Deepest Sympathies
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School and National Boricua Human Rights Network extend their most profound sympaties on the unexpected passing of compa�ero Chokwe Lumumba, Mayor of Jackson, MS and veteran of the Black Liberation Struggle.  Read the 2013 Democracy Now interview.
�Pronta Recuperaci�n
Compa�ero
Tony Mapaye!
El Centro Cultural Puertorriqueno se solidariza con Tony Mapaye y toda su familia.

!Todos los pensamientos unidos por la salud del patriota y hermano!

 

�Pronta recuperacion
Companero!
El compa�ero Luis Sanabria se oper� hace dos dias en Filadelfia y esta en camino a pronta recuperacion.
Va a estar hospitalizado un par de d�as m�s pero puede ser contactado en  [email protected]
Best Wishes to the Molina Family
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School, and National Boricua Human Rights Network send Alejandro Luis Molina, Network National Coordinator, PRCC Board Secretary and YCCS Board Vice- President, and Matt McCanna, BACCA Assistant Coordinator and College Pipeline Mentor, its strong desire for the improved health of Bertha Alanis de Molina. Bertha is a  pioneering and legendary figure of the bilingual educator pipeline program named TeacherCorps. She is a graduate of UIC, where she earned her BA and MA degrees and taught over a quarter century. She shown in the picture above with husband Luis Molina.

Centro Infantil 

Consuelo Lee Corretjer

Open Registration * Day Care Program * Head Start

We offer:

* Full day, Day Care for children 15 mos. to 3 yrs.

* Full day Head Start for children 3 to 5 yrs. 

* Research based curriculum

* Family involvement

* Nutritional Meals

* Parent workshops

Download the leaflet here.

 

"Still Dreaming": Available at Puerto Rican Cultural Center

Autographed copies of "Still Dreaming: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill" by Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, are still available. Contact Alejandro: 
 
Paseo Boricua Apartment Listing

3723 W. Grand

2 BD $750

773.791-9853

 

1700 Block of Spaulding

1BD $850

773.671.7936

 

Armitage at Monticello

2BD $850

Text 312-841-6534

 

Cortland at Pulaski

2BD $875

TEXT 920.843.7507

 

North and Humboldt Blvd

Studio $895

773.946.3693

 

1124 N. Wolcott

2 BD $950

773.276.8509

 

2646 W. Potomac

1 BD $950

312.893.3522

 

Mozart at Chicago Ave

2BR $975

773-301-7426

 

Maplewood at North Ave

1BD $1000

773-405-4423

 

Cortland at Drake

2BD $1100

(312) 508-3131

 

1635 N. Spaulding Ave

2 BD 1 bath $800

(773) 269-1450

 

1408 N Maplewood

3 BD 1 bath $1650

(773) 559-7215

 

3153 W Augusta

2 BD 1 bath $1025

(773) 235-5160

 

2611 W Wabansia Ave

2 BD 1 bath $925

(773) 677-7418

 

1742 N Humboldt Blvd

Studio $895

(707) 731-7587

Save the Date!
The 2nd United Puerto Rican People's Parade will take place on Saturday, June 14, 2014. Step-off at 2:00pm on Division St. corner of Western. Please join us as we celebrate "Puerto Rican Heritage" and the "40th Anniversary Opening of Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School". For more information or to be part of the parade please contact Leony Calder�n at 773-342-8023 or email at United-prpeoplesparade@prcc-chgo.org

 

Los Tequis
GOORULEARNING

Memorize this! Use it!
Tell Students about it!
Visit our Social Media
Facebook

Twitter
(PRCC) #jacprcc
(PACHS) #albizucamposhs
(NBHRN) #free_olr

 

 
Las manos en el cristal: Serie de Cartas de OLR a su nieta Karina
  




From Puerto Rican Cultural Center programs
ACA program is Number 4 in Illinois!
Congratulations to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) staff for being on the top ten list of Illinois. This past week (2/13 - 2/19) the PRCC made it to number four in the number of clients registered for affordable health care among the list of lead grantees of the state of Illinois.

Don't forget that enrollment for private insurance through the Marketplace ends in March 31st. Visit us to enroll! Health insurance is a human right and it is the law! For more information, call us at 773-227-7794 or 773-661-9077.  

PRCC Joins Committee for Media Access 
CAN TV's Future at Stake in Comcast Franchise Renewal

 

As Comcast seeks a $45 billion merger with Time Warner, it is an appropriate time to insure that, unlike many public access centers in Comcast cities which have have suffered cut backs and lost channels and even shut down entirely, Chicago is at the forefront of making the city a model of 21st century democratization of technology, and collaboration between big corporations and low-income communities.

CAN TV helps bring to the forefront issues of importance to the Puerto Rican/Latino community in taping events such as the Puerto Rican People's Parade, Fiesta Boricua, 32 Days for 32 Years Project as well as covering topics of contemporary interest such as immigration reform.  

  

The Chicago City Council will vote on Tuesday, March 4th for an extension to Comcast's franchise. The Puerto Rican Cultural Center will be there to support CAN TV and urge the City to push for an equitable settlement that includes direct funding, technical parity and  sustainable funding for decades to come.

  

To read more about the Committee for Media Access and the issues facing CAN TV, click here 
ARCC Partner, VIDA/SIDA Shares Research Experience with Northwestern Public Health Students
Earlier this week, two staff members and a youth program participant from Vida/SIDA shared their research experience with a class of  students. Northwestern Master of Public Health. Vida/SIDA is an HIV/AIDS prevention initiative working to educate, advocate, and empower Chicago's Latino community.

Vida/SIDA is currently working with ARCC Steering Committee Member and Assistant Professor, George Greene on an ARCC-funded seed grant project, Evaluating the Dissemination of Community-level HIV Prevention Information using a Social Networks Approach.
Centro Infantil Corretjer-Check-Out Time to Go!
Centro Infantil kids had a fun day at school. They had a dentist check- up and got their teeth clean and shiny. They also were given fun goody bags with brand new toothbrushes and toothpaste, stickers and a copy of their dental records to take home for their parents. The dentists told a staff member the Centro Infantil kids ranged low in the cavity area.
ACA Partners with CVS Pharmacy-another first!
On Thursday, February 20th, PRCC Navigators Raul Maldonado and Samantha Sanchez represented the PRCC in the first Get Covered Illinois event conducted in partnership with CVS pharmacy. The Navigators answered questions, and provided uninsured residents with information on how to enroll in health coverage. Raul and Samantha were proud to be the first Navigators to represent Get Covered Illinois in a CVS pharmacy event.
Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Commissioner Edwin Reyes visit Vida/SIDA!

On Thursday, February 13, 2014, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Commissioner Edwin Reyes visited Puerto Rican Cultural Center's Vida/SIDA.

 

Vida/SIDA's Director Juan Calderon, Jorge Cestou and Affordable Care Act Outreach Program Director Mayra Estrella had the opportunity to connect and emphasize to our Cook County officials the importance of supporting HIV Prevention Efforts for the most affected communities in the Chicago metro area and in the entire county of Cook.

 

VidaSIDA Program

PRCC-Vida/SIDA's mission is to educate, advocate and empower Chicago's Latin@ community by promoting culturally responsive healthcare resources that enable health affirming behaviors and attitudes. Vida/SIDA services are delivered in the city of Chicago and suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn, IL.

 

PRCC-Vida/SIDA programs include:

  • Vida Health Center -HIV/STI Counseling, Testing and Referrals
  • Linkage to Care ARTAS Case Management
  • Comprehensive Risk Management Counseling Services
  • Nosotros Mismos -Engaging and educational program to reduce the risk of HIV/STI infection and transmission among gang members and their families.
  • El Rescate -Transitional Living Program for LGBTQ and HIV Positive Youth 18-24 years of age
  • Generation L -Mpowerment support group for Latino and African American MSM
  • Women for Paseo -HIV Prevention and Substance Abuse treatment program for Latinas and African American Women.
  • Affordable Care Act Program -Enrollment Navigation and Counseling into federal health care program.

From Our Community Partners
T�tulo del art�culo
The Whole Kids Foundation and FoodCorps awarded Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School and the PRCC The School Garden Grant Program for $2,000 to improve our gardens and engage students of the FLC and other courses in gardening and the importance of whole nutrition.

The goal of the grant will begin to educate young families about the systemic food desert existing in our community, Humboldt Park. The gardens will be learning sites for parents and families to reconnect with traditional practices of food cultivation, identify organic gardening practices, and building home gardens. This engagement with parents and families will reinforce the school curriculum and commitment to sustainable food production in our community. In addition, the community partnerships with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) and the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) will extend the practices of agricultural sustainability for community residents to benefit and learn from the harvest during the farmer's market and other community events.
Clemente TV Students Produce IB Music Videos

Students in Mr. Roger Badesch's CTE Broadcast Technology program are in the middle of producing a music video that exemplifies IB learner profiles.  Students 'blindly' selected one of ten available songs that Badesch and TV producer Ms. Mildred Amador previously evaluated for IB learner profiles such as open-mindedness, risk-taking, caring, principled, and reflective. 


The song selected is Johnny Mathis' rendition of "Life is a Song Worth Singing", written by Thomas Randolph Bell and Linda Diane Creed.  Students spent several class periods analyzing the lyrics and designing a visual story to go along with the words.  Once the basic story was agreed upon, students drew storyboards for each scene and put together a taping schedule.

At this point, students are in the middle of production, videotaping actors and other scenes around the school.  After taping is completed, students will enter the post-production phase editing the video and audio, producing movie trailers, designing artwork for promotional handouts and producing the DVD graphics.

Some of the lyrics of the song are "Only you generate the power, To decide what to do with your life.  You're a fool if you think you're helpless, You control what you do with your life."    Film director Tarianna Williams, in her second year of the CTE broadcasting program, says the song "speaks about the hardships that young people face today, but that anyone can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it and think positively." 
Campaign to Free Oscar L�pez Rivera

Dr. Cornel West Calls for Release of Oscar L�pez Rivera Expressions of Black and Puerto Rican/ Latin@ Unity  

On a cold evening in Brooklyn, New York, over 300 people gathered inside Trinity Lutheran Church for a special Black History month event dedicated to Oscar L�pez Rivera, the longest held political prisoner in Puerto Rican history. The historic event, convened by a group of local leaders, featured an inspiring dialogue between Reverend Samuel Cruz, Senior Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Jos� L�pez, Executive Director of Chicago's Puerto Rican Cultural Center and brother of Oscar, and Dr. Cornel West, one of the most important public intellectuals in U.S. society and expert on the Black religious and political tradition. In the audience were several special guests, including Congresswoman Nydia Vel�zquez, newly minted New York City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-

Viverito and Councilman Carlos Menchaca. 

 

 

Building on a public conversation between Reverend Cruz and Dr. West held in Puerto Rico last year, the evening was filled with lessons about the meaning of solidarity, the importance of hope in political struggle, and, above all, the centrality of love and commitment to the cause of freedom. At the center of these lessons was Oscar, an incarcerated patriot of the Puerto Rican people that commands the love, respect, and support of a countless number of people around the world. 

 

Rev. Cruz commenced the dialogue making clear the purpose of the conversation: the immediate freedom of Oscar. Receiving a standing ovation, Dr. West began by invoking the legendary Black sociologist and political figure, W.E.B. Du Bois, and posing questions about how the oppressed could confront oppressors without compromising their humanity, love, and ethics. Distinguishing those that raised their "voice" against injustice with those that merely "echo," he drew parallels between the Black and Puerto Rican experience. Throughout his commentary, Dr. West paid homage to Puerto Rican national figures the likes of Ram�n Emeterio Betances, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, and Julia De Burgos, and visionaries of the Black Freedom movement the likes of Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, and Malcolm X

 

One of the most powerful moments of the evening was when Jos� L�pez described how Oscar's survived and, in a sense, transcended his twelve year long placement in a sensory deprivation control unit at the U.S. Penitentiary Marion. Oscar, his brother told the audience, transformed his imposed isolation into a choice of solitude, thereby refusing to allow his jailers to break his mind and spirit. Mr. L�pez also read a moving letter from Oscar to Dr. West.


At the conclusion of the event and a barrage of photos and embraces, Dr. West signed a petition calling on U.S. President Obama to release Oscar. As the New York chapter of the National Boricua Human Rights Network noted on its Facebook page, "He signed, have you? Let's get thousands to sign!"
 
Oscar's Letters to his Granddaughter Karina now Available in English
Oscar with his daughter Clarisa, left, and
granddaughter Karina

The series of letters by Oscar Lopez Rivera to his granddaughter Karina published online by El Nuevo Dia are slowly becoming available in English. All 15 published thus far are available on the National Boricua Human Rights Network website.