[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E195-E196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING AND CELEBRATING DR. ANTONIA PANTOJA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 8, 2023

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on International's Women Day 
to honor and celebrate in memoriam Dr. Antonia Pantoja, a Puerto Rican 
educator, social worker, organizer, prolific author, and resilient 
social justice activist. Her contributions to the Puerto Rican 
community and American society are immeasurable.
  From a humble upbringing on the outskirts of San Juan, Barrio Obrero, 
Puerto Rico--Dr. Pantoja emerged as one of the most vocal and 
passionate advocates for the Puerto Rican Diaspora, inspiring and 
guiding emerging leaders in New York City since the 1960's. Believing 
that education and cultural pride were crucial to healing and lifting 
the community out of poverty, she committed her life to the difficult 
and necessary awakening of public consciousness. She was a key figure 
in the fight to resolve the educational and social injustices plaguing 
the Puerto Rican community in New York. Her contributions were many and 
include the establishment of bilingual and culturally relevant 
education in New York and across the U.S.
  Despite growing up impoverished, she was a determined student and 
grateful for the opportunity to pursue her education. She received a 
teaching certificate from the University of Puerto Rico in 1942.
  In 1944, at the age of 22, she emigrated to New York City to further 
her education. She landed her first job as a wartime welder where she 
quickly helped form a union that negotiated better work conditions for 
employees. The seeds of grass-roots activism, that she learned from her 
grandfather, a union organizer for a tobacco company, would become part 
of the basic tools for her future work.
  Antonia graduated from Hunter College (1952) with a bachelor's degree 
in Sociology. She went on to earn a Master's Degree from Columbia 
University School of Social Work (1954) and her Ph.D. from Union 
Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio (1973).
  Early organizing work led to the founding of the Hispanic American 
Youth Association (HAYA) in 1957 to address the unmet education, 
healthcare, and employment needs of her community. Shortly thereafter, 
the organization was renamed the Puerto Rican Association of Community 
Affairs (PRACA) to address the unique plight of the Puerto Rican 
Diaspora.
  In 1961, Dr. Antonia Pantoja and a group of Puerto Rican educators 
and professionals created ASPIRA to address the exceedingly high drop-
out rate and low educational attainment of Puerto Rican youth. Sparked 
by the high dropout rates and low educational attainment of Puerto 
Rican children, Dr. Pantoja worked

[[Page E196]]

with ASPIRA of New York to sue the NYC Board of Education (1974). They 
were successful, and the resulting consent decree is considered a major 
landmark in the establishment of bilingual education in the United 
States.
  Dr. Pantoja helped establish some of the most influential stateside 
organizations of the time including the National Puerto Rican Forum 
(1957), ASPIRA (1961), Universidad Boricua, the precursor of Boricua 
College (1970), and the Graduate School for Community Development 
(1978) in San Diego. In addition, she established Producir (1984) and 
Provivienda (1985) in Puerto Rico. The Graduate School for Community 
Development incorporated her more comprehensive and well formulated 
understanding of community development and the need to include economic 
development, art and culture in the development of community. Utilizing 
these experiences, she then, with her partner, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry, 
worked with local residents to develop an organization that had a 
strong economic component to foster local businesses among the women 
and the farmers. This organization was formed in a rural mountain town 
in Canovanas, Puerto Rico. Provivienda, a second corporation emanating 
from Producir, further focused these ideas on low-income housing in 
Puerto Rico.
  Since its formation over 62 years ago, ASPIRA has grown from a small 
nonprofit agency in New York City to a national association with 
statewide Associate organizations in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, 
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South, 
North Carolina, and the ASPIRA Association Office in Washington, D.C. 
as well as in Puerto Rico.
  ASPIRA continues to build on Dr. Pantoja's legacy of leadership 
development and movement building providing extensive cradle-to-career 
resources for Latina/o youth in communities across the United States. 
In 1996, she was recognized with the Nation's highest civilian honor by 
President Clinton when she became the first Puerto Rican woman to 
receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Dr. Antonia Pantoja died of cancer in New York City on May 24, 2002. 
She was survived by her longtime partner, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry. May we 
celebrate the countless lives she touched and the myriad ways she 
helped improve New York.

                          ____________________