LEA - Latinx Empowerment Association

04/15/2023

02/24/2023

Please join us

Hey everyone! Come out and join us at this wonderful event in celebration on Black History Month. We have partnered with LEA, BSA, and Student Senate to make this event a huge success. We will be having an open mic, a music display, and food for all. This event will take place in front of El Centro, on Wednesday March 1st, from 11AM-12:15PM. Hope to see you all there!
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¡Hola a todos! Ven y únete a nosotros en este maravilloso evento en celebración del Mes de la Historia Negra. Now hemos asociado con LEA, BSA, y el Senado Estudiantil para hacer de este evento un gran éxito. Tenderemos un micrófono abierto, una exhibición de música, y comida para todos. Este evento se llevará a cabo frente el lobby de El Centro, el miércoles 1 de marzo, de 11AM a 12:15PM. ¡Deseamos verlos a todos este día!

03/14/2022

The LEA is starting a fundraiser! During this semester we are focusing our efforts on fundraising money for two specific organizations and projects.
We are selling t-shirts to fundraise the money! Each t-shirt will cost $20 for students and $25 for staff, faculty, and outside HCC community.

As part of our goals of Inclusion & Equity and Intersectional Latinx Cultural Awareness, we will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the following two organizations:

Pioneer Valley Workers Center - Undocu-Worker Solidarity Fund
The Undocu-Worker Solidarity Fund supports undocumented immigrants who have lost their jobs or had their work hours reduced due to the COVID-19 crisis. The fund is for people who do not have work permission or are undocumented, and who will not receive any benefits from unemployment insurance or the federal government.

Women of Color Health Equity Collective - Mama's VOICE Community Connections Fund
The mission of WOCHEC is to promote the resilience and empowerment of Women of Color to advance health and wellness by building community-capacity and advocating for just policies through evidence-based research and grassroots organizations. The Community Connections event will provide opportunities for moms of color to share their experiences during the pandemic. The donations go completely towards incentives for mothers to be able to attend the event.

Go to the link below to order your t-shirt OR scan the QR code:
https://forms.gle/jQXP5fww2jmC14co8

03/07/2022

Today we want to celebrate Queen of Latin Soul, La Lupe!

Born in Santiago de Cuba in 1939, Guadalupe Victoria Yoli Raymond was supposed to be a teacher. But she had other plans. After escaping from school to compete in a singing competition, which she won, her family moved to Havana, where her career began.

Releasing over 20 albums, La Lupe’s uninhibited performances are what set her apart from her contemporaries. An early practitioner of santería, a Yoruba-based faith also known as Regla de Ocha or Lucumí in Cuba and other parts of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, La Lupe approached the stage ruled by instinct and rapture, intoxicating fans from around the world with her signature raspy vocals and sexual abandon. Her albums are full of songs that honored her Orishas, including odes to Chango and Yemeya, among many others. In songs like “La Salve de Plena,” La Lupe shares her affinity for the land of Quiskeya, or the Dominican Republic, and sings of plena, an Afro-Caribbean folkloric genre said to be influenced by the bomba styles of Puerto Rico. 

Here’s a link to a playlist with just a taste of her music: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39Lw2WhCml1El875LmGTB9?si=1d7d35ef3e27434a

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSmsdOVLSm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kRIV23LQyI

[Image description 1: A post titled “La Lupe”. The words are in a green neon color. Under the title there is a black and white picture of La Lupe with her hair up, an off the shoulders top and her arms outstretched. A yellow geometric margin decorates the picture and is on a lilac background. End description.]
[Image description 2: A post that reads “Queen of Latin Soul. Lupe Victoria Yolí Raymond. Born Dec 23, 1936 in Santiago de Cuba. She sang salsa, Latin soul, guaracha, boleros, covers of popular songs in English, son montuno, boogaloo, cha cha cha, bomba, and more”. The letters are in a neon green color. To the left of the text there is a black and white picture of La Lupe dancing on stage with her hair down and a long dress. The background in lilac. End description.]
[Image description 3 & 4: A video of La Lupe performing. End description]

02/11/2022

We’re running with it and now have a reading corner! Welcome to LEA’s Reading Corner. Here we will share books that some of the members are reading and why we recommend them!

Today’s recommendation is: Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora edited by Saraciea J. Fennell.
Within this anthology you will find 15 authors that interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about the Latinx diaspora. Everything from ghost stories and superheroes, to memories in the kitchen and travels around the world, to addiction and grief, to identity and anti-Blackness, to finding love and speaking your truth.

[Photo description: A title with brown letters that reads “LEA’s Reading Corner”. Below it is a picture of the book Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora. The book cover has a drawing of the face of a woman of color and is surrounded by flowers. The book is on a wooden floor and has peach carnations surrounding each corner. The picture is on top of a beige and hot pink background with geometrical lines. End description]

02/04/2022

In honor of the CROWN Act, we would like to share with you Elizabeth Acevedo’s poem “Hair”.

Here is a link to her performance of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0svS78Nw_yY

Click here to learn more about the CROWN Act and support: https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/help-make-hair-discrimination-illegal

Photo description in comments 👇🏻

02/02/2022

Hiii! Remember us? We’re back! We are continuing our “Highlighting the Latinx Community” series!

Today we want to celebrate Afro-Dominican poet and author Elizabeth Acevedo.

Acevedo has published books like Poet X and Clap When You Land. She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her love.

We included some of the LEA club’s reading recommendations from our reading corner!

Photo and excerpt adapted from: http://www.acevedowrites.com/about

[Photo description 1: A photo of Elizabeth Acevedo wearing a flowered dress with red, purple, pink, yellow and green colors. Her hands are on her hips and she has her shoulders lifted. Her hair is loose and she is smiling broadly. Above the picture reads “Elizabeth Acevedo” in white letters against a deep red background. End description]
[Photo description 2: The post reads “An inspiration: Every time I read Acevedo's novels I get wrapped in and cannot stop. Her writing is so beautiful. in between her lines you read feminism, empowerment, and how she calls out the colorism that exists in Latinx communities. Acevedo's slam poetry is another part that is breathtaking, I always get goosebumps when I listen to her - Miren LEA Club President” The letters are color white against a deep red background. End description]
[Photo description 3: A post that reads “LEA’s reading corner. Clap when you land. Fire on high” the letters are color white against a deep red background. Two pictures of each book are on either side of the post. End description]

11/17/2021

Come join us!! The LEA club will have a table at the Winter Festival!

We will have food and hot drinks! Many of our members will be sharing about their family traditions during the holidays.

When? WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1st. From 11 am to 12:30 pm at the Campus Center! Come say hi!

[photo description: a flyer that reads “winter holidays festival. A celebration of cultures. Wednesday, December 1. 11 am to 12:30pm. Campus center.” The text is color gray blue, the back ground is light blue with white specks. A music sign is at the left top corner. Along the bottom are cartoons of: kwanza candles, a Christmas tree, the three kings, a menorah, and a Yule log. End description].

10/20/2021

Check it out!

Third-graders at Kelly Elementary School cheered for the opening of their new Little Free Library Friday, a project developed by students from HCC's LEA Club.

09/15/2021

TO THE COMMUNITY: We need your help! One of our dear members has lost a family member and needs support.

If you could help with anything and/or sharing it would be greatly appreciated. Let us show each other that we are not alone. Thank you so much!

https://gofund.me/4e2d38a6

The link will also be in our bio.

[photo description 1: light orange background with letters that read “we need your help. Link in description below” there is a black arrow under the text. End description]
[photo description 2: a picture of a woman and a girl behind her from the go fund me page. The picture includes the raise goal. End description]

07/12/2021

While we continue the fight to reinstate a Full-time Ethnic Studies Director position, this week we celebrate Holyoke Ethnic Studies by sharing a post each day that highlights who we are. We ask that you support us by sharing our posts on your page. It's simple, just click share! Day One: "Root to Fruit" Poster, students in our 11th grade Ethnic Studies Leadership class (2019) created this poster to visually represent our class lessons on Causality. In Ethnic Studies we research and come to understand Root Causes for social issues in our communities and world. Students and teachers in our program learn to read the world, to change the world!

07/07/2021

🚨UPDATE 🚨 Children’s Little Free Library

Here is a small sneak peek of the type of books that will be available inside our free little library coming very soon to Kelly School in The Flats. A ribbon cutting event will take place at Kelly School to inaugurate the library (date will be announced soon — stay tuned!)

[Image description 1: several closed books are spread on a white floor. The books are facing cover up. End description.]

[Image description 2: several books are stacked on top of each other and they take up the whole screen. Some books are thick, others are thin. En description.]