Hispanic Pride in JoCo

Whether it's the abundance of retail chains or the demographic data that skew 90 percent Caucasian, Johnson County doesn't rank too high on the diversity meter. But Johnson County Community College is making an effort to broaden the area's horizons. Enhancing diversity was one of the criteria that brought a new college president from Arizona in 2007, and it's the reason that nationally respected professor Carmaletta Williams was elevated to executive director of a new Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion earlier this year. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, JCCC has lined up four weeks of events that hit all corners of the cultural palate. Tonight marks the kickoff with a forum in which JCCC students and staff will discuss campus issues. That's followed by a September 15 screening of Walkout, a 2006 documentary about Latino high school students who took to the streets of Los Angeles in 1968 to speak out against institutional prejudice. Poets from Kansas City's Latino Writers Collective will read from their recently released anthology on September 25 before the final curtain falls October 3 with a colorful performance from the Luna Negra Dance Theater, a Chicago-based troupe that melds modern and ballet influences from Latin and Afro-Caribbean nations. For a full schedule, see jccc.edu /home/depts.php/6116/site/calendar.
Tue., Sept. 9, 2008