I needed a bachelor’s degree. So I knew what I needed to do, I knew how to get there, but I also knew I needed a college diploma. So I haven’t’ really been approaching my goals and career path in the traditional sense. I always saw education and having a college degree as a thing you just have to do, which significantly impacted the way I saw my classes fitting into my career goals. I looked at career goals first and then my education. [This] didn’t always mean that I was a very happy student or that I was focusing on my homework or my reading or my assignments first, which was totally cool. That’s the approach I chose to take. And for the most part I’ve been able to, and I’ve struggled a lot, to pair up what I’m learning in the classroom with my work. It now fits perfectly like a glove, but it’s taken awhile to get to that point. But I’ve structured what I’ve learned in the classrooms to fit and mold to what I’m doing outside as opposed to the other way around.
HC: Are you happy with the education you had here given the outlook you had coming into it?
IM: I think I think it’s an experience I needed to have. I think coming to this institution was a shock in every sense of the word. It’s been helpful to develop and create a stronger self-sense of identity for myself. I’m happy that I’ve been able to be here. I’m happy, honored and just everything because I know a lot of students in my position don’t have the same opportunity in terms of education accessibility.
HC: How can others get involved with the types of projects that you’re working on?
IM: Something that I’ve learned to recognize is a lot of students want to get involved and be a part of this service minded community, and the approach I took was to fully immerse myself. So I say look deeply within yourself before and figure out why you want to get involved with all the things that you’re interested in. Find the students and other community members who are doing similar things and chat with them. I think that’s really important especially for us especially that are in this type of environment that pushes students to go out. I have mentors that I’ve identified both within and outside the college that I sit down with every other week and I talk about and process all of my experiences because it’s a really good thing for me to do, to have those two different perspectives. I need to be reminded what I’m doing why I’m doing it, and why it matters so much to me.
HC: What are planning on doing after you graduate?
IM: I plan to stay with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. If they choose to extend my job to more than a couple months, I’ll be more than happy. At the moment. I had a full time job up until December that I quit because I needed to take care of myself, but eleven hours later I was offered a positon with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. So hopefully, I’ll stick with them and I do love and enjoy being with such an amazing, wonderful, and talented staff. I really want to stay with them as long as I can, as long as they let me. I haven’t actually looked forward to applying to any [specific] places. I’m taking a more nonchalant approach to my career. I still want to stay in Memphis. I’m more than happy to be here and continue working with the great staff that I’m a part of.