Book Chapters and Quotes

Lisa: It’s August 2, 2018, and I’m sitting at my work desk. I answer the phone...... 

Some days are just etched in your memory. You remember odd items, sounds, smells, and what you were wearing. I had just gotten a phone call from my colleague, Dr. John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas (John-Paul), Iowa 4-H leader. He told me he had been fired for supporting LGBTQ youth. He was driving and sounded shell-shocked. 

I said something, but I don’t exactly recall what, other than I’m sorry this has happened or something like that. I put down the phone and wept. 

Lisa: " I 'bleed' green, as in my family, my three brothers, and I say we owe our existence to the 4-H program. 4-H was foundational to me as it shaped through lived experiences who I believe I am today and the values I stand for."  

 John-Paul: "I am most definitely not your typical 4-H kid. But I have come to bleed green like Lisa. Reflecting on my life, I realize that I had no prior contact with 4-H before applying to be the State Director and Leader of the Iowa program—except for one possible instance."

John-Paul:  "In addition, the economic and emotional toll of the Farm Crisis fractured local institutions, such as local public schools, many of whom were forced to consolidate and close due to the lack of students, local church congregations dwindled, and generational continuity in farming gave way to industrial farms owned by multinational conglomerates similar to the United Fruit Company in Guatemala, thus weakening the community and generational club-model pipeline into 4-H. Between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. lost over 140,000 family farms, and Iowa continues to feel the ripple effects. In simple words, it was not immigration that hurt 4-H and rural Midwestern communities; it was just capitalism, being capitalism." 

Lisa:  "4-H in my experience has evolved from its beginning roots where it was an opportunity to educate, to translate science into practice with rural youth. First with rural youth, more than likely white youth and then to youth of color with the 1890 institutions. This was considered until the Civil Rights Act to be ‘separate yet equal’ though that too merged with the adaptation to youth in urban settings."

John-Paul: " As I begin this chapter, which I wrote with tears in my eyes, I want to gently but firmly invite the reader to lean in, even if what follows feels uncomfortable. This section addresses issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia, highlighting painful experiences that emerged within Iowa 4-H during my tenure, as they have in countless institutions across the country. I share these experiences not to tarnish 4-H but because I believe in the organization's promise with every fiber of my being."

John-Paul: "We were succeeding, perhaps that was the problem? - Between 2014 and 2018, Iowa 4-H made real strides in answering those questions. Club membership grew to over 23,000 youth in grades 4–12, with an additional 7,400 Clover Kids in grades K–3. That’s a 9% increase in one year, driven mainly by diverse youth and clubs that did not look or feel traditional to many “traditional” 4-H stakeholders. However, while there was double-digit growth in the number of youth of color who joined Iowa 4-H, at its core, it remained a predominantly white and rural organization."

Lisa: "Early on, Secretary Vilsack laid out a path for civil rights for USDA Employees. I still have my copy of the Civil Rights document, which was signed and distributed to staff. To me, it speaks volumes as to why it was such an honor to serve at the USDA. 

Here’s what it said… 

As Secretary of Agriculture, I fully support the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) civil rights, equal employment opportunity, and diversity policies and programs. Improving civil rights throughout USDA is one of my top priorities, and by pursuing this goal together in a transparent and ethical manner, we can lead the way in making USDA a model organization."

John-Paul: "From the Obama administration’s affirmations of LGBTQ+ youth through Federal Title IX policy, to the Trump administration’s intentional dismantling of those protections, Iowa’s 4-H program became a microcosm of a national storm. The rescission of Title IX guidance, the bureaucratic pressure to remove LGBTQ+ inclusion, and the personal consequences I faced as Iowa’s 4-H Leader—all of it felt like Huracán had descended."

John-Paul: "At the same time, another storm was brewing nationally. In 2019, USDA relocated the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)—the federal partner for extension and many 4-H grants—from Washington, D.C., to the Kansas City area. The move was framed as a cost-saving measure, but insiders knew better. Surveys showed that around 70% of NIFA employees wouldn’t relocate, and the resulting attrition gutted institutional capacity. Like today's attacks on public agencies like the USDA and the Department of Education, agency grant processing slowed. Studies were postponed. Millions in funding hung in limbo. For 4-H, which relies on extension infrastructure to deliver programming, the impact was immediate and profound."

Lisa: "My identity was shaped and framed by 4-H, from my parents’ meeting to my career as an extension professional, with its twists. Underneath it all, was my deep love for 4-H. Suddenly, I no longer had an identity. I had been shunned, perhaps perceived as having turned my back on 4-H by some who didn’t know the story as I was no longer in my role as “Head Clover”. And, there were others who wanted to distance themselves as they saw me as being a pariah, fear that I would infect them. It was like watching one’s life play out on a stage yet you were sitting in the audience. For me, my survival mode where I reached back to the other pillars in my life, my faith and family to get me through."  

John-Paul's side of the story leans on the Popol Vuh journey.  The Popol Vuh is the sacred narrative of the K’iche’ Maya people, blending mythology, history, and cosmology into a sweeping account of creation and ancestral memory. It opens with the primordial void, where the gods Heart of Sky and Heart of Earth shape the world and attempt to create humans—first from mud, then wood, and finally from sacred maize, the substance that defines humanity.

Central to the story are the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who outwit the lords of the underworld in Xibalba through trials of death and resurrection. Their journey symbolizes the triumph of wisdom, sacrifice, and cosmic balance. The text then traces the migration and lineage of the K’iche’ people, anchoring their divine origins and social order in sacred geography and ritual.

More than myth, the Popol Vuh is a living testament to Maya philosophy, where time is cyclical, maize is sacred, and storytelling is a spiritual act of remembering.