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Interpreting the Evidence

Latina Women's Conference, "Realizing My Dreams," c. 2000

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About this Activity

  • Documents in this Activity:
  • Historical Eras:

    Contemporary United States (1965 - present)

  • Thinking Skill:

    Historical Analysis & Interpretation

  • Grade Level:

    Middle School
    High School
    College University

  • Topics:

    Community
    Immigration
    Latinos
    Women

  • Primary Source Types:

    Written Document

  • Regions:

    Central New York
    New York State

  • Creator:

    NYS Archives Partnership Trust Education Team

  1. Load Latina Women's Conference, "Realizing My Dreams," c. 2000 in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Document Description
Mission statement and brief history of "Realizing My Dreams" Latina Women's Conference, ca. 2000
Historical Context
In 1989, the Latino population of Syracuse, New York was growing rapidly. The Spanish Action League (SAL) had been organized in 1969 to help the Spanish-speaking population of the city with social services and assistance in the crucial areas of housing, employment, education, and family services. By the late 1980s, the organization was overwhelmed with direct service needs and had little time to work toward political changes that would help the Latino community move forward. As a result of attending Father Robert Chryst’s Hispanic Forum luncheons and the New York State Assembly Somos Uno conference in 1989, a group of people formed the Association of Neighbors Concerned for Latino Advancement (ANCLA). The grassroots organization has been involved in a number of projects that strengthen and promote the health of the Latino community. One of them is the Realizing My Dreams Latina Conference.
 
Essential Question
How does immigration affect the lives of the immigrants?
 
Check for Understanding
Summarize the main idea of this document and explain how the lives of latina women were impacted by their immigration.
Historical Challenges
The achievements of Latina women have been important to the culture and history of our country. Research famous Latina women using the Resources section below and create a poster that contains pictures of, and a paragraph of biographical information about, some of the Latina women you have researched.
 
Interdisciplinary Connections
Math: Research the rise in the number of Latina women in the work force and create a graph. Make a second graph of the kinds of occupations they work in.
Science: Research Latina women who have made significant contributions to the field of science.
English Language Arts: There are many famous Latina authors, including Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate), Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street), and Mary Helen Ponce (Hoyt Street: An Autobiography). Write a book report on the work of a Latina author.
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