SR0304 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0304 LRB103 32471 MST 61965 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) is named after Juan Antonio Corretjer, the celebrated Puerto Rican national poet laureate and one of the most significant political theorists of the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, The PRCC was established within the historical context of the building of communities of resistance and was initiated, following the Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico, by Taino forebearers, runaway African slaves, and marginalized populations, such as the Moors and Sephardic Jews; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the Caribbean and in Latin America, this practice was conducted in the hinterlands, in the mountains, and in other marginal geographical areas by the people who were known as cimarrones; and

WHEREAS, These Maroon societies became a place where people gathered to address the critical problems confronting them, a place where they recovered a sense of their history, and a place where they created a syncretic cultural production, such as music, poetry, and performances; and

WHEREAS, In that tradition, the PRCC carries out a process of conscientization, informed by the principles of self-determination, self-actualization, and self-reliance, meaning that it educates, organizes, and struggles for social, economic, and political empowerment of Puerto Ricans within a context, which is holistic in nature and organic in form; and

WHEREAS, All of the PRCC's programs constitute an umbrella, meeting the needs of the community, which at the same time encourages participants to think critically about their reality and promotes an ethics of social responsibility framed by the motto "live and help to live"; and

WHEREAS, These programs address diverse issues that include wellness, social, educational, cultural, and quality of life matters for Puerto Rican/Latino and other marginalized communities; and

WHEREAS, The programs address HIV/AIDS, education, literacy, housing, homophobia, substance abuse, gang violence, teen pregnancy, police brutality, racism, economic and community development, human rights violations, and the devastation created by generational and historical trauma through the work of the four pillars of initiatives, which are public health, housing, economic development, and education; and

WHEREAS, The PRCC promotes the principles of self-actualization, self-determination, and self-reliance for the Puerto Rican/Latino community through the study, recovery, and celebration of Puerto Rican culture; these efforts are devotedly undertaken through programs and annual events, such as The Three Kings Day celebration, the Casita de Don Pedro project, the Puerto Rican People's Day Parade, Fiesta Boricua, Haunted Paseo Boricua, the Community as a Campus Initiative, the Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness, El Rescate Transitional Living Space for LGBTQ+ Youth, the Lisa Isadora Cruz Transgender Empowerment Center, the Nancy Franco Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building, the Consuelo Lee Corretjer Child Care Center, as well as mural projects and other initiatives; and

WHEREAS, Along with the National Boricua Human Rights Network, the PRCC has also played a key role in human rights campaigns, including the defense of political prisoners, the struggle for peace in Vieques, the defense of undocumented immigrants, and the fight against the criminalization of youth; and

WHEREAS, For the past 50 years, the work of the PRCC has been formed by a socio-ecological model, which recognizes the interplay among key factors, including social justice, community and institutional building, policy, advocacy, environmental justice, education, housing, and access to equitable health care; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare Labor Day weekend 2023 as "Puerto Rican Cultural Center Weekend" in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the PRCC as a symbol of our respect and esteem.