An Evening of Purpose and Celebration
No matter how many years pass there are certain things that always need to be remembered.
Casita Maria’s Fiesta! was held for the first time since the pandemic in New York City’s Plaza Hotel on October 11. The event honored Latino groundbreakers such as Puerto Rican Postwar and Contemporary artist Tony Bechara, chairman of the NBCUniversal New Group, Cesar Conde; and immigration rights leader Gaby Pacheco.
“Since 1934, Casita Maria has served as a beacon of hope and safe haven for thousands of families to celebrate the unique, powerful, and rich culture of the Bronx and New York City communities of color,” Pacheco asserted while doting on the organization that taught her ballet in the early 2000s. Since, Pacheco has been advocating on behalf of immigrants and gained national recognition for her work to pass the DREAM Act; which works to grant immigrant students legal status and eventually, U.S. citizenship.
As the son of immigrants, Cesar Conde took to the stage with gratitude for both Casita Maria and his parents. “They always taught us, the one thing in life that no one could ever take away from you is your education,” Conde recalled. “The work that Casita Maria is doing in educating and empowering our youth and opening up all those opportunities in life for them, that is the work that is priceless,” he marveled. Tony Bechara expressed the same sentiment noting, “I want to thank Casita Maria because many, many years ago, waves of compatriots of mine from Puerto Rico were arriving here in New York looking for a better life. New York being the beacon of hope. There was no one to help them. Casita Maria filled that void. They were the first to do it.”
Located in the South Bronx, Casita Maria has taken on the responsibility of exposing Latino youth to the opportunities many of their parents and grandparents sought via immigration. Fostering a community of innovative young professionals for decades, Casita Maria celebrates their consistent wins with Fiesta! The fundraiser enables the organization to continue serving over 1,000 students every year while being an anchor within the community.
To learn more about Casita Maria and for ways to get involved, visit https://www.casitamaria.org
Today, July 26th, The Children’s Place, the largest pure-play children’s specialty retailer in North America, announced its 2022 Back-to-School campaign in partnership with award-winning actor, comedian, best-selling author, and philanthropist, Kevin Hart.
With the goal of empowering children through reading and continued education, The Children’s Place alongside Mr. Hart, will launch a number of learning centers across the country. Located in deserving neighborhoods, these learning centers are fun, safe spaces which will encourage creative exploration and discovery among children.
Kicking off the back-to-school season, the Company and Mr. Hart unveiled the first community learning center at NYC Parks’ Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center today (7/26), in East Harlem, in New York City.
Scaling the program to deserving communities nationwide, The Children’s Place will continue its efforts in launching an additional nine learning center locations throughout fall 2022. Working collaboratively with local libraries, community centers, and ThriftBooks, these learning centers will each be stocked with thousands of books, totaling to over 20,000 books donated.
Each space will feature comfortable seating arrangements, interactive chalkboard walls, and empowering wall murals and artwork to serve as a safe haven where children in each community can gain access to reading materials and learning supplies, while also allowing themselves to thrive in imagining.
Education is the final episode of the Small Axe anthology series. The episode follows the realities of a young boy named Kingsley showing the racism within the British school system and the experience of West Indian children who were left the victims by it.
West Indian children were discriminated against and ultimately segregated from their schoolmates and sent off to “special” schools also known as schools for the educationally subnormal. The story of Kingsley reflects the harsh history of the British school system and the realities for many West Indian children in the 70s. Kingsley is a bright young boy who thrives in math and science however, struggles to read instead of providing Kingsley with a diagnosis and giving him the tools needed to understand his learning disability his school uses it as an opportunity to separate him into an ESN school(educationally subnormal). The school is integrated however, it is clear that the reasoning behind the children being admitted into the ESN school are different.With the lack of resources and caring teachers the design of the school leads to many children falling through the cracks and due to racial biases West Indian children were greatly affected.
For Kenyah Sandy his portrayal of Kingsley gave him the opportunity to learn about Black British history while simultaneously reflecting on the evolution of the British school system and the increase of educational opportunities for Black children of school age. For Kenyah being a part of the Small Axe films gave him but also the world an opportunity to see the history of Black Britain and West Indians in Britain.
The Small Axe series created by Steve McQueen will be able to build the diasporic bridge by showing not only Black history on a global scale but by also connecting Black experiences around the world.
Education is the final episode of the Small Axe anthology series. The episode follows the realities of a young boy named Kingsley showing the racism within the British school system and the experience of West Indian children who were left the victims by it.
West Indian children were discriminated against and ultimately segregated from their schoolmates and sent off to “special” schools also known as schools for the educationally subnormal. The story of Kingsley reflects the harsh history of the British school system and the realities for many West Indian children in the 70s. Kingsley is a bright young boy who thrives in math and science however, struggles to read instead of providing Kingsley with a diagnosis and giving him the tools needed to understand his learning disability his school uses it as an opportunity to separate him into an ESN school(educationally subnormal). The school is integrated however, it is clear that the reasoning behind the children being admitted into the ESN school are different.With the lack of resources and caring teachers the design of the school leads to many children falling through the cracks and due to racial biases West Indian children were greatly affected.
For Kenyah Sandy his portrayal of Kingsley gave him the opportunity to learn about Black British history while simultaneously reflecting on the evolution of the British school system and the increase of educational opportunities for Black children of school age. For Kenyah being a part of the Small Axe films gave him but also the world an opportunity to see the history of Black Britain and West Indians in Britain.
The Small Axe series created by Steve McQueen will be able to build the diasporic bridge by showing not only Black history on a global scale but by also connecting Black experiences around the world.
A red carpet backdrop of butterflies and flowered wings, an augmented reality exhibit showcasing children’s changed lives, and an inspiring awards ceremony featuring today’s most notable personalities colored last night’s annual Pencils of Promise Gala.
On Thursday, December 6th, TopSpin Charity held their 10th annual table tennis tournament and party at Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan.
The annual event occurred this past Monday in New York City.
Everyone there was under pressure.
Newer Posts