[Antiracism] María Reinat-Pumarejo: Thursday, April 5th, 5-8PM @ El Mercado

[jwcannon at educ.umass.edu]

Please join us for a Charla and Community Dialogue with María Reinat-Pumarejo
of Ilé: Institute for Latino Empowerment in Puerto Rico

"Anti-Racist Community Organizing in Holyoke and Puerto Rico: Building Popular
Power in Latino Communities"

Thursday, April 5th, 5-8PM
El Mercado
413 Main Street, Holyoke

Dinner & Socializing: 5-6PM
Charla followed by Community Dialogue: 6-8PM

The dinner and charla are free and open to the public.  Donations will be
gratefully accepted to raise funds for Ilé, the Institute for Latino
Empowerment in Puerto Rico.

Co-sponsors:
Holyoke Planning Network (HPN)
Puerto Rican Studies Seminar (PRSS)
Undoing Racism Organizing Collective (UROC)

Maria I. Reinat-Pumarejo is co-director, organizer and trainer of Ilé:
Institute for Latino Empowerment, an organization committed to anti-oppression
organizing in Puerto Rico and the US, which she co-founded in 1992. Maria has
been organizing against racism and other forms of oppression since the early
1980’s. Her passion, conviction, and vision are matched by her skill and
knowledge in areas that include: history, cultural studies, counseling
psychology, spirituality, healing arts, transformative education, and
organizational development. Maria is also a Core Trainer with The People’s
Institute for Survival and Beyond, based in New Orleans, LA. She works closely
with women’s organizations in Puerto Rico, the US, and internationally to
support and joining the leadership of other women of color. She is a member of
the East Asia-US-Puerto Rico Women’s Network Against Militarism and speaks
frequently to denounce the globalization of the “culture of imposition” in
local, national and international forums. Maria worked as Youth Program
Coordination of the Peace Development Fund, a progressive national foundation,
where she supported efforts across the US to teach young people about
dismantling racism, sexism, ageism, and militarism, and to promote youth
empowerment. She also worked in a number of key roles at Casa Latina, a Latino
community organization in Northampton, MA. Her anti-racism work extends to
Puerto Rico, her native land, through workshops organizational development
interventions with grassroots organizations and anti-racist community
organizing efforts throughout the Island. Her commitment to end militarism and
colonialism has included civil disobedience actions to oppose the U.S. Navy’s
presence in Vieques. She was nominated in 2005 for the Nobel Peace Prize as
part of 1000 Women for Peace.