LaGuardia Community College Brings Together Latin and Caribbean Heritage Centers for One-Day Symposium

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (April 1, 2024) — On Tuesday, April 2, LaGuardia Community College/CUNY will bring together Caribbean focused centers and institutes throughout The City University of New York for a day-long discussion about the work being done to highlight the history and heritage of the peoples from the Caribbean. The “One CUNY Caribbean Symposium & Networking Event” is co-hosted by Casa de las Américas (La Casa)—a center launched at LaGuardia to celebrate Latinx heritage from all countries of the Americas and the Caribbean, along with LaGuardia’s Campus Life, Multicultural Exchange, and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Representatives from the Caribbean Research Center at Medgar Evers College, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at the City College of New York (CCNY), the Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College, and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College, are scheduled to attend the symposium.

“This is the first-ever ‘One CUNY Caribbean Symposium & Networking Event’,” said Donniece Davis, Associate Director of Campus Life at LaGuardia, a co-chair of the symposium. “My co-chair, Jeffery Kazembe Batts, Campus Life Educator, and I, along with our committee, put together this symposium to highlight the Caribbean diaspora and cultural heritage. We hope attendees come away with a greater understanding of how people with Caribbean roots are connected through shared experiences, even though they are also separate in many ways. With Casa de las Américas being launched at LaGuardia almost two years ago, we want the representatives from the other CUNY Caribbean centers and institutes to learn about La Casa’s work and find opportunities for collaboration.”

The symposium will begin at 10:10 a.m. in the Little Theater with welcoming remarks from symposium co-chairs, Ms. Davis and Mr. Batts. Center and institute staff from La Casa, the Caribbean Research Center, the Dominican Studies Institute, the Haitian Studies Institute, and CENTRO will each give presentations on their program’s work. A panel discussion will then be held with representatives from the centers and institutes, moderated by Mr. Batts and Chrisendath (Chris) Singh, Student Life Leadership & Development Specialist, LaGuardia.

Audience members will then hear remarks from Thomas Cleary, Institutional Archivist with the LaGuardia Library and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Alexis J. McLean and watch a performance from a Dominican dance group.

At 12:55 p.m., Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, will give a keynote speech.

Attendees will be encouraged to move to the Poolside Café for an hour-long networking and tabling event beginning at 1:20 p.m. The symposium is expected to conclude by 2:20 p.m.

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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 degrees and certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to educate New Yorkers seeking new skills and careers. As an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of underserved populations. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students while providing them with access to a high quality, affordable college education.

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