Lake View East in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Dra. Antonia Pantoja
The Legacy Walk
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
1. Dra. Antonia Pantoja Marker
Inscription.
Dra. Antonia Pantoja. The Legacy Walk.
Dra. Antonia Pantoja (Lesbian Puerto Rican Educator and Activist) (1922 - 2002), . Antonia Pantoja overcame the poverty and circumstances of her childhood to become a schoolteacher who focused on the educational needs of disadvantaged children. She emigrated from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland in 1944 and soon began to organize her community around principles of self-determination and pride in their shared heritage. In 1953 she co-founded the Hispanic American Youth Association, which later became the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs (PRACA); and, in 1957, founded the National Puerto Rican Forum, an incubator for organizations and programs promoting economic self-sufficiency. In 1961, Pantoja founded ASPIRA, a non-profit organization that continues to provide counseling, financial aid and other assistance to Latino students and their families through a network of charter schools and affiliated programs nationwide. Today many of her “Aspirantes” have become dynamic leaders in their communities as well as successful entrepreneurs, political figures and entertainers. Dra. Pantoja worked with the Ford Foundation, the National Urban Coalition, the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education. As one of the most important Puerto Rican community leaders in the United States, she was presented with the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Bill Clinton in 1996. In her autobiography, Memoir of a Visionary: Antonia Pantoja (2002), she revealed that she was lesbian – sparking controversy among some in the Puerto Rican community who would have preferred her orientation had remained a secret and those in the GLBT community who resented that she had not gone public with the revelation sooner. She weathered such criticisms with the patience, strength, and wisdom that remain the hallmarks of her legacy, declaring “I am at peace with who I am.” Dra. Pantoja succumbed to cancer in 2002, survived by her partner of nearly 30 years, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry.
Dra. Antonia Pantoja
(Lesbian Puerto Rican Educator and Activist)
(1922 - 2002)
Antonia Pantoja overcame the poverty and circumstances of her childhood to become a schoolteacher who focused on the educational needs of disadvantaged children. She emigrated from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland in 1944 and soon began to organize her community around principles of self-determination and pride in their shared heritage. In 1953 she co-founded the Hispanic American Youth Association, which later became the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs (PRACA); and, in 1957, founded the National Puerto Rican Forum, an incubator for organizations and programs promoting economic self-sufficiency. In 1961, Pantoja founded ASPIRA, a non-profit organization that continues to provide counseling, financial aid and other assistance to Latino students and their families through a network of charter schools and affiliated programs nationwide. Today many of her “Aspirantes” have become dynamic leaders in their communities as well as successful entrepreneurs, political figures and entertainers. Dra. Pantoja worked with the Ford Foundation, the National Urban Coalition, the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education. As one of the most important Puerto Rican community
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leaders in the United States, she was presented with the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Bill Clinton in 1996. In her autobiography, Memoir of a Visionary: Antonia Pantoja (2002), she revealed that she was lesbian – sparking controversy among some in the Puerto Rican community who would have preferred her orientation had remained a secret and those in the GLBT community who resented that she had not gone public with the revelation sooner. She weathered such criticisms with the patience, strength, and wisdom that remain the hallmarks of her legacy, declaring “I am at peace with who I am.” Dra. Pantoja succumbed to cancer in 2002, survived by her partner of nearly 30 years, Dr. Wilhelmina Perry.
Location. 41° 56.92′ N, 87° 38.967′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lake View East. Marker is on North Halsted Street south of Waveland Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
2. Dra. Antonia Pantoja Marker - wide view
The marker for Dra. Pantoja shares a rainbow pylon with a marker for Leonard Bernstein.
. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3641 North Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60613, United States of America. Touch for directions.
"Antonia Pantoja was a formidable figure in the historical development of Puerto Rican and Latinx life in New York, Puerto Rico, California, and beyond during the second half of the 20th century. A black, queer, Puerto Rican educator, social worker, and foundational figure in the Puerto Rican community in postwar New York City, Pantoja established several groundbreaking institutions in New York and in Puerto Rico. Her goal was to enhance civil rights and educational opportunities and to promote positive imagery and self-love for Puerto Ricans in New York and beyond. She is best known for establishing the organization
3. Marker inset: Dra. Antonia Pantoja
ASPIRA in 1961, an important organization that promoted education and advancement for Puerto Rican youth in New York City by providing clubs within schools, career and college counseling, advocacy for bilingual education, and other services."
courtesy of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Library and Archives, September 9, 1996
4. Antonia Pantoja and the U.S President Bill Clinton
This was taken at some point during the Medal of Freedom ceremony.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 10, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 170 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 10, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.