Hidden Voices of New York City: Antonia Pantoja - Educator Workshop

Between 1940 and 1960, over 800,000 Puerto Ricans moved to the United States mainland, about 85% of them to New York City. During this time, when the systematic neglect of the needs of Puerto Rican students affected their cognitive function/function in the classroom, one educator fought for the bilingual education they needed to excel. In this free virtual program —geared towards educators and open to all — we will learn more about the life and activism of Dr. Antonia Pantoja and her legacy in New York City. 

Harlem-based Afro-Boricua, Antonia Pantoja (1922-2022), is one of the most important leaders of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. Pantoja was a schoolteacher from San Juan and founder of ASPIRA— an organization that trained politicians, activists, and reformers to lead New York’s growing Puerto Rican community and that helped win the right to bilingual education for New York City’s students.  

Join us as we dive into the life of Dr. Antonia Pantoja and gain resources to teach her story and legacy during a conversation between scholar Lillian Jiménez, the author of the acclaimed hour-long documentary “Antonia Pantoja, ¡Presente!” (2009), and Wilhelmina Perry, Pantoja’s colleague, and partner, as they share personal experiences that shaped Pantoja’s attitudes and what guided her lifelong struggle against racism, sexism, and education for all. 

This virtual program will examine primary resources to inspire new ideas for including Pantoja’s life in our teachings.   

FREE. Registration required. 1.5 CTLE hours. 

About the Scholar:

For over forty years Lillian Jimenez has worked in many areas of the independent media world: educator, producer/director, media literacy pioneer, arts administrator, organizational development consultant.  She has worked for FIVF (Foundation for Independent Video and Film); Media Network; Third World Newsreel; Chica Luna Productions and the Funding Exchange.  She was a co-founder of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) and The Paul Robeson Fund for Film and Video at the Funding Exchange.  She produced and directed several short films including “Steppin’ It Up,” a film on Young Lord Richie Perez, several short videos on Puerto Rican pioneers and produced, “What Could You Do With A Nickel?” on housekeepers in the South Bronx forming a union, and she produced/directed, “Antonia Pantoja: !Presente!” a documentary shown on PBS.  For several years, she taught media studies as an adjunct at The New School and Fordham University (Lincoln Center).   She is now retired and volunteers in Rockland county working not for profit organizations and undocumented people. 

About the Hidden Voices of New York City Virtual Program Series 

Hidden Voices of New York City is a six-part virtual workshop series for grades 3-5 from the Museum of the City of New York that highlights and honors the individual and collective experiences of a diverse swath of New Yorkers.  

Students who participate in the Hidden Voices of New York City virtual student series will sharpen their historical thinking skills through engagement with primary and secondary source materials, hone skills in civic agency through exposure to the stories of people who organized within and beyond the city of New York, and gain an understanding of how the past influences our present and future.  

The professional learning portion of the Hidden Voices of New York City series is designed to support educators with the best teaching strategies to bring these stories into the classroom, including activities and discussion strategies for grades 3 to 5. Learn more about these change-makers through thought-provoking guest speakers and primary source analysis that will expose multiple perspectives about the era in which they lived, the challenges they faced, and the legacy they left in New York. The Hidden Voices project is aligned to the Passport to Social Studies curriculum.   

Learn more at www.mcny.org/hidden-voices