Semana de la Raza: Writing Contest & Storybooth 2020: Introduction & prompts

Voices are colorful and language is a living thing. A story, if successful, lives and breathes as its subject and storyteller live and breathe. “This happened, I was there, let me tell you about it…” It is the stories that we tell that make us who we are and connect us as human beings.

For Semana de la Raza, we invite you to participate in the tradition of storytelling, to be heard and recognized for your voice. Tell us your stories as an act of resistance, as an act of bearing witness, and as an act of celebration and connection.

Use the prompts below to get inspired and join the Writing Contest, Storybooth, or both!

Writing Contest

The Rock Creek Writing Center, in celebration of Semana de la Raza, invites you to enter our district wide essay contest by answering any of the questions in this prompt. Entries must be a minimum of 400 words, written by a current PCC student, typed, and emailed as an attachment to charmaine.vannimwegen@pcc.edu by April 17, 2020. Please include your full name and an email address on the document, and use Semana de la Raza Writing Contest as the subject.

The first place winner will get $100, the second place winner will receive $75 and third place receives $50. Winners will be announced during the closing celebration of Semana de la Raza where they will be invited to share their stories.

In her poem “Dear Matafele Peinem,” which she performed at the UN Climate Change Summit, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner speaks of the dangerous effects of climate change on small island nations, nations whose presence are overlooked and whose voices go unheard. Despite this, some of today’s leading climate change activists and sustainability advocates are young people of color. 

How are latinx communities being affected by climate change (In the US or abroad)? Share your own thoughts and discuss different ways latinx communities contribute to sustainability efforts. Are there other ways communities or individuals can contribute to this work?

 In his TED Talk, ”Can Art Amend History,” Titus Kaphar discusses the omission and misrepresentation of African American artists and artwork in a college class. 

From your experience and perspective, how have latinx narratives been featured, misrepresented, or omitted in classroom curriculum?

VIsit the Semana de la Raza website for a list of events throughout the week of April 20, 2020.

Storybooth

We invite everyone to share their personal stories about identity, misrepresentation, our college climate, and experiences related to environmental justice. Stories will be recorded and shared with the community to surface the experiences that make-up the colorful voices in our community.

Recording will take place on a drop-in basis from 11:00am - 3:00pm on Thursday, April 23, 2020 & Friday, April 24, 2020 at PCC Rock Creek Campus, Building 5, room 122. Instructors are encouraged to incorporate visits to the storybooth as part of their spring class. Please contact sara.robertson@pcc.edu to coordinate.

In her TED Talk, “My Identity is a Super Power,” America Ferrera describes the challenges she faces as a latina in the entertainment industry and the times when that identity was a source of her success.

Share about a time when your latinx identity has made you stronger or created conflict/frustration around you. 

In 2016, PCC declared itself a “sanctuary college."

What does the term "sanctuary" mean to you? What more could the college do to support undocumented students?

The PCC Dreamers Resource Center was created at Rock Creek campus after great much effort and advocacy by students to establish PCC as a sanctuary college in action as well as in declaration. Read more about how the center got started on PCC news: DREAMer Center a go at PCC (September 14, 2017)