TeleSur Co-Host and Producer Claudia De La Cruz Joins AF3IRM October 21st CenterShiftII Conference

Media Contact: [email protected]
Tel: (917) 397-0989

NEW YORK—To this South Bronx native whose parents are first generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic, “life is a political project.” Claudia De La Cruz, creator of Da Urban Butterflies, a center meant to develop the character of leadership among young women, has been hard at work for the last two decades on that project. She is dedicated to the deconstruction of systems of oppression and exploitation and toward the imagining of a radically different world for humanity.

Currently, she co-chairs The Popular Education Project (PEP), a collective of organizers and popular educators committed to create spaces for the study, discussion and reflection of political economy and popular education. She is also co-host and producer of TeleSur English’s “Ñ Don’t Stop,” with the hiphop duo, Rebel Diaz. She holds a degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College and a double masters in Theology and Social Work from the Theological Seminary of Columbia University.

Ms. De la Cruz sees education as providing students with the ability to contribute in the processes and acts of personal and collective liberation. Young women especially need this ability, as the guideposts of the women’s struggle locally, nationally and globally continue to be erased by Patriarchy and Capital.

She will bring this unique perspective of more than two decades of engagement as a community organizer, educator and journalist to the panel “Constellations of History.” The panel brings together five legendary women, each with her field of work and constituency, but united in the vision of a more amiable human society for women of color.

The panel will be followed by a remarkable presentation by the incomparable Pura Fe, who brings to the conference, the legacy of eight generations of Tuscarora Nation musicians.

The CenterShift Conference II: Roots & Routes will be held at the Center for Social Innovation, 601 West 26th, Rm. 325, New York, NY 10001. A sliding registration fee is asked of participants to cover digital copies of the proceedings. Registration can be completed here: https: //bit.ly/af3rr17.

For those wishing to join but want more information, please contact [email protected]. Or call (917) 397-0989. — ###