ORGANIZATIONS
National Boricua Human Rights Network
The National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN) advocates for the release Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera. Given the injustice of his lengthy sentence, and the irrationality of his continuing imprisonment, we add our voice to the voice of the many civic, religious, political and community leaders in the U.S., Puerto Rico and abroad who have asked him to come home, be it by presidential commutation or parole.
To learn more and to get involved in the campaign visit Boricuahumanrights.org
Sin Fronteras
Founded by Emma Lozano in 1987 to keep the legacy of her brother Rudy Lozano alive, Sin Fronteras is one of Chicago’s oldest existing Mexican organizations. For years, Sin Fronteras led the struggle to end school overcrowding, for adequate housing and health but soon found itself in the middle of the fight for legalization. Sin Fronteras brought thousands of petitions to Congressman Luis Gutierrez in 1997 urging him to introduce the first bill for legalization - which he did. The partnership between Sin Fronteras and Congressman Gutierrez, who has become the leader in this cause in Congress continued and grew stronger over the years.
Sin Fronteras organized marches every year and fought deportations on a case by case basis through its legal program. Many of these cases involved the separation of families with U.S. citizen children. When Elvira Arellano joined Sin Fronteras afer her arrest in 2001, Sin Fronteras formed Familia Latina Unida which soon grew to include hundreds of families facing separation. Together they testified in the city council, the county board and the state legislature winning formal support from those institutions as well as from the Mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois.
To get involved and learn more about the immigration movement go to http://www.familialatinaunida.org/aboutus.html
Batey Urbano
Café Teatro Batey Urbano is a cultural space/youth center for action and reflection for Puerto Rican/Latino youth. We seek to create meaningful linkages between universities and the community, based on grassroots activism. Premised on the notion that our memories (our history) is the source of our imagination, Batey Urbano is a space for critical expression through spoken word, poetry, dancing, music, painting, and writing. This is achieved by fusing cultural expression and technology as means of organizing in creative ways, our work builds on the human and social capital of our community to develop youth leadership in our many programs and projects. We seek to allow for holistic multi- dimensional programming that includes multi-media technology, asset assessment and community involvement.
The Batey Urbano’s mission for the last nine years has been to provide alternatives that are youth-led and youth-driven. We strive for a participatory process that is transformative not only using traditional means of expression but also non traditional forms and variations, thus creating hybrids of multi-media and multi-artistic projects to address youth issues in a creative manner, simultaneously actively engaging youth in broader community issues. The result of this work, which is both ongoing and continually reflective, has seen a growing number of youth community builders between the ages of 13 and 25 involved in the Batey’s many projects. These organizing experiences have proven to us the importance of culture, identity and youth participation as a base for positive youth activity.
To get involved go to http://bateyurbano.net/
Momma's Hip Hop Kitchen
In 2007 Kathleen Adams and Lah Tere laid the foundation for MHHK as a response to the commercialism of hip hop by corporate America. As women of color they believe that women of color are in a state of emergency. Where the face of women in hip hop was a powerful emcee promoting self-respect and esteem, we are now bombarded with provocative, lustful images and we believe it is our responsibility to take this issue by force and re-establish what it means to be a woman in the culture of hip hop.
more info at http://www.mhhk.org/
Rebel Diaz
Fronted by MC’s Rodstarz and MC/Producer G1, Rebel Diaz shows us the true global power of Hip Hop. After first performing at an immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006 in front of a half million people, the bilingual duo has taken the international community by storm with their explosive live shows. With influences ranging from Dirty South bounce to South American folk, Rebel Diaz combines classic boom bap tradition with Hip Hop’s global impact. The group’s versatility has allowed for them to share the stage with the likes of Common, Mos Def, and Public Enemy, while feeling right at home with acts like Rage Against the Machine, and Mala Rodriguez. Recent tours in Spain, Germany,Guatemala, Venezuela, and Chile, have only solidified their international appeal.
With roots in Chicago and now based in the South Bronx, NY, Rebel Diaz has also piqued the interest of the academic community with their poignant social commentary and energetic performances. They have spent the last four years visiting dozens of colleges and universities, facilitating workshops, speaking on panels, and performing at national conferences. Building on this growing network of positive young people in Hip Hop, the group recently opened a community arts center in the South Bronx, the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective.
for more info go to http://rebeldiaz.mvmt.com/about/
The National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN) advocates for the release Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera. Given the injustice of his lengthy sentence, and the irrationality of his continuing imprisonment, we add our voice to the voice of the many civic, religious, political and community leaders in the U.S., Puerto Rico and abroad who have asked him to come home, be it by presidential commutation or parole.
To learn more and to get involved in the campaign visit Boricuahumanrights.org
Sin Fronteras
Founded by Emma Lozano in 1987 to keep the legacy of her brother Rudy Lozano alive, Sin Fronteras is one of Chicago’s oldest existing Mexican organizations. For years, Sin Fronteras led the struggle to end school overcrowding, for adequate housing and health but soon found itself in the middle of the fight for legalization. Sin Fronteras brought thousands of petitions to Congressman Luis Gutierrez in 1997 urging him to introduce the first bill for legalization - which he did. The partnership between Sin Fronteras and Congressman Gutierrez, who has become the leader in this cause in Congress continued and grew stronger over the years.
Sin Fronteras organized marches every year and fought deportations on a case by case basis through its legal program. Many of these cases involved the separation of families with U.S. citizen children. When Elvira Arellano joined Sin Fronteras afer her arrest in 2001, Sin Fronteras formed Familia Latina Unida which soon grew to include hundreds of families facing separation. Together they testified in the city council, the county board and the state legislature winning formal support from those institutions as well as from the Mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois.
To get involved and learn more about the immigration movement go to http://www.familialatinaunida.org/aboutus.html
Batey Urbano
Café Teatro Batey Urbano is a cultural space/youth center for action and reflection for Puerto Rican/Latino youth. We seek to create meaningful linkages between universities and the community, based on grassroots activism. Premised on the notion that our memories (our history) is the source of our imagination, Batey Urbano is a space for critical expression through spoken word, poetry, dancing, music, painting, and writing. This is achieved by fusing cultural expression and technology as means of organizing in creative ways, our work builds on the human and social capital of our community to develop youth leadership in our many programs and projects. We seek to allow for holistic multi- dimensional programming that includes multi-media technology, asset assessment and community involvement.
The Batey Urbano’s mission for the last nine years has been to provide alternatives that are youth-led and youth-driven. We strive for a participatory process that is transformative not only using traditional means of expression but also non traditional forms and variations, thus creating hybrids of multi-media and multi-artistic projects to address youth issues in a creative manner, simultaneously actively engaging youth in broader community issues. The result of this work, which is both ongoing and continually reflective, has seen a growing number of youth community builders between the ages of 13 and 25 involved in the Batey’s many projects. These organizing experiences have proven to us the importance of culture, identity and youth participation as a base for positive youth activity.
To get involved go to http://bateyurbano.net/
Momma's Hip Hop Kitchen
In 2007 Kathleen Adams and Lah Tere laid the foundation for MHHK as a response to the commercialism of hip hop by corporate America. As women of color they believe that women of color are in a state of emergency. Where the face of women in hip hop was a powerful emcee promoting self-respect and esteem, we are now bombarded with provocative, lustful images and we believe it is our responsibility to take this issue by force and re-establish what it means to be a woman in the culture of hip hop.
more info at http://www.mhhk.org/
Rebel Diaz
Fronted by MC’s Rodstarz and MC/Producer G1, Rebel Diaz shows us the true global power of Hip Hop. After first performing at an immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006 in front of a half million people, the bilingual duo has taken the international community by storm with their explosive live shows. With influences ranging from Dirty South bounce to South American folk, Rebel Diaz combines classic boom bap tradition with Hip Hop’s global impact. The group’s versatility has allowed for them to share the stage with the likes of Common, Mos Def, and Public Enemy, while feeling right at home with acts like Rage Against the Machine, and Mala Rodriguez. Recent tours in Spain, Germany,Guatemala, Venezuela, and Chile, have only solidified their international appeal.
With roots in Chicago and now based in the South Bronx, NY, Rebel Diaz has also piqued the interest of the academic community with their poignant social commentary and energetic performances. They have spent the last four years visiting dozens of colleges and universities, facilitating workshops, speaking on panels, and performing at national conferences. Building on this growing network of positive young people in Hip Hop, the group recently opened a community arts center in the South Bronx, the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective.
for more info go to http://rebeldiaz.mvmt.com/about/