Program Highlight: Chicano and Latino History Project: Cultura in Action
The Chicano and Latino History Project is in its fourth year of working with a small group of Latinx students from Boulder Valley School District鈥檚 Columbine Elementary, Centennial and Casey Middle School. The emphasis is to give students an opportunity to represent themselves, their families, and their communities via images and words. Discussions about identity, place and issues impacting the community have been centered around their own histories. Advocacy and engagement themes are further explored by a series of Latinx guest speakers with similar backgrounds.
The first year a book was published of personal narratives about the importance of their own family stories and histories. It exposed the depth and nuisances of what it means to persevere, and a universal theme emerged of families making choices to provide a better future for the next generation. A large version of the self-published book was displayed at the Voces Vivas exhibit at the Museum of Boulder (Feb. 2022-2023). The subsequent years social justice concepts and terminology were introduced. Some of the essential questions were: What is impacting you, your family/community? What are the issues? What are some of the solutions? How can we improve the situations? How do you take action? What does it mean to advocate? A letter writing campaign was a result of their work. An empowering lesson with brilliant students. A word of thanks to the Outreach and Engagement Program at the University of Colorado, at Boulder, for funding this programming.