TBT - Meet Dr. Antonia Pantoja

#TBT Throwback Thursday

Dr. Antonia Pantoja (Sep 13, 1922 - May 24, 2002)

Organizer, Activist, & Founder of ASPIRA Butterfly Dreamz #TBT presentations introduce students to historic women leaders.

3 Life Highlights

Organizer

Activist

Educator

Dr. Pantoja began organizing upon her arrival to the US from Peurto Rico. Inspired by her grandfather, she organized a union at the factory where she worked and helped negotiate better working conditions. She continued organizing throughout her life and founded several groundbreaking institutions, including ASPIRA in 1961.

In 1966, Dr. Pantoja became the first Puerto Rican woman to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As a black, queer, Puerto Rican educator, social worker, and community leader, she dedicated her life to civil rights activism, fighting for educational equity, and empowering Puerto Rican youth to lead, advocate and take pride in their heritage.

Dr. Pantoja began her career as a teacher in a rural community in Puerto Rico.

Education was at the center of her advocacy and community organizing. She taught at Columbia University, established the Puerto Rican Research and Resource Center in DC, and co-founded the Graduate School of Community Development in San Diego.

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Life Story: Antonia Pantoja (1921–2002)

Dr. Antonia Pantoja Mural Project

Click on the featured titles to learn more about Dr. Antonia Pantoja.

Antonia Pantoja: Organizer and Activist for New York's Puerto Rican Community

reflect + discuss Dr. Pantoja says that we "cannot live a life that is lukewarm..." What do you think she means by this?

How did her life demonstrate this belief?

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You cannot live a life that is lukewarm. You got to live a life of commitment and passion.... the passion of doing, of producing, of thinking, of dealing with making the world a better place."

—Dr. Antonia Pantoja