Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria, and the Crisis of Colonialism

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico with unprecedented force. Over six months later, the majority of the island remains without clean water or electricity and over 200,000 have relocated to the United States. Join us for a gathering of community organizers, artists, filmmakers, and scholars to discuss Hurricane Maria and it’s aftermath.

This full-day symposium includes three panel discussions and a keynote address by Carmen Yulín Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan. Participants will discuss the impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s political landscape and imagination, opportunities for the Puerto Rican diaspora and communities in solidarity to support the rebuilding process, and strategies for resisting the further colonization and corporate exploitation of Puerto Rico.

The symposium is being held in conjunction with the 24 th Annual Pa’Lante Conference organized by the Union of Puerto Rican Students at UIC.

The event is free and open to the public. Food and drinks will be provided.

(If you're registering for the entire conference make sure to rsvp for the keynote as well.)

--

Schedule for the Symposium:

9:00a - Welcome and Introduction

9:30a-11:30a - Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and Haiti: Environment, Race, Class, and Empire

• Brenda Torres Barreto, San Juan Bay National Estuary Program
• Zaire Dinzey-Flores, Sociology and Latino and Caribbean Studies, Rutgers University
• Elsie Hernandez, Director, Haitian American Museum of Chicago
• Adrienne Dixson, Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

11:30a-12:30a - Lunch
12:30p-2:30p - Puerto Rico in the Wake of Maria: The Politics of Survival and Sovereignty

• Yarimar Bonilla, Anthropology and Latino and Caribbean Studies, Rutgers University
• Rocío Zambrana, Philosophy, University of Oregon
• Shariana Ferrer-Nuñez, Purdue University and the Colectiva Feminista en Construcción
• Giovanni Roberto, University of Puerto Rico and Desarrollo Político, Educativo y Cultural

3:00p-5:00p - Behind the Lens, After the Storm: A Discussion with Puerto Rican Filmmakers

• Rosa Clemente, journalist and organizer of PR on the Map
• Alvaro Aponte-Centeno, photographer and director of El Silencio del Viento
• Jacobo Concepción Cardona, director of El Ultimo Puertorriqueño

5:00p-6:00p - Reception

6:00p-7:30p - Keynote Address The Honorable Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico

MEDIA: Media outlets that wish to cover the event can contact Carlos Sadovi, csadovi@uic.edu, (312)355-2491; or Brian Flood, bflood@uic.edu, (312)996-7681 in the UIC News Bureau.

--

Hosted by the UIC Social Justice Initiative, the Union of Puerto Rican Students, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, and the Puerto Rican Agenda in coordination with the UIC Latina/o Cultural Center, the Program in Latin American and Latina/o Studies, the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, and the Great Cities Institute.

With generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, the Crossroads Foundation, the University of Illinois at Chicago (Office of the Chancellor and Public and Government Affairs, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Office of Student Affairs, the School of Public Health, the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, the Great Cities Institute, the Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, Institute for Government and Public Affairs, the Latino Cultural Center, and the Departments of African American Studies, Latin American and Latina/o Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Sociology, Political Science, and History), Columbia College Chicago, and the Northwestern University Latina and Latino Studies Program.