Black and Brown Project

On Saturday, May 17th, African-Americans and Latinos gathered at the Casa Latina Day Workers' Center to participate in the Black and Brown Project. This gathering was the result of many hours of planning and collaboration between Casa Latina and LELO (Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing) with the goal of sharing and understanding the history of African Americans and of Latinos in this country. The group came together and listened to the two stories as a timeline presented by participants from LELO and participants from Casa Latina.

Following the timelines, there was a chance for conversation within the group--reflecting on similarities, the history of segregation, and the current state of these two groups.

The group also enjoyed music and art from some of Casa Latina's participants!

The meeting lasted the whole afternoon, and more than 30 people participated!

We are excited to see where this partnership might take us!

Scroll down to see some of the paintings that were showcased at the Black and Brown Project Event!

City Council Budget Hearing Presence!

Last week a group from Casa Latina attended a City Council Budget Hearing. Click here for more information on the City Council Budget. See Hilary’s note about how it went below:

"Congratulations to the organizers—Ara, Pedro, Selvin, Cariño, Hannah—and the day laborers that testified and participated last night in the Council meeting. Everyone was very eloquent in what they said. Afterwards various people from the City thanked us for being there and said that they learned a lot through our participation. Our group had more than 12 people, and we made up almost half of all the public who was there. Everything was simultaneously interpreted so that everyone could understand the presentations and also so they could speak directly to the public in Spanish. Ara, Selvin, and Cariño drove, Hannah helped the day laborers prepare their testimonies, and Pedro motivated all of us. Cariño and Selvin testified and so did two day laborers. Many thanks to everyone! As always, you inspire me a lot!"

Hilary


"Felicidades a los organizadores -- Ara, Pedro, Selvin, Cariño, Hannah-- y los jornaleros que testificaron y participaron anoche en la reunion del Consejal. Fueron muy elocuentes los que hablaron y luego varias personas de la Ciudad nos agradecieron por nuestra participacion y dijeron que habian apredido mucho por nuestra participacion. Eramos mas de 12 personas, y formamos casi la mitad del publico. Todo fue traducido simulaneamente, y por lo tanto los jornaleros podian entender todas las presentaciones y tambien podian hablar directamente al publico en español. Ara, Selvin y Cariño manejaron, Hannah ayudo a los jornaleros a preparar sus testimonios, y Pedro mobilizo a todos. Cariño y Selvin tambien testificaron, ademas de 2 jornaleros. Muchas gracias a todos. Como siempre me inspiran mucho!"

Hilary

¡Somos Vecinos!

This month saw the kick-off of our latest program!



The program, called Somos Vecinos (We are Neighbors), is a language and culture exchange, allowing relationships and understanding to build between our neighbors who speak Spanish and those who speak English.









The classes are held on Thursday evenings from 6:00-8:15 in the Japanese Congregational Church next to our new building. We are excited that this program has already given us the opportunity to partner with our neighbors.








As the students come in, they are divided up into those who are learning English and those who are learning Spanish. After spending an hour in their own language groups learning, there is an hour for the whole group to come together with guided activities, practice what they learned, build relationships, and interact across cultural lines.

We are excited to have the chance to start building relationships in our new neighborhood. We will be beginning a 10-week new program in fall 2008. If you’re interested in finding out more, feel free to email Emily at emily@casa-latina.org.