By Karla Bruciaga
Throughout world history, individuals have created and used social movements as a way to make their voices heard. This year we have seen important social movements take center stage; most importantly the Black Lives Matter Movement, as movements concerning COVID-19, like the Anti-Mask Movement.
Program Leaders taught the girls in Club Latinitas about the history of social movements, as well as how current movements developed and why they’re important. We went over various social movements that fall under four categories: politics, human rights, the environment, and medicine. Some of the movements we talked about were the Climate Change marches — led by youth groups, and the Anti-Vaccine Movement.
After learning about these movements, each Latinita created their own poster about a movement that interested them. Here is a video showing some of their creations!
Lilly created a poster about the Anti-Mask Movement, she said it was important for her to talk about why masks are an essential tool in fighting COVID-19.
“I don’t want anyone to be at risk of getting COVID-19, because it is a scary thing. My mom and grandma both got COVID-19,” she said.
EV was inspired by one of the oldest movements in U.S. History — the Women’s Rights March that continues today.
“It is important for women to be able to vote because that means that they can be equal to men,” she said during her presentation.
Marycande also decided to make her poster about women’s rights, choosing animations illustrating what we learned about.
The Black Lives Matter Movement impacted a lot of our students, making them think critically about equality for people of color. One of our students mentioned how she attended many protests this past summer, saying her favorite part was creating posters and being able to go out with her mom.
Our Latinitas are living through an important time when many social movements are coming to fruition and taking the forefront of many conversations. We hope our Latinitas continue to grow in their awareness and activism in social movements, because they are the leaders of a new generation and ideals!
