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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) is named
3after Juan Antonio Corretjer, the celebrated Puerto Rican
4national poet laureate and one of the most significant
5political theorists of the 20th century; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The PRCC was established within the historical
7context of the building of communities of resistance and was
8initiated, following the Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico, by
9Taino forebearers, runaway African slaves, and marginalized
10populations, such as the Moors and Sephardic Jews; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Throughout the Caribbean and in Latin America,
12this practice was conducted in the hinterlands, in the
13mountains, and in other marginal geographical areas by the
14people who were known as cimarrones; and
 
15    WHEREAS, These Maroon societies became a place where
16people gathered to address the critical problems confronting
17them, a place where they recovered a sense of their history,
18and a place where they created a syncretic cultural
19production, such as music, poetry, and performances; and
 
20    WHEREAS, In that tradition, the PRCC carries out a process
21of conscientization, informed by the principles of

 

 

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1self-determination, self-actualization, and self-reliance,
2meaning that it educates, organizes, and struggles for social,
3economic, and political empowerment of Puerto Ricans within a
4context, which is holistic in nature and organic in form; and
 
5    WHEREAS, All of the PRCC's programs constitute an
6umbrella, meeting the needs of the community, which at the
7same time encourages participants to think critically about
8their reality and promotes an ethics of social responsibility
9framed by the motto "live and help to live"; and
 
10    WHEREAS, These programs address diverse issues that
11include wellness, social, educational, cultural, and quality
12of life matters for Puerto Rican/Latino and other marginalized
13communities; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The programs address HIV/AIDS, education,
15literacy, housing, homophobia, substance abuse, gang violence,
16teen pregnancy, police brutality, racism, economic and
17community development, human rights violations, and the
18devastation created by generational and historical trauma
19through the work of the four pillars of initiatives, which are
20public health, housing, economic development, and education;
21and
 
22    WHEREAS, The PRCC promotes the principles of

 

 

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1self-actualization, self-determination, and self-reliance for
2the Puerto Rican/Latino community through the study, recovery,
3and celebration of Puerto Rican culture; these efforts are
4devotedly undertaken through programs and annual events, such
5as The Three Kings Day celebration, the Casita de Don Pedro
6project, the Puerto Rican People's Day Parade, Fiesta Boricua,
7Haunted Paseo Boricua, the Community as a Campus Initiative,
8the Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness, El Rescate
9Transitional Living Space for LGBTQ+ Youth, the Lisa Isadora
10Cruz Transgender Empowerment Center, the Nancy Franco
11Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building, the Consuelo Lee
12Corretjer Child Care Center, as well as mural projects and
13other initiatives; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Along with the National Boricua Human Rights
15Network, the PRCC has also played a key role in human rights
16campaigns, including the defense of political prisoners, the
17struggle for peace in Vieques, the defense of undocumented
18immigrants, and the fight against the criminalization of
19youth; and
 
20    WHEREAS, For the past 50 years, the work of the PRCC has
21been formed by a socio-ecological model, which recognizes the
22interplay among key factors, including social justice,
23community and institutional building, policy, advocacy,
24environmental justice, education, housing, and access to

 

 

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1equitable health care; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare Labor Day
4weekend 2023 as "Puerto Rican Cultural Center Weekend" in the
5State of Illinois; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to the PRCC as a symbol of our respect and esteem.