What does it mean to be a person of color? Seriously. I’m confused. I can’t count the number of times I have opened my laptop and google searched “Are Latin folks people of color?” Without fail, I always read something along the lines of “POC refers to people that are not White.” I then stare […]
During my 4 years at the University of Florida, I have seen an enormous need for a space where the tough conversations are had. In the fall of my freshman year, the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, better known as La Casita, was torn down and we were left with the Hispanic-Latino Engagement Center (also known […]
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When I began to read from those who have served in the United States military, I quickly realized that the portrayals I have been exposed to in mainstream media and popular culture offer an extremely limited glance into the actual experience. While listening to the stories Hispanic and Latinx veterans (and more broadly folks from […]
As a first-generation student born to Cuban Immigrant parents, I don’t exactly have a pearly view of higher education institutions in the States. On the one hand, attending University meant everything to my parents. It meant everything to me to make their sacrifices worth it. They didn’t immigrate here to live with distant relatives in […]
Read more "CHOMP TRUMP: Experiencing the Trump Jr. Protest as a First Generation Latinx Student"
As a non-binary person who grew up in the US, non-binary identity is one I claim as a rejection of a binary gender system. I don’t believe that there are only two genders and I also don’t view gender on a spectrum with a perfect example of a man on one end and a perfect […]
Read more "I’m Non-Binary and I’m Latinx: What that means to me (Part I)"
by Aliya Miranda The first words Gerardo Reyes Chávez learned in English were, “Single file,” while on a 234-mile march from Fort Myers to Orlando in 2000. This was his first action as a part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), which has been advocating for worker-led programs committed to ensuring living wages, combating […]
Read more "An Interview with Gerardo Reyes Chávez: “If Everything Was Fair There Would Be No Need”"
BY LDAPFAMILIA This spring over one hundred farmworkers and their families traveled from Immokalee, Florida and gathered here in Gainesville, Florida where they marched accompanied by students, faith leaders, and community members through the University of Florida campus. These farmworkers were on the last leg of the 4 for Fair Food tour, where they visited […]
José Arturo Castellanos (1893–1977) By Francesc Morales In 1993 hundreds of thousands of people discovered the story of Oskar Schindler (1908–74) through the eyes of the Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List. That very same year he and his wife Emilie were named Righteous Among the Nations, an honorific title used by the State of Israel […]
BY LDAPFAMILIA Today is a gray day, a dark moment: I.C.E, an agency that has detained, deported, harassed, tortured, and killed our community is turning 16 years old. 16 years of deceitful operations. 16 years of lawlessness. 16 years with no accountability. 16 years antagonizing our communities in our homes, workplaces, and daily commutes. 16 […]
That’s Not My Name My name is Omar. No not Omar, Omar. When you read that I bet that you were reading oh-maar, but my name is pronounced oomahd. It’s funny I’ve been going by both names for most of my life. Almost like I’ve been living a double life, but I didn’t choose the […]
I want to make my Mami proud. I want my mother to be able to say that her daughter graduated with not one, but two Bachelors and that her Certificate in Latin American Studies shows that she has not forgotten her roots. I imagine my Mami and Abuelita in the stadium, screaming my name when […]
Read more "Accessibility in Higher Education for Latinxs (Wanting to Run)"
They call me malcriada, malagredecida, berrinchuda, y una sinvergüeza. I tell them that to make it in the United States, the double E of double U, you gotta be un poco malcriada. Because they won’t hand you anything. They lied to Mami when they said that the roads were paved in gold. They lied to […]
How I am portrayed by Richard Lainez 1.4 million. That is the number of Latinxs that identify with the LGBTQ+ community; at least as of 2013. At first glance, the number seems big. It seemed big to me the first time I saw it. But then I realized that it isn’t, this number isn’t so […]
Yareliz Mendez-Zamora is a fourth year English and History major with a Certificate in Latin American Studies at the University of Florida. Her previous involvement includes being an ambassador at the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, being a part of the Membership Leadership Program for the Hispanic Student Association, programming Hispanic Heritage Month’s Forum event, and […]
Knowledge is power. Despite this fact, the United States education systems continue to perpetuate gaps cemented in segregation, failure to invest adequate funding and the denial of complete human capacity of minority American citizens. History is particularly important for nation building and collective memory. Ethnic studies should not be an alternative to education. It is […]
The Latino Diaspora in the Americas Project (LDAP) at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program seeks to navigate the multi-layered and complex narratives of the Latinx community. This project seeks to demonstrate the already long standing relationship between the United States and Latin America. We cannot escape the long history of colonialism and exploitation between […]
We want our people to know who they are and be active participants in their history and future. We want our people to be unapologetic for who they are and create spaces for themselves. We want justice for every person in every instance of unfair treatment due to race or prejudice. We want people from […]