Author name: Buffalo Latino Village

WNY Peace Center’s Latin American Solidarity persists with LASC 

2 Comments / Column, Peace /

Hola, Nuestro Amigos!! Nos sentimos honrados de trabajar en solidaridad con las comunidades Latinas! While the WNY Peace Center (WNYPC) was one of the first chapters (in 1967) of Rev. Dr. King’s Clergy & Laity Concerned, the needs and rights of Latinx people were soon part of its agenda. The WNYPC started the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) in the 1980s, in response to the terrible aggression perpetuated by the U.S. government on the peoples of Central (and South) America. Affinity groups were created to defend the rights of immigrants and refugees at risk of incarceration and/or deportation. Those efforts were tied to the creation of “Vive La Casa”, now part of the courageous and inspiring Jericho Road Community Health Center; and those efforts are still going on, including through LASC and its allies.  LASC holds monthly Peace Coffeehouses, usually on the 4th Monday of the month at the Canisius University Science Hall Lounge. Great speakers and activists – local, national, and international, from South and Central America, and the Caribbean – come to inform, connect, and collaborate with others in solidarity.  The LASC Coffeehouses scheduled (both at the Science Hall Lounge of Canisius University) currently include February 26th, Monday. 7-9 pm, Reports from along the southern border will be provided by Howard Henry & and Lee Ann Grace, who will have just gotten back from their work with the Migrant Resource Center in Agua Prieta, Sonora Mexico. They also help with a Mexican coffee cooperative and will bring us up to date about the situations of refugees and immigrants at our southern border, on: March 25th, Monday. 7-9 pm, Solidarity with farmworkers in WNY. Wilmer Jimenez, originally from Guatemala, is now the WNY Regional Coordinator for Rural Migrant Ministry, a wonderful group, long-standing allies with LASC and the WNYPC. He’ll talk about the Rural Migrant Ministry’s work to welcome strangers and asylum-seekers, support farmworkers and families, and focus on youth empowerment. In the January coffeehouse, we were blessed to hear from Flor Saldivar Silvestre, Community Engagement Coordinator for Justice for Migrant Families, learning how we can help immigrants in WNY. Previous speakers included Rocco Anastasio,  Christian Parra, Talia Rodriguez, Nadya Pizarro, and more – leaders in our local community; as well as international speakers from sister organizations including: IFCO/Pastors for Peace, Alliance for Global Justice, Rights Action, Maya Educational Foundation, NISGUA  (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala), CISPES  (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), Sophia’s Circle (assisting a Chiapas weaving cooperative) http://weaving-for-justice.org, and more. LASC is dedicated to education and advocacy for our Latin American neighbors and brings speakers with first-hand knowledge to assist ongoing struggles for social justice and human rights throughout the Western hemisphere. We hope for your input! LASC’s monthly planning meeting(s) are on the first Monday of the month, 7 pm-9 pm, at Canisius College Science Hall. Puerto Rico is an area of special interest. And/or please contact Terry Bisson (bisson@canisius.edu; 716-838-2962). Note: You’re also welcome to WNYPC’s Annual Meeting on Monday, 2/19 @3pm, 1272 Delaware (Carriagehouse)! Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports WNY Peace Center’s Latin American Solidarity persists with LASC  February 5, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More MERCHANTS OF DEATH TRIBUNAL — PUTTING WAR PROFITEERS ON  TRIAL January 1, 2024/2 Comments Hola, Nos Amigos!! Como el héroe César Chávez dijo, “La historia juzgará a las sociedades y a los gobiernos, y… Read More THERE IS NO VIOLENT SOLUTION – CEASEFIRE NOW!!! December 18, 2023/16 Comments Nuestro Amigos – que lastima!! Nuestro familia en el Medio Oriente ha sufrido mucho, verdadamente mucho!! We grieve for their… Read More Load More End of Content.

WNY Peace Center’s Latin American Solidarity persists with LASC  Read More »

FRUITS OF MY LABOR PART ONE

4 Comments / Column, People /

Peace, EVERYONE! I was unfortunately not able to submit this article last month. But I trust you will enjoy my spotlight on this Uncrowned Queen!  On December 19th, 2023, I had the misfortune of getting into a car accident. While I’m having difficulty doing everything on my own and even remembering all the details of what happened that evening, I have been in awe of the help I’m receiving from family and friends alike. So, I’m shining the light on one of my GREATEST accomplishments, AAliyah Mya, my daughter, and eldest child. During the couple of days, I was in the hospital after the accident she came to visit and also brought my closest friends to come see me.  She also brought food and snacks because the hospital kept missing me and not providing me with food that I could eat. She delivered these with her sense of humor intact!  In the weeks after she has proven to be the best part of me. She’s been stepping in to help with her younger brother, Asheem. She’s managed to take him, to, and sometimes from, his two homeschooling co-ops, Taekwondo Classes, Guitar Rehearsals, and Hybrid Ninja Homeschool classes. The coordination of getting Asheem to and from all his activities has seemed a bit daunting but when I can’t get anyone else, she has come through in Big Ways. For much of this time, AAliyah was also working the overnight shift so I knew she was sacrificing much-needed sleep. She even used her paid time leave to make sure that we were with our family for the holidays. While visiting them I had to go back to the hospital there and she volunteered to take me as opposed to any of my other family members. The challenges that we’ve faced as a family, especially a homeschooling family, have made my children grow into beings of their own. They are leveling up when I am feeling so down about not being able to do all I have been doing as a single parent.  As I write this, I think of all the people I know. I think of all the friends that don’t have the greatest relationships with their parents/children. I think of how fortunate I am to have raised a daughter that not ONLY I can rely on, but her little brother can rely on. As well as, witnessing her help over sixty (60) adults build their entrepreneurship skills in her former job as a program coordinator at BNMC’s IC Success Program. The friendships that she’s developed with many of them, knowing that they can still rely on her expertise. And beyond that, she launched her own business, Pup Soda, and ran it for two years. She’s not done yet! This business is a way to raise MONEY and AWARENESS for the development of an innovative Indoor Dog Complex.  I want you all to help me honor AAliyah for what she’s doing for our family and community. Sometimes we, as parents, think we’re not getting through to our children. Sometimes we feel like we do too much for them. Other times, we think we haven’t done enough. And I know that can also be our children’s thoughts as well. Sometimes they know they are falling short of our expectations and sometimes they are going above and beyond.  Please give her a boost on her business pages @Pup Soda on FB, IG, and LinkedIn, and watch her Go & Grow! She earned her Spotlight in this column! I’m so blessed. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports FRUITS OF MY LABOR PART ONE February 5, 2024/No Comments Peace, EVERYONE! I was unfortunately not able to submit this article last month. But I trust you will enjoy my… Read More The Good Friend – El Buen Amigo: SANTIAGO MASFERRER December 18, 2023/3 Comments For the final issue of the year, I wanted to spotlight an individual who has a business that we all… Read More AGELESS NINJA November 1, 2023/1 Comment Many of you may know, watched, or have heard of the show American Ninja Warrior. For those who have never… Read More Load More End of Content.

FRUITS OF MY LABOR PART ONE Read More »

NATIONALITY HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING ELSE FOR US PUERTO RICANS, IT DOES FOR ME!

Column, People /

It has to. It cannot be relegated to superficial pride. We cannot afford it. Because we are a Nation in every sense of the word, yet we are not a sovereign state. We are a people under the thumb of an empire, whose military presence still has a foothold on our land. The physical, emotional, and environmental remnants and damage are visible in Culebra and Vieques.  A nation whose Diaspora continues to exponentially grow because of the unbearable conditions native Boricuas are subjected to and expected to live under.  No food sustainability, and no local agriculture industry that could feed the archipelago.  Making us fully dependent on imports.  A nation with an almost exclusively service economy, with an educational system in near collapse, a healthcare system in crisis. A government in financial ruin with an oversight board driving austerity measures against common Puerto Ricans to fill the pockets of vulture capitalist firms.  There’s so much more we need to know, so much more we need awareness and education on.  That is the reason for this post.  A call to all of us to think, to dig, to read, to get involved.   To dig deeper into what it means to be Puerto Rican. And to have that at the forefront everywhere we go.  To question how we show up in spaces with this knowledge. Making sure that at the center of our journey, we remember those who came before us, sat, and had these conversations, and witnessed the brutality of colonialism firsthand.  We are living through a period in history where Puerto Ricans are being displaced and stripped of all they know and love on the island in a quiet but violent way. We are part of this history, what will we tell our grandchildren about our role in it? Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports New Book by Puerto Rican Writer Alberto O. Cappas January 29, 2024/No Comments GET YOUR COPY TODAY! The poetic Book about colonialism in upstate, NY is here: “Back to the Twilight Zone: A… Read More Phyllis Thompson, Evolving Memories Opening Reception: Friday, January 26, 2024 from 5:00–8:00 PM January 22, 2024/3 Comments Part of M&T Fourth Fridays at Tri-Main Buffalo Arts Studio presents Phyllis Thompson’s new exhibition, Evolving Memories, a survey of… Read More Justice Sandra Day O’Connor January 1, 2024/3 Comments Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, passed away on December 1, 2023,… Read More Load More End of Content.

NATIONALITY HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING ELSE FOR US PUERTO RICANS, IT DOES FOR ME! Read More »

Scroll to Top