El Centro Newsletter - Winter 2023

EL CENTRO EL CENTRO

Cover photo by Jaz Rodriguez Cover photo by Jaz Rodriguez @jazonvinylart @jazonvinylart

Puerto Rico streets

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Photograph by Alberto Lama from Getty Images

LETTERS FROM THE CLR DIRECTOR & LALS CHAIR

LETTERS FROM THE CLR DIRECTOR & LALS CHAIR

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

FACULTY & STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS FACULTY & STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS

STRC UPDATES STRC UPDATES

2022-2023 CLR FACULTY FELLOWS

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2022-2023: CLR FACULTY FELLOWS

2022-2023: CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SSPOTLIGHT POTLIGHT-

ANA SCHAPOSCHNIK ANA SCHAPOSCHNIK

DIÁLOGO'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY DIÁLOGO'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY

CLR/LALS EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD

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YOUNG LORDS HISTORICAL COMMEMORATION

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PLAQUE AT DEPAUL PLAQUE AT DEPAUL A LOVE LETTER TO WOMEN OF COLOR: A LOVE LETTER TO WOMEN OF COLOR:

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR PRISCA DORCAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR PRISCA DORCAS

MOJICA RODRÍGUEZ MOJICA RODRÍGUEZ

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PAST EVENTS - FALL 2022

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THANK YOU FROM THE EDITOR

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T A B L E

C O N T E N T S

T A B L E O F O F C O N T E N T S

Letter fromthe CLRDirector

As the temperatures drop and the snow falls, winter gives us time to take stock and strategize for transformations and blossomings soon to come In our case, the Centro newsletter has transformed and now covers both the CLR’s activities and those of the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies! We hope to bring you more features on faculty, staff and students!

Our CLR familia is also growing – last quarter, Laura Pachón, a graduate student in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, became the new editor and designer of this newsletter. Thanks to Laura for producing this beautiful and colorful issue! As of January, the CLR has also gained a new Assistant Director – Marcela Reales-Visbal! In addition to helping to manage Diálogo, Marcela will be assisting with CLR projects and devising new programs for Latinx student retention. Welcome, Marcela!

Please keep your eyes open for two upcoming events: On Feb. 16th, a reading by Manuel Muñoz, author of The Consequences, a story collection recently named one of the best books of the year by The Atlantic Monthly And on Feb 20th, our annual Tertulia, featuring exciting presentations by our CLR Faculty Fellows!

FACULTY: please don't forget to apply for the annual CLR faculty fellowships and STRC faculty fellowship opportunities. You can find more information about both at the end of the newsletter.

- Bill Johnson González

Letter fromthe LALSChair

Hola a todes! Es un gran orgullo para mi formar parte del newsletter de El Centro como directora del Departamento de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos (LALS) A finales del año pasado, tanto el Centro de Estudios Latinos (CLR), como LALS, decidieron sumar fuerzas y recursos humanos a fin de desarrollar este newsletter. En este sentido, a partir de ahora los lectores recibirán anuncios y noticias tanto de CLR como de LALS en un mismo “ envase ”

Este invierno y primavera LALS tiene programadas varias charlas y eventos, comenzando con el 16 de febrero donde auspicia y coordina la charla: “Arising. Grassroots Women of Color Taking Political Power” En dicho evento, cuatro mujeres que actualmente ocupan cargos gubernamentales en Cook County y en el estado de Illinois, hablarán sobre los recientes cambios en el escenario político, además de cuestiones de raza, género, clase en relación al futuro de la política local y estadual También ya estamos pensando el gran evento anual de la primavera, Poesía en Abril; más detalles serán difundidos muy pronto. Finalmente, durante mitad de febrero y principios de marzo nos visitarán distintos/as candidatos/as seleccionados/as para ocupar el puesto de Assistant Professor en LALS. Ellos/as harán presentaciones abiertas a toda la comunidad de DePaul sobre sus trabajos de investigación. Los temas y fechas de las presentaciones serán anunciados muy pronto en LALS Facebook, Instagram y Twitter Los esperamos!

- Carolina Sternberg

CLR ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MissionStatement

TheCenterforLatinoResearch(CLR)strivestoopenandsustaindialogueswhichfosterthe empowermentandadvancementofLatinxcommunities.Tothatend,theCLRcreateslearning opportunitiesforstudentsandsupportsscholarsintheirresearch,whileforgingcollaborative relationshipswithlocal,national,andinternationalresearchpartners.Wealsopublishanawardwinningscholarlyjournal,Diálogo,andsponsormanyactivitiesoncampus,includingfilmseriesand speakerseries

Marisa Alicea, Professor

School of Continuing and Professional Studies

Carolina Barrera Tobón, Assistant Professor

Modern Languages

Jacqueline Lazú, Associate Professor

Modern Languages

Maria de Moya, Associate Professor Public Relations & Advertising

Julie Moody-Freeman, Associate Professor African and Black Diaspora Studies

Elizabeth Ortíz, Vice President Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

José Perales, Director of Operations Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

Rose Spalding, Professor Political Science

Joe R. Tafoya, Assistant Professor Political Science

Ionit Behar, Associate Curator DePaul Art Museum

ANNOUNCEMENTS FACULTY AND STAFF

CAROLINASTERNBERG

Dr Carolina Sternberg is very pleased to share that her book Neoliberal Urban Governance: Spaces, Culture and Discourses in Buenos Aires and Chicago (Palgrave/McMillan) is scheduled to be published on March 1st, 2023 It's ready to be pre-ordered through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

In addition, Dr Sternberg has published two Op-eds in local newspapers:

“Does an influx of white residents bring stability? Pilsen shows that isn’t the case.” Published in the Chicago Tribune (January 3rd, 2023)

The article is available through the following link: https://www chicagotribune com/opinion/commentary/ctopinion-gentrification-property-values-race-chicago20230103-xskit7s6drgitmgxjvqkfh7jhq-story html

“Little Village Discount Mall deserves a secure future.”

Published in the Chicago Sun times (January 31st, 2023)

The article is available through the following link: https://chicago suntimes com/2023/1/31/23573323/littlevillage-discount-mall-plaza-novak-construction-mexicancommunity-carolina-sternberg-op-ed

Abstract: This book examines the dynamics of neoliberal urban governance through a comparative analysis of Buenos Aires and Chicago, with a special focus on gentrification processes in both cities from 2011 to 2021 This work argues that neoliberal principles, rationales and institutions, along with the elaborate rhetoric that has contributed to their success, are forever present in the US and Latin American region, particularly in global cities like Buenos Aires and Chicago. The year of 2011 marks the (almost) simultaneous election of new executive authorities in each city, and finalizes in 2021 a sufficient time span to observe key patterns, narratives and developments of each neoliberal urban governance First, this book chronicles the evolving urban neoliberal policies implemented since 2011 in both cities, with special attention to the systematic reduction of affordable housing and privatization of public land that have paved the way for gentrification to advance at a fast pace. Second, it also exposes readers to the prominent rhetoric crafted by local boards, developers, architects, and real estate agents in both cities. Third, this study chronicles how these contemporary neoliberal urban governances currently operate, a critical aspect that remains vastly unexplored Lastly, until now these governances have been scantly explored from a comparative perspective in Latin American and North American urban settings, and so this book offers a rich new approach.

MARCELA REALES VISBAL

The Center for Latino Research welcomes Marcela Lucía Reales Visbal, our new Assistant Director Marcela began her role on January 9th She will be working as the managing editor of Diálogo and will support CLR initiatives and events

Prior to DePaul, Marcela has held various positions in higher education She served as Activity Director for Dominican University’s U S Department of Education Title V, Part B project, a Hispanic Serving Institution Division grant designed to advance educational opportunities for Latinx graduate students In this role, she led curricular and cocurricular initiatives aimed at increasing academic success and educational attainment of underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation students.

Marcela has also held academic appointments at Dominican University and at the University of Michigan. She has taught a variety of undergraduate courses ranging from Spanish language to specialized courses on Latin American literature and culture. She is pursuing her doctorate in Hispanic Studies at the University of Georgia, where she received a Master of Arts in Latin American Literature. Her published work includes book chapters that center the environmental crisis in Latin America through the lens of literature and cultural production, and a translated performance by Josefina Báez, a Dominican-York artist Marcela is from Barranquilla, Colombia, and has lived in the United States since 2006

¡Bienvenida, Marcela!

JOE R. TAFOYA

Dr. Joe R. Tafoya published an analysis piece in The Washington Post titled, "Biden’s marijuana policy may change attitudes toward immigrants." The piece is in the national outlet’s social science section known as the Monkey Cage Also, La DePaulia, the student newspaper en Español, published his essay on Latinos and the 2022 Midterm Elections discussing how "Latino voters are more relevant than ever " Dr Tafoya is setting out a new project on how Latino communities react to police shootings of Latinos and the reasons why killings of Latinos are not in the national spotlight

Jesse Mumm has enjoyed continuing his courses in Latino Studies, Community Service Studies, and Critical Ethnic Studies, and in Autumn was able to take his Discover Chicago students to dance bomba, serve the homeless, eat Puerto Rican food, and meet leaders on Paseo Boricua He taught an Honors course on "Race and Space: Claims to Land, Claims to Selves" during December Intercession for the first time and had a surprisingly wonderful experience getting a full quarter of reading and writing into two weeks. He has been sharing with students, faculty and community groups his article “Mapping Racial Capital,” cowritten with Carolina Sternberg and published only months ago in Urban Affairs Review. They demonstrate, using a vast data set and GIS maps, the fundamental links between race and gentrification through the medium of land valuation in three Chicago neighborhoods: Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, and Pilsen He has also begun sharing a white paper on a proposal to change Illinois state law on taxation to allow residents near designated Cultural Heritage zones to reduce their unfair property tax burden to prevent racialized displacement But the biggest sea change in his life has been the election of his wife – labor and immigration attorney Lilian Jiménez – as an Illinois State Representative, inaugurated on January 11th in Springfield, beside their son Oisín, and her mother, sister, uncle, and cousins Their past year involved supporting and then electing by huge margins a slate of progressive Latina and Latino candidates arising from grassroots social movements into all levels of government, including the first Latina Congresswoman from the Midwest: Delia Ramírez In far less publicized election news, Jesse was also elected President of the homeowners association for a tiny hamlet on the Kankakee River, where he, Lili, and two other households have created a cooperative to share a river cottage they lovingly call El Refugio Rojo While their intent was to create a safe space for activists to replenish and enjoy nature in the Momence Wetlands, his new role as steward of acres of wooded wilderness has sparked new research on the meanings of claims to land, and the legacies and presence of the Potowatomi In Spring he is excited to offer a new Honors service learning course focused on “Building the Barrio,” looking at placemaking and community building in Latino Chicago.

DELIA COSENTINO

This winter, Delia Cosentino is teaching the Newberry Library

Undergraduate Seminar on "Inventing Mexico: Maps, Manuscripts, and Materiality, 1521-1921," with Dr Emmanuel Ortega (UIC) In the meantime, she is preparing two upcoming talks The first is a conference paper to be delivered in March at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México on early 20th century art historians in Mexico and their engagement with colonial maps of the capital city The second is the keynote address for the Annual Symposium of Latin American Art at the Institute of Fine Arts (NYU) in April on the topic of “Making Space, Making Place: Marking the Americas ” She also recently published a review of an extraordinary exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, entitled "La Grandeza de México" (published in Venue: Journal of the Midwest Art History Society, Vol. 1 [2022]).

ROSE SPALDING

CLR Advisory Board member Rose Spalding has a new book coming out! Breaking Ground: From Extraction Booms to Mining Bans in Latin America will be published by Oxford University Press in April 2023 This work examines mining policy differences in four Central American countries two (Nicaragua and Guatemala) that have permitted mining, even in the face of community resistance, and two (El Salvador and Costa Rica), that have banned mining operations Based on ten years of research and writing, this study develops a theory about the circumstances under which different kinds of mining policies arise This project was supported by a Center of Latino Research Fellowship in 2018

LOURDES TORRES

Dr . Lourdes Torres is happy to announce the approval of a new major that is housed in the LALS department. She will serve as the program’s director The interdisciplinary Latino/a Culture and Communication degree program is the first of its kind in the Midwest and provides students a solid grounding in Latinx culture and history at the local, national, and international levels, while also helping them learn critical communication skills that they can apply to a wide range of areas including public relations, advertising, education and social services

ELIZABETH MILLÁN

Elizabeth Millán Brusslan recently finished co-editing, with Jimena Solé (Universidad de Buenos Aires) Fichte in the Americas. A volume in the Fichte Studien Series (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming 2023). She co-wrote the introduction and has an essay in the volume, “Fichte, Progress, and the Rise of Positivism in Latin America,” pp 124-32

She also recently published an essay in honor of her professor, Jorge Gracia “There is Latin American Philosophy, but There Can’t Be: How Jorge Gracia Made the Impossible Possible,” in Inter-American Journal of Philosophy, Volume 13, Issue 2 (2022): 29-36

In October she presented her paper, “Raza, Naturaleza y Progreso en America Latina: La Línea de Alexander von Humboldt a Santiago Castro-Gómez” at the meeting, Santiago Castro-Gómez: contribuiciones y retos a las ciencias sociales y la filosofía Bogotá, 20-21 October 2022

In October she also presented, with Jimena Solé, “Fichte in the Americas,” at a round-table discussion of Fichte in the Americas, at the the 11th International Fichte Society meeting, Paradigmen der Rationalität. 28 September-1 October, 2022. Leipzig, Germany.

On May 11 and 12, 2023 Elizabeth has organized a visit to DePaul by Santiago Castro-Gómez, author of La Hybris del Punto Cero: Ciencia, raza e ilustración en la Nueva Granada (Bogotá: Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2005) and Don Deere, one of the translators of this work into English, which has been published as Zero-point hubris: Science, Race, and Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Latin America (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) Don Deere received his Ph D from the Department of Philosophy at DePaul University

In the Spring Quarter, Elizabeth will be teaching a graduate seminar on "Race, Nature, and Progress in Latin America: Tracing a Line from Alexander von Humboldt to Santiago CastroGómez " It will meet on Wednesdays from 3-6:15 PM and all interested are welcome to attend!

Social Transformation Research Collaborative Updates

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship

This year, the Social Transformation Research Collaborative (STRC) is beginning a new initiative called the STRC Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). DePaul faculty will nominate a group of rising juniors and seniors from which six students will be chosen to receive the fellowship. In addition to receiving a $5000 stipend to be paid from June through December 2023, students in the SURF program will take a summer course that will introduce them to interdisciplinary research methods and help them generate a research prospectus. SURF Fellows will spend the rest of the summer pursuing their individual research projects with the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Summer Graduate Research Fellowships and Faculty Fellowships

The STRC is also offering another round of sixmonth Graduate Research Fellowships, as well as 2 full-year Research Fellowships and 2 Professional Development Fellowships for faculty.

Summer Teaching Opportunities for Faculty

Finally, there are also several summer teaching opportunities for faculty, including 2 faculty positions for the Undergraduate Research Seminar and 2 faculty positions for the STRC Summer Institute for new students.

You can find out more about all of these opportunities by visiting go.depaul.edu/strc and clicking "For Faculty" or "For Current Students."

For more information please contact STRC Coordinator Alex Delgadillo

a.delgadillo@depaul.edu

CALLFORAPPLICATIONS

The Center for Latino Research

2023 - 2024 Faculty Fellowship Program

TheCLRFacultyFellowshipisanannualcompetitionopentoallDePaulUniversity full-time,tenuretrackfacultyinanydiscipline.Thefellowshipissupportedbythe CollegeofLiberalArtsandSocialSciences,andgrantsrecipientsaone-quarter teachingrelease(2classes)forresearchandwritingonLatinAmericanand/orU.S. Latinoissues.Inaddition,theCLRprovidesupto100hoursofstudentresearch assistanthelpduringtheresearchperiod.Withinoneacademicyearfollowingthe fellowshipperiod,recipientsareaskedtosubmitafinaloutomeorpublication,and todoashortpublicpresentationoftheirwork.

2023-2024CLRFacultyFellowshipApplicationRequirements

AnupdatedCurriculumVitae

ForLASfaculty,anonlineendorsementfromthefacultymember'sDepartment Chair/ProgramDirector.ApplicantsfromcollegesoutsideofLASshouldsecurean endorsementfromtheirDeanbeforebeginningtheapplicationprocess. Projectmaterials,outlinedintheApplicationGuidelineswhichcanbeaccessedHERE orbyvisitinggo.depaul.edu/clr

APPLICATIONDEADLINE: Wednesday,February15 Monday,March6

APPLICATIONOPENS:

APPLYHEREorvisitgo.depaul.edu/clr

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontact: BillJohnsonGonzálezatbjohns58@depaul.eduor MarcelaL.RealesVisbalatmrealesv@depaul.edu

2022-2023 CLR Faculty Fellows

HEATHER MONTES-IRELAND

Assistant Professor | Dept of Women’s and Gender Studies

“Decoupling Work and Dignity in Latina Visual Culture”

My research examines an archive of films centering the lives and struggles of Latina mothers, who are often denied human dignity as a coercible, exploitable and cheap labor pool, to interrogate the instrumentalization of the gendered and racialized Latina body as a laboring body above all else This work seeks to illuminate the radically different conceptualizations of dignity explored within Latina cultural production which reaches far beyond U.S. work society’s conscriptions. In a comparative analysis of this archive of films and broader U S immigration and anti-poverty policy, my work reveals how Latina mothers navigate a complex set of structural barriers as they seek their own imagined forms of dignity specifically more just, inhabitable worlds for themselves, their children, and their communities

ANA SCHAPOSCHNIK

Associate Professor | Dept of History

I plan to focus on the example of Francisco Vázquez He was as a merchant of Portuguese descent imprisoned in Lima in 1637 The Holy Office of the Inquisition accused him of being a Crypto-Jewish heretic, a bigamist, and of hiding his true linage and his real profession At the end of his trial of faith Vázquez was given a second chance to reinsert himself into the community Interestingly, after the 1639 sentence, Francisco Vázquez appealed the trial as a whole, basing his appeal on issues of lineage instead of on religious practices. His argument for the appeal was that he was an Old Christian, and as such he was not connected to a network of Crypto-Jewish heretics; for that reason, his appeal says, Francisco Vázquez did not deserve to go through a trial of faith

MONICA REYES

Assistant Professor | Dept of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse

"Shelter Rhetorics: Storytelling within the U.S. Asylum Process”

I propose to expand a study I conducted within an emergency homeless shelter, where I investigated how people who are seeking asylum and those who work with them navigate the rhetorical pressures of having to write compelling asylum narratives required for legal permission to remain in the country. Through the shelter community’s own interviews, drawings, and photos, my book will demonstrate how liminal sites, like this shelter, provide opportunities for displaced communities to employ what I term shelter rhetorics, distinct shared rhetorical practices of daily life like silence and routine that both safeguard vulnerabilities and enact agency for individuals within precarious spaces By practicing shelter rhetorics, the shelter encourages clients to tell their unique stories in ways that help them move while simultaneously critiquing reductive dominant discourses about what it means to be an “asylum seeker”

“DidtheHolyOfficeLeaveRoomforAgency?:TheTrialofFaithofFrancisco Vázquez(Lima,1600s)”

CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT CLR FACULTY FELLOWS SPOTLIGHT Dr. Ana Schaposchnik

Dr. Ana Schaposchnik is an Associate Professor of History at DePaul University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Colonial Latin America, on the history of Inquisition, and on the history of Jews in the Americas. Curently, Dr. Schaposchnik's research focuses on the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Lima, Peru. On this topic, she published a book titled The Lima Inquisition: The Plight of Crypto-Jews in Seventeenth Century Peru (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2015) and two articles: “Exemplary Punishment in Colonial Lima: The 1639 Auto de Fe” (in: Death and Dying in Colonial Spanish America, M Achim and M W de Chaparro editors

Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2011), and “The dungeons of the Lima Inquisition: corruption, survival, and secret codes in colonial Peru” (in: Colonial Latin American Review, 29(3), 2020) She is currently working on her second book She loves big cities, and has lived in Buenos Aires, Madison (WI), Madrid, and now in Chicago

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY ANTHONY MONDRAGÓN

Your piece for your fellowship, “Did the Holy Office Leave Room for Agency? The Trial of Faith of Francisco Vázquez (Lima 1600’s)” sounds fascinating, what inspired you to make this your project?

I’ve been working on the Lima inquisition for a long time. I actually wrote a book on it, and after finishing writing a book you always have more information. One of the documents that I didn't use was an appeal. I finished the book with the Auto de Fe, which is when the Inquisition finished the cases, issued sentences and applied punishment. But this one is someone who appealed later on. So, I had a primary source, but I never had the opportunity of using it, and this is my opportunity to see what was going on there.

Would this be a topic you would be interested in presenting in a classroom?

Yes, absolutely I offer a focal point seminar, not on this particular project because this is new research, that is called "The Inquisition in History, in Literature, and in Film." Throughout this course we read secondary sources –bibliography on the

inquisition or modern scholarship– and we analyze primary sources to discuss them. Over time, we pay attention to movies, both documentaries and contemporary fiction movies, and also contemporary literature. So, students get to see the “drier” academic presentation of the inquisition and then see how it’s depicted in popular culture. Usually, I offer this class once a year.

While working on this project was there any new information that you found new and/or interesting?

I haven't worked on the project yet. I will be a fellow in the Spring Quarter and that's when I’m going to be working on it. Nevertheless, the reason why I’m making this project is because it is an appeal. The inquisition basically would issue a sentence called “release to the secular arm” which is jargon for death at the stake. The other option is called “reconciliation to the Christian community,” meaning that people were offered a second chance without this penalty. Most people, you know, were killed, actually few prisoners were eleased to the secular arm If they were reconciled they got some

kind of penalty and usually vanished from the historical record They survived something very difficult But in this case, he comes back and he appeals. I think it's very unusual that he would take the time to write the appeal but also decide that it is a good idea to call attention of that institution to his own. What I found interesting is that someone appealed Even if the system allowed for appeals, someone had the guts to appeal

Was it normal for the Holy Office of the Inquisition in that time to accuse civilians of being “crypto-jews”?

Yes, it was common to accuse them. However, they were not accusing without evidence They were following hunches or some sort of evidence that maybe today we would not consider as proper evidence. But for them, it was a procedure. So, the Inquisition as a tribunal was created to look after heresy, primarily. This is in the context of 15th and 16th century Spain; everything that is heresy is Judaism, Islam, and then later Protestantism, so those are their concerns that led them to establish the institution. Later on, they pay attention to sorcery and blasphemy, issues that are more like bad behavior or social control. Nonetheless, originally it was about the monotheistic religions and the other options outside of Christianity They didn't randomly accuse people That's the misconception of the Inquisition, that they were going around accusing everyone. They were not, they collected a lot of information before accusing someone. They were interested in any information that would reveal if someone was practicing either Judaism, Islam, or Protestantism in secrecy In the case of Vázquez, he was denounced by someone, so they would incarcerate people and sometimes torture them. Sometimes in the torture chambers they would ask questions about anyone else’s involvement. So, regarding the appeal document, he was brought in because someone denounced him. He was then reconciled, but he appeals saying the trial was wrong That’s why I think it’s interesting

Given the age of the documents, what was your experience like?

All these archives have a lot of regulations to protect

the information. At DePaul, we have our own special collection of archives and they too have their own regulations. Found on the 4th floor of the Richardson Library, there are original documents from different parts of the world and in different languages The archives are protected, kept in special chambers with air conditioning and whatever else they think is appropriate. Besides the physical protection for preservation, there is also a mode of record keeping in order to know who has access or how many documents you can see at the time on a certain day and for how long Usually, the recommendation provided by the DePaul archive is three documents per day. However, you can request as much as possible in case it is allowed, which will allow you to have plenty on hand, so if the document is not interesting then you still have two to read through If you ever work with an archive, I suggest you go online and look at the regulations in order to be ready to work with their regulations within your timeline. Additionally, for

reproductions it's the same Some archives are going to say you can have your own camera or your own phone to take images of what you want –some archives will say no to flash because the flash will destroy the paper–, other archives are going to say that if you want images you have to make a request and they will send them to you via e-mail with a possible charge They have their own regulations because their priority is to preserve the material. They have to maintain a balancing act between preserving the material and having it readily available to scholars.

Were there certain requirements needed to gain access to these documents, if so, were there limitations as to what you could access?

There are two ways to obtain these documents. One is to travel to the archive itself. This is a document from the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid, Spain. For authorization, you’ll need a letter from the university you’re working with either as a student or as faculty to prove that a scholarly institution supports your project. They're going to request identification documents –whether that be your passport, or maybe your research proposal, in order to receive access since these are really old documents and they need to be preserved Archivists want you to be careful, maybe wear gloves or have them in a specific stand like an easel. The other, more practical way, is through online services. Nowadays many of these archives have materials online, so you will want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the search engine in order to facilitate the research But once you do, you should be able to locate some of these documents online and if not, you can contact the archive and ask them for what you're looking for. They're going to send you a price for the documents, generate the PDF and the images, and then they're going to send it to you in a digital form. However, in my case, you will have to know how to read Spanish, and you’ll have to know 15th, 16th, 17th century Spanish.

Through your studies, have you noticed any parallels between the intolerance in those times and the different types of antisemitism found today?

No, because today there are no institutions like the Inquisition The institution I study is the Spanish Inquisition in the colonies. This is an Inquisition that is connected to the monarchy, a royal tribunal. On one side, I don't find that any government is connected to either antisemitism or religious intolerance in any sort, so no I'm from Argentina, I study the Peruvian inquisition in the colonial era, so I don't find that as an official policy in any government. On the other side, there are traces of antisemitism within these societies which allows us to trace back antisemitism to the colonial period by studying the Inquisition. That's how I started in this research But your question can be read in different ways If I think about any president then it's like “oh no, the president is paying attention to presidential and government issues and we don't have any more monarchies on this side of the hemisphere,” so we don’t see any executive office or power concerned with this At the same time, there are residues of antisemitism in our societies, unfortunately I mean, some people are interested in discrimination, mistrust, or any sort of prejudice. Derogatory terms and sometimes more violent antisemitism, and that's the part that I say yes. The part I say no to is about the existence of a tribunal from the government, with state and church combined, concerned with religious practices

Document from the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid, Spain

Diálogo Diálogo' s 25th Anniversary Fall Recap ' s 25th Anniversary Fall Recap

by Laura Pachón

Diálogo: An Interdisciplinary Studies Journal, is a double-blind peer-reviewed publication that features original research articles and artistic work with a focus on the experiences of US Latinx/a/o, Latin American, Afro-Latinx/a/o, and Indigenous populations Established in 1996, Diálogo is issued twice a year with support from DePaul University's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the Office of the Provost As our name implies, Diálogo is distinguished by our effort to promote dialogue between scholars, artists, public intellectuals, and other communities.

Diálogo seeks to publish creative scholarship and cultural expressions that reflect transformative and activist initiatives We welcome general submissions throughout the year, as well as proposals for themed issues Themed issues explore a specific, engaging topic relevant to Latinx experiences using interdisciplinary viewpoints and methodologies Each issue of Diálogo also features creative writing and visual art (published in full color), as well as book and media reviews; occasionally we publish interviews We seek to affirm the linguistic plurality of our communities, so in addition to works in English and Spanish, we will consider submissions in other languages Please send queries and submissions to the editor at dialogo@depaul edu

This past Fall Quarter, the Center for Latino Research had the honor of celebrating Diálogo’s 25th Anniversary. The Director of the Center, Dr. Bill Johnson González, moderated an evening discussion with the guest thematic editors from Diálogo 24 1: William Arcé, Michael Cucher, and José Navarro. The theme of this issue was Latinx Detective and Noir Narratives. The event began with a brief introductory presentation on the history of Diálogo as an academic journal here at DePaul University The Dean of the

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences,

Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco, gave a warm welcome speech to indicate how he had learned about Diálogo, an academic journal focusing on Latinx topics within Latin America and the United States, prior joining DePaul Dean Vásquez de Velasco described Diálogo as having been ahead of its time, and since joining DePaul, his appreciation for the work of Diálogo has only continued to grow

Once everyone had gathered food and refreshments,

the attendees were able to sit down for a live reading via Zoom by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, a faculty member in the English Department of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) First, Alicia gave a reading from her publication Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders, a book that bases its fictional storyline on the real-life setting of Juarez during a time of increased femicide of women who worked in maquiladoras. This was followed by personal presentations by all three thematic editors. Michael Cucher from the University of Puerto Rico, presented on “Latinx Detective and Noir Narratives ” This presentation was an overview of the noir genre and the particular contributions made by Latinx writers. Next, José Navarro, from California Polytechnic University, presented on “A Browner Shade of Noir: Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit as Decolonial Noir ” This presentation focused on an analysis breakdown of the 1981 movie Zoot Suit as a political statement that criticized the racial perception of Mexican American men in 20th-century California The last presenter, William Arcé from California State University, Fresno, discussed “Murder in Military Fatigues: Interrogating Military Masculinity in Lucha Corpi’s Eulogy for a Brown Angel ” He read excerpts from his research that critiques the US military institution and how it negatively impacts cultural ideas of masculinity within the Latinx community.

Overall, the presentations gave the audience a well-rounded understanding of the theme of Noir Fiction for this issue of Diálogo and an overall idea of the research conducted to be published in an academic journal In addition, there were great open discussions on the underlying political message behind a majority of Latinx noir literature and cinematography. We here at the Center for Latino Research were so proud to see the hard work of the editors and researchers be well celebrated at the 25th Anniversary Symposium.

Top: Bill Johnson González giving the introductory presentation

Bottom: Set up at entrance of the reception with the program, complimentary CLR mugs and Diálogo post-it stack, and the newest edition of Diálogo on display.

Top Left: Bill Johnson González giving the introductory presentation

Top Right: Michael Cucher presenting "Latinx Detective and Noir Narratives"

Above: William Arcé presenting "Murder in Military Fatigues: Interrogating Military Masculinity in Lucha Corpi's Eulogy for a Brown Angel

Above, right: José Navarro presenting "A Browner Shade of Noir: Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit as Decolonial Noir"

Right: Dean Vásquez de Velasco of CLAS giving his welcome speech to the audience

Maria G. Arias

Principal, Maria Arias Solutions

BA, Political Science, DePaul University, 1983

Leonard Domínguez

Secretary, Little Village Rotary Club of Chicago

BA, Economics, DePaul University, 1967

Yvette Flores

Managing Partner/Director, Cardinal Green Investments LLC

BA, Sociology, DePaul University, 1986

Marisol Morales

Executive Director, Carnegie Elective Classifications, American Council on Education

BA, Latin American Latino Studies; MA/MS International Public Service Management, DePaul University, 1999

Michelle Morales

President, Woods Fund Chicago

BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1993

Maria Pesqueira

President, Healthy Communities Foundation

BA, Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 1990

Edgar Ramírez

President/CEO, Chicago Commons Association

BA, Political Science/Latin American Studies, DePaul University, 2000

Lou Sandoval

President/CEO, Halo Advisory Group

BS, Biochemistry, DePaul University, 1988

Lucino Sotelo

Chief Digital Officer, Northern Trust Corporation

BS, Accounting, DePaul University, 1993

CLR/LALS External Advisory Board Members' SPOTLIGHT - Edgar Ramírez

Interview Conducted by Anthony Mondragón

Over the past three years, the CLR and LALS Department have been working with Dr. Marisa Alicea to identify a small group of DePaul alumnae/i and community members who will serve our units as an External Advisory Board. This volunteer group will serve as advocates, advisors, and resources for CLR & LALS faculty and students The group will meet quarterly to remain informed about CLR & LALS activities and to establish a plan to assist in our efforts The board’s work is grounded on a common understanding of the importance of the opportunity to study and research Latin American and Latinx communities. This year, the Center for Latino Research has decided to spotlight our alumnae/i with a personal interview to shine light on what they have done since graduating DePaul University and the work they do outside of serving on out External Advisory Board.

Why did you decide to attend DePaul University?

DePaul is really interesting I always knew about it, you know. I knew folks who went there, I knew a lot of Chicago people who went there as well; it’s a familiar place. I also went to a Catholic school. A number of teachers I had in high school referenced DePaul, so it's really familiar to me I went to Community College for two years before I came to DePaul So, when I was looking at four-year institutions, DePaul University and Loyola University of Chicago were my top two choices. Since I got accepted to both, I decided I was going to go with my gut and my gut was telling me DePaul I went there and it was a great decision. I loved my experience with DePaul There were a lot of kids that resembled myself and my background, so I made the right decision.

What did you major in?

It was Political Science and Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) The good thing was that I did both of those because there were a lot of requirements in LALS that were political science oriented.

What made you decide to study Latin American and Latino Studies?

When I was growing up, I had a lot of questions about my cultural identity. I had two older brothers who went to college three to four years before I went to Community College, and they came back with books, film, poetry, you know, artworks about who we were, like the Chicano movement and Mexican culture

That really caught my eye in the sense that it was

about self-definition, which is really important because you start creating your identity You're trying to find out exactly who you are and how we got here at this moment. I was really interested in exploring those questions and I'm glad I did. The great thing about DePaul’s LALS program is that it is interdisciplinary, so you have classes in politics, art, and literature You get to see from different perspectives the story of Latin America, and that had a profound effect and impact on me. I got this whole breadth of knowledge on finding out not only who I was and how I got here, but how the construction of identity for Latin Americans came to be right from the conquest to now, and even

Board Member Edgar Ramírez

before the conquest. That’s why I chose LALS, to be able to really do that self-exploration

Has a class impacted you more than any other LALS classes?

I think a class on Political Economy of Latin America really triggered my interest because I'm an immigrant I'm from Mexico, born in the North-East part of Mexico I came here at three days old with my immigrant parents and grew up in an immigrant community. The political economy piece gave me an economic perspective on why migration occurs. That was really profound for me because it wasn’t just a political perspective – which are of course important –it was an economic analysis on why migration occurs There’s a reason why things turn out the way they do. I’m glad I took that class because whenever political discussions on immigration come up, I'm always proimmigration because, not only am I an immigrant, but now I have the tools and references for an economic argument, which is that there is a push and pull for immigration, called the invisible hand of capitalism. This is what's embedded in this country, how this country was created, and the natural flow of this country.

Has the Latin American studies program changed from the time you were still a student to the current date?

It has, the professors are different. But you know what hasn’t changed…I always tell people that if you're a student at DePaul, whether you're Latino, a LALS student, or you're first generation, and you're looking for mentorship, you're in a luck. The professors in the Latin American and Latino Studies program really take the time to guide the students, which you don't always see in other higher education institutions My sister went to Loyola, my brother went to U of C, and my other brother went to Yale, and they all agreed that the type of support I was given was unheard of. Best of all is I know that type of support is still being provided. I know the professors and other

bright people that really take the time to make sure that the students in that program succeed Personally, I believe that the professors’ ability to care about their students is what is imperative to the success of that program. I had the opportunity to tell the University’s president at the time that one of the key assets at DePaul is the faculty, particularly those in LALS, who should be honored, respected, cultivated and compensated, to be completely honest

In what ways has your experience with LALS at DePaul impacted your work being the CEO & President of Chicago Commons?

I would encourage anyone to be a LALS major because, as I said, it's interdisciplinary You're in the most important time of your life, when you're framing out who you're going to be, and you're still like a blank canvas. So, what's a better way to do it than to have a good interdisciplinary education about economics, literature, and other interests that allow you to branch out and start exploring new directions But it's the self-exploration. We have this wealth of background and knowledge that can help inform your decision; that's what happened to me, my experience at DePaul really helped me figure out that I wanted to be a community organizer Upon graduating, I had developed a really good skillset to apply to community organizing, which further helped me crystallize how to build intentional relationships, to efficiently address issues and develop ideas that got me to where I am right now.

What drew you to work with Chicago Commons?

I came to Chicago Commons through a mentor who at the time was running the Erie Neighborhood House, a social services nonprofit that provides comprehensive support to immigrant and low-income families in Chicago My mentor was another Mexicano, a person I could really look up to, a leader in the city. Upon finishing my graduate degree at the University of Chicago, I had lunch with him, and he asked, “What do you want to do?” At the time I was a

community organizer, which I loved, and it provided me with a really good skillset and allowed for effective learning through real life experiences I told my mentor I needed to do something different, I wanted to do organizing at a different level, so he encouraged me to seek leadership positions. The next day he sent me a job description for the Associate Executive Director position at Chicago Commons Chicago Commons is one of the oldest institutions in the city, similar to where my mentor was working, the Erie Neighborhood House, so I applied. I had coffee with the executive director at the time, my predecessor, and it was like an everyday conversation. I was surprised to hear from him the next day asking me to meet three other people and before I knew it, I became the Associate Executive Director of Chicago Commons. It's really thanks to having a great mentor that I found an employment opportunity, he pointed me in the right direction with the Chicago Commons. I knew about the Commons; I knew it was a big agency that did a lot of important work, but I had no connection to it I didn't even know they worked in Latino communities. When I got there, I found out we did work in those communities and serve a lot of people there. I started here as Associate Executive Director and now I became CEO two years later, and the journey has been interesting an enriching.

What is one piece of advice you would give to students?

Enjoy your time at DePaul. Take it all in, be curious, but also be intentional and apply your knowledge doing good work in the neighborhoods where you're from Chicago's got a lot of important Latino neighborhoods. Immerse yourself into what's going on in the city and apply it to what's happening at DePaul. Don't disconnect from where you are from because the more rooted you are, the better informed you are My last piece of advice: seek mentorship.

Mentors are a key way, especially for Latino and Black communities, to develop professional networks For both communities, the idea of social capital is still very new, so trying to learn from folks who have been through it and have networks of their own can help you navigate your future and professional questions. It has helped me tremendously I had a number of mentors who have taken the time to help me get where I’m at today.

LALS Spotlight

Dr. Carolina Sternberg Publishes First Book: Neoliberal Urban Governance: Spaces, Culture and Discourses in Buenos Aires and Chicago

InterviewConductedbyLauraPachón

Abstract: This book examines the dynamics of neoliberal urban governance through a comparative analysis of Buenos Aires and Chicago, with a special focus on gentrification processes in both cities from 2011 to 2021. This work argues that neoliberal principles, rationales and institutions, along with the elaborate rhetoric that has contributed to their success, are forever present in the US and Latin American region, particularly in global cities like Buenos Aires and Chicago The year of 2011 marks the (almost) simultaneous election of new executive authorities in each city, and finalizes in 2021 a sufficient time span to observe key patterns, narratives and developments of each neoliberal urban governance. First, this book chronicles the evolving urban neoliberal policies implemented since 2011 in both cities, with special attention to the systematic reduction of affordable housing and privatization of public land that have paved the way for gentrification to advance at a fast pace. Second, it also exposes readers to the prominent rhetoric crafted by local boards, developers, architects, and real estate agents in both cities Third, this study chronicles how these contemporary neoliberal urban governances currently operate, a critical aspect that remains vastly unexplored. Lastly, until now these governances have been scantly explored from a comparative perspective in Latin American and North American urban settings, and so this book offers a rich new approach

What inspired/sparked your interest to investigate neoliberal policies in urban cities?

First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to talk about my recently published book. As a social scientist, I am interested in understanding how space, government, and state structure and policy affect urban marginality My perspective has been shaped by growing up in Buenos Aires and receiving my bachelor's degree in geography and my master's degree in public policy. In 2006, I arrived at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pursue a PhD in urban geography, hoping to expand the focus and geographical context of my research. Aware of my roots and training in the global South, my academic advisor encouraged me to embark on a comparative study of neoliberal governance in Buenos Aires and Chicago The project drew me not just because it allowed me to make sense of these two different parts of the world, but because it offered a way to bridge gaps between the academic traditions in urban studies between the global North and the global South.

You are originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina but live here in Chicago. Since you are based in Chicago, was it easier for you to write about the neoliberal policies here? Why or why not?

My book is part of a journey that began after I was transplanted in the Midwest, one that flourished while I was in graduate school, and one that to this day has me dissecting differences and similarities between neoliberal urban governance in Buenos

Dr. Carolina Sternberg - Department Chair of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS)

Aires and Chicago. In addition, as an urban geographer, I understand that each place matters, each place is unique and deserves equal attention and time to study In that sense, I cannot really say that I had a preference or found Buenos Aires or Chicago easier to study or write about.

What were some glaring similarities, if any, between Chicago and Buenos Aires’ neoliberal policies?

Here are glaring differences that I explain in my book: the strong presence of public-private partnerships (in Chicago) vs local government centralization in guiding and financing redevelopment projects (in Buenos Aires) and the way gentrification has taken place in each city. Actually, it is difficult to claim that gentrification processes are happening in Buenos Aires stricto sensu following the same patterns as the US. In the case of Buenos Aires, it is more fruitful to treat these processes as “accumulation by dispossession.”

Throughout the book, one important feature shared by the governances of Chicago and Buenos Aires is the ability to mobilize rhetoric to reconfigure and reimagine areas targeted for redevelopment. In the south and center of Buenos Aires and on the southwest side of Chicago, neoliberal governance have worked through an assemblage of actors, including city officials, local boards, developers, architects, and real estate agents, to promote a particular vision of their city and to make

it a reality

After decades of physical deterioration and stigmatization, supposedly dominant in the areas targeted for redevelopment in both cities, these areas have become potentially profitable real estate and commodifiable for cultural and aesthetic consumption.

Each governance’s successful endeavors have been made possible by discourse (in particular discursive spaces and identities) and ways of presenting actors and their plans

In both cities neoliberal governance actors have been mobilizing different forms of rhetoric to apply to once non-attractive redevelopment areas (perceived as containment districts, in their respective contexts, for the Latino/a/x racialized poor in Chicago and for the villa residents in Buenos Aires). These areas have ultimately received attention for their potentially profitable real estate and commodifiable urban areas along with the corresponding ability to serve each cities’ future investment needs and economic growth. These areas have been imagined and discussed by city officials, real estate, and business leaders as “prosperous and orderly ethnic spaces” (Pilsen) and “culturally rich multiethnic spaces” (Little Village) and as contributors to Chicago’s neoliberal globalization efforts. Similarly, the center (Villa 31) and south sides (La Boca and San Telmo) of Buenos Aires, have been rediscovered as “cultural, touristic and versatile artistic spaces” (La Boca and San Telmo); “livable, formalized, and robust spaces” (Villa 31); and as contributors to Buenos Aires’s socioinclusive efforts

In your opinion, what is one of the biggest problems with implementing neoliberal policies in urban cities as big and dense as Chicago and Buenos Aires?

I refer to Chicago’s and Buenos Aires’s governances as neoliberal because both are driven by efforts to promote market-oriented policies,* deregulate businesses and government actions and procedures, shift government priorities from a

*This translates into producing a hyper commodification in which almost everything becomes something to sell or a selling point

politics of redistribution to a politics of growth, and create more responsible and business-oriented citizens. In this aspect, citizens are solely responsible for their successes and failures This package of policies definitely aggravate the social and economic inequalities across the cities and create a sense of failure to citizens who are not “entrepreneurial” enough to sustain themselves economically

What changes do you hope to see from the governments of Chicago and Buenos Aires? Unfortunately, I do not see any sign that neoliberal local governances such as Chicago and Buenos Aires, or neoliberalism, as an ideology, is going anywhere at the local, state or federal level. Quite

the opposite, we see that now neoliberalism is becoming stronger and smoothly dancing with altright and authoritarian governments that seek to dismantle human rights (e.g. voting rights, freedom of speech, reproductive rights, and human rights). I am not saying that both Buenos Aires and Chicago will be also allowing authoritarian agendas to develop, however, I don’t see any change in terms of their ongoing emphasis on market-oriented policies, entrepreneurship, and resource attraction, that have characterized both local governments since the early 1990s.

Do you have any closing comments in regard to your book?

I hope my book sparks a lot interest, within and beyond the academic world, in particular because there are very few comparative studies between Latin American and US global urban centers that focus on the dynamics of neoliberal urban governance.

DrSternbergintroducingeveningspeaker,WilfredoCruz,authorofLatinosinChicago: QuestforaPoliticalVoice,whospokeatDePaulonJanuary18,2023

The Young Lords Organization's Historical Commemoration Plaque at DePaul

empowerment of Latine communities, specifically Puerto Ricans who have been displaced in big cities as a result of gentrification, as well as communities who have been colonized (i e , indigenous communities)

I was able to speak with Dr. Jacqueline Lazú, one of DePaul University’s 2022-2023 Presidential Diversity Fellows. Dr. Lazú is a Puerto Rican scholar who works for the advocacy and preservation of the history of the Young Lords Organization and the displacement that Latine individuals experienced in Chicago She is currently working on acquiring a historical commemoration plaque for DePaul’s School of Music Building, which once housed the Stone Academic Administration Building of McCormick Theological Seminary, where the YLO staged a sit-in to protest gentrification and police brutality.

Can you tell us a bit about the work you are currently doing as one of DePaul's Presidential Diversity Fellows?

Lincoln Park is home to many Gen-Z’s, Millennials, upper-middle class families, and DePaul University. Like many other Chicago neighborhoods, Lincoln Park has undergone significant demographic changes In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Lincoln Park was home to a vibrant Puerto Rican community that was displaced after a long fight against Mayor Richard J. Daley's urban renewal plan, which resulted in creating what can be thought of as a white affluent suburb within the city

Lincoln Park was also the home of the Young Lord’s Organization (YLO), a street-gang turned civil and human rights organization. The YLO focuses on the

As a Presidential Diversity Fellow for the 2022-2023 academic year, I set out to extend my career-long research on the Young Lords Organization (YLO) and the origins of the movement in Chicago by looking specifically at the role that DePaul University played in the evolution of the civil rights group and the Puerto Rican barrio that once existed in Lincoln Park. At the same time, both the Young Lords and the Puerto Rican community of Chicago have left an indelible mark on our own institutional development and history For decades since the transition of the Young Lords gang into a political organization, DePaul students, faculty, and staff have been directly engaged with the organization on the issues that most concerned them: gentrification and community displacement, colonialism and coloniality, selfdetermination for Puerto Ricans and all poor and oppressed people, and police brutality. There were many other encounters since the late 1960s, although the most

Article and interview conducted by Laura Pachón

José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez in front of Armitage Methodist Church (“People’s Church”), Chicago and Lincoln Park ephemera collection via DePaul University Library

notable was the takeover of the Stone Building in May of 1968, which at the time was the administration building of the McCormick Seminary. The building, which the Young Lords renamed “The Manuel Ramos Memorial Building”, was eventually sold to DePaul in the late 1970s. Nevertheless, the Stone Building, now the School of Music building at DePaul, is the last standing structure that marks in any way the history of the movement’s origins in Chicago. One of the most significant outcomes of this fellowship will be, with the support of President Manuel, to formally memorialize this legacy by placing a historical marker in the form of a bronze plaque on the building’s façade.

Can you describe the work you are doing to acknowledge and commemorate the historical presence of the Young Lords in Lincoln Park, and of the Puerto Rican community more generally?

For decades, people of all backgrounds have visited the building, taking informational tours led by instructors of all disciplines, DePaul library staff, faculty scholars, and members of the Young Lords and allied organizations Many more visit the Young Lords archives, that were the result of the effort of the movement leaders in the 1990s. It is the most widely visited collection at the library. Still, the old Stone building is the only structure standing to help us retell the story of the Young Lords at DePaul and in Lincoln Park The Peoples Church, once the headquarters of the movement (formerly the Armitage Avenue Church), the People’s Park, the Café, and most of the homes where the young members of the group grew up and later organized, were rebuilt, unrecognizable and erased from the living memory of the neighborhood In October of 2022, I convened a committee of students, faculty, staff, and Young Lords Central Committee members to envision the long overdue tribute. We proposed, among other things, the bronze plaque as a marker to be placed on the front of the building to reflect our formal institutional commitment to publicly honoring its history It will truly be a destination for the

many students, scholars, and community members that come to our campus seeking to learn about the Young Lords and Puerto Rican Chicago. As a Puerto Rican, born and raised in the Diaspora, I am incredibly proud and deeply moved by the collective support of our community to see this project through. We can also expect university, and city-wide programs and events that will highlight our efforts to recover this rich history.

Could you tell us about the resources available at DePaul for studying the Young Lords movement?

The absolute best place to begin is the internet. The Richardson Library’s Special Collections Department, a long-term partner in promoting and preserving this history with the Young Lords, has digitized many of the Young Lords' newspapers and made them publicly available through their digital “Community Collections” at: https://library.depaul.edu/special-collections/digitalcollections/Pages/community-collections.aspx To dig a little deeper, make a date with Special Collections to visit the boxes of Young Lords and Lincoln Park archives where you’ll find all kinds of

The takeover of the Stone Building at DePaul University via DePaul University Library Archives

materials-- from vintage artifacts of the movement to academic papers, white papers, photos, city records, university correspondence and newspaper articles that will help you uncover more about the history of our shared community in the 1960s and early 1970s.

A lot of research has focused on the political activities of the Young Lords on the East Coasthow does your work on the YL Plaque in Chicago add to the conversation?

I am also currently working on two book manuscripts: Young Lords Speak: (Re)Constructing the Narrative of Revolution, and Stone Revolutionaries: The Origins of the Young Lords Movement Young Lords Speak is an edited volume with the Young Lords Central Committee members. Stone Revolutionaries is my single-authored critical history of the movement's origins in Chicago. When these are completed, they will be the very first books

exclusively by and about the Chicago Young Lords, that explore why and how they became the impactful movement that we still recognize as the entryway of Puerto Ricans into the civil rights movement. There are many reasons why the Young Lords Party and the New York City chapter became the more prominent group in the narrative about the Young Lords movement. They include things like the background of movement leaders and their access to media and educational institutions I do address this in my work. I argue that you must know the Chicago origins to really understand why we are still talking about the Young Lords, how they even became a movement that still impacts so many young activists. Without undermining the importance of the movement in New York, I assert that the Young Lords really could only have started in the city of Chicago. This is why it is so important for us, as an institution, to own our role in the history. For better or worse, we were involved in making it. We’re made better by acknowledging the enormous impact that the Young Lords, Chicago and the DePaul community have had on generations of people, their sense of cultural pride, political consciousness, and resilience.

DePaul University's Presidential Diversity Fellow 2022-2023, Dr. Jacqueline Lazú

Young Lords 50th Anniversary walking tour

Photo credit: Derek Potts via DePaul University Library

Interview Conducted by Laura

Pachón

InterviewwithAuthorPriscaDorcasMojica Rodríguez

The founder of Latina Rebels, an online platform that boast over 300,00 organic followers, she has been featured on Telemundo, Univision, Mitú, Huffington Post Latino Voices, Guerrilla Feminism, Latina Mag, Cosmopolitan, Everyday Feminism, and was invited to the White House in the Fall of 2016.

Was there a specific experience in your life that you can point to that was the driving force behind For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts? What clicked that made you think “I want to make my book for young girls of color?”

My career follows a non-traditional path I started writing out of a sense of desperation, to feel heard, to not harm myself, to jolt myself back to reality. I never thought anyone would read my book, let alone this many people. I started writing out of desperation, and I started on Instagram captions I never imagined my captions would turn into a book

May 2015 I had moved back home from grad school and could not find a job. I was not qualified enough, white enough, connected enough, professional-looking enough, and I kept experiencing sexual harassment from bosses at different temp jobs I was desperate to find a job, and it was impossible to find something safe and long term. I even tried to become a piercer at a tattoo parlor, and began an apprenticeship. But had to quit because the piercer I was learning from kept hitting on me.

When I wrote “Dear Brown Girl” in November of 2015, I was working at the outlet Neiman Marcus store, as a sales associate. I was writing because I was struggling to keep going. But when I saw that my audience was mostly young women, I did decide that I was going to write kindly to them. I come from a context where being strong is valued, and while that

is a coping skill, it does not take into account how much neglect our tenderness gets when we are so busy “keeping it together.”

When the book idea was first proposed to me, by my literary agent, I thought hard about what I needed during my hardest times, and what I needed was someone to speak the truth to me and to love on me. I wanted to be validated and understood. I wanted someone to name how impossible it was to be an immigrant woman of color who also had no financial buffer to dream but still dared to do so I wrote to my audience with that focus at the center

Can you describe what it’s like to be a Latina author who has been awarded the chance to have a platform and a variety of opportunities?

I think it is a misnomer to say I was awarded a platform. I decided to create Latina Rebels in 2013 to help people, and in a decade, it has slowly grown into the thousands of followers it has today. And with that visibility comes a big responsibility, and for me that responsibility is to use this platform to put eyes on other dope folks of color who are made invisible in a society that rewards whiteness for whiteness’ sake. But the task of ethically and responsibly running a platform is hard, and should not be taken lightly How do I

describe what it is like to be a Latina author with a platform, it is a serious responsibility to create opportunities for as many people of color from working class contexts as possible It is constantly learning to leave the door open, and learning how to ensure that I am coming into these opportunities with care for those who will do it better after me

What legacy do you hope to leave to all young girls and women of color who look up to you and your written works?

I hope that my legacy is one of insistence in personal liberation that turns into communal liberation.

When writing this book, did you experience anything, personal or not, that changed your way of living and/or your world outlook?

I learned that I can write a book, and that I am not just a silly girl who cannot write because I do not have the proper pedigree Rather, writing is something that came from within me, and no one can take that away from me. I learned that I am capable of so much more than what life prescribed for me based on my gender, race, and socioeconomic background, in a real tangible way. I proved to myself what I had been writing about for years, and it felt so good to “make it” while not breaking myself for the white gaze

Quarterly Events Calendar

January:

18 4:30-6:00PM Latinos in Chicago: An Evening with Dr. Wilfredo Cruz

February:

15 5:00-6:30PM Giving Geographies, Mourning Waters: Afro-Indigenous Communities, Gender, and Environmental Struggles on the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico

16 4:30-6:30PM Reading & Conversation with Manuel Muñoz

16 6:00-7:30PM ARISING Grassroots Women of Color Taking Political Power

20 4:30-6:30PM Center for Latino Research: Tertulia

22 5:00-6:30 Commitment to Flight: Afro-Indigenous Palenques as Sites of Rebellion in Veracruz, Mexico

March:

1 5:00-6:30PM Global South as Told by Guatemalans

Latinos in Chicago An Evening with Dr.

Wilfredo Cruz

Wilfredo Cruz, PhD, is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago. Dr. Cruz earned his PhD from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Cruz will be talking to the DePaul Community on his new book Latinos in Chicago. Quest for a Political Voice, followed by a book signing.

Wednesday, January 18 4:30-6:00PM

Location: Arts & Letters 103

Book will be available for purchase at the event

A Reading and Conversation with Manuel Muñoz

Muñoz is the author of a novel, What You See in the Dark, and the short-story collections

Zigzagger and The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue, which was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts and has been recognized with a Whiting Writer’s Award, three O. Henry Awards, and an appearance in Best American Short Stories. His most recent collection, The Consequences, was recently included by The Atlantic Monthly in their list of the "10 books that made us think the most this year. "

Thursday February 16 4:30-6:00 PM Arts & Letters Hall Room 103

Questions?Emailstorre38@depaul.edu

Followingthereading,Muñozwillbein conversationwithDr.FrancescaRoyster andDr.BillJohnsonGonzález.

ARISING Grassroots Women of Color Taking Political Power

Recent years have seen a wave of Black, Latina, and Asian women arising from grassroots and radical activism – rather than through conventional political party circles – and creating historic legislation and policy for greater equity and social justice. Join us for a discussion about the changing political landscape, race, class, and gender, and what this means for the future of politics.

DELIA RAMÍREZ, Congresswoman for the 3rd District of Illinois, a Guatemalan American and the first Latina to represent the Midwest in Congress

LAKESIA COLLINS, Illinois State Representative for the 9th District, representing North Lawndale, the Near West Side, and Old Town

JOSINA MORITA, Cook County Commissioner for the 13th District, the first Asian American woman on the Cook County Board

6 - 7:30PM

LILIAN JIMÉNEZ, Illinois State Representative for the 4th District, a Puerto Rican and Mexican woman representing Humboldt Park and the Near Northwest Side

THURSDAY

FEBRUARY 16TH McGowan South Room 108 1110 West Belden DePaul University

Discussants: Yareli Cortez & Claudia Peralta-Acevedo

This event is free & open to the public

Questions?storre38@depaul.edu

Sponsored by the Center for Black Diaspora, the Center for Latino Research, Critical Ethnic Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies, Women & Gender Studies, and Political Science

Arts & Letters Rm 102

Carolina Sternberg, Ph.D.

Latin American and Latino Studies | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

NEOLIBERAL URBAN GOVERNANCE. SPACES, CULTURE AND DISCOURSES IN BUENOS AIRES AND CHICAGO

Francesca Royster, Ph.D.

English | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

LISTENINGFORMYMOTHER:TRAVELSINMUSIC FROMCHICAGOTOBAHIA

Rafael Vizcaíno, Ph.D.

Philosophy | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

THE COLONIALITY OF THE SECULAR

DINNER AND BAR WILL BE PROVIDED

Please RSVP through the Outlook invitation

Grieving Geographies, Mourning Waters: Afro-Indigenous Communities, Gender, and Environmental Struggles on the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Engaging with critical race theory, Latin American studies, critical transnational feminism, feminist and decolonial geography, and the anthropology of emotions and space, I explore the intersections of gender, race, and the environment, a topic that has received little examination in Mexico. Through activist/feminist research methods— participatory community mapping, interviews, critical accompaniment this research examines an Afro-Indigenous community's environmental struggles against ecocide in their territory, specifically, a lagoon that began to die from pollution and lack of oxygen after it was disconnected from the Pacific Ocean by a failed government eco-tourism project. My research also explores the everyday alliances between Black and Indigenous women in defense of life, livelihood, and the lagoon in their community. This project reveals how the legacies of racism, hetero-patriarchy, and colonialism continue to have a material reality in racialized bodies and geographies in Mexico, but also builds space for resistance and the protection of human and non-human life.

Wednesday, February 15

Arts & Letters Hall Room 301 5:00-6:30 PM

Yoalli Rodríguez Aguilera, Ph.D.

Commitment to Flight: Afro-Indigenous Palenques as Sites of Rebellion in Veracruz, Mexico

Wednesday, February 22

Arts & Letters Hall Room 301

5:00-6:30 PM

In this talk, Dr. Christian Ramírez explores the commitment to flight by Indigenous, African, and AfroIndigenous communities. His case study looks to 18th century Veracruz as a site of knowledge. Working across the fields of Chicanx/Latinx Studies and sociology, his research focuses on selfliberated communities known as palenques between the years 1609 and 1769. Archival documents reveal the shared forms of resistance that led to structural changes in the lives of AfroIndigenous peoples in Veracruz. Specifically, the palenques known as San Lorenzo de Los Negros (Yanga) and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Morenos de Amapa (Mandinga) each gained their freedom from enslavement and land through raiding, warfare, and negotiations. For maroons, palenques became impenetrable fortresses of safety, community sustainability, and directly challenged European modernity in New Spain.

Christian V. Ramirez, Ph.D.

Global South Spaces as Told by Guatemalans

Andrew Bentley, Ph.D.

Wednesday, March 1

Arts & Letters Hall Room 301

5:00-6:30 PM

This presentation approaches social media as a critical space of inquiry. I will demonstrate how Instagram posts by Guatemalan photojournalist Esteban Biba (@estebanbiba) and poet Maya Chinchilla (@centromariconadas) represent migration. The constellation of visuals, geotags, hashtags, and public commentary in the posts showcases how a main theme of Latinx thought circulates in our contemporary moment. As a result, I argue, these media platforms establish networks of solidarity that extend beyond their Latinx contexts, in tune with Global South modes of storytelling in the digital age.

Upcoming

Thank You from the Editor

Hello everyone who has read this issue!

Thank you for taking the time to read all of our wonderful interviews. We had the ability to ask questions to some bright minds and get a look at how their hard work has come into fruition In this edition I decided to focus on displaying some beautiful images in homage to Puerto Rico. Coming from Miami, Florida, Puerto Ricans have always had a special place in my heart and I will always be another voice advocating for the equal rights and adequate infrastructure investments for the people of Puerto Rico.

I'm very proud to have worked on this issue while balancing academics and an internship outside of working at the CLR. I am currently in my last quarter of classes before working full-time on my practicum in order to graduate with my Masters of Science in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies I'm also currently working an internship at the Syrian Community Network. My work there has been focused on both youth and adult education. I have assisted with after-school programming by helping young students with homework or practicing their English. Adult education focuses on classes and private 1-on-1 tutoring for citizenship interviews for permanent residents.

It has not been easy, but I am thankful for the support system I have for being there for me. Being Latine is a large part of my identity and who exactly Laura is. I feel very grateful being able to work at a research center that focuses on Latine topics within Latin America and the United States while empowering Latine scholars

-Laura Pachón, Graduate Editorial Assistant