CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE
Sept. 15 to Oct. 15

Gloucester County College faculty members Namorah Byrd and Marcela Stein-Savelski will discuss the tragic history of recent military dictatorships in Latin America in their lecture “Hispanic Culture: Varied, Vibrant and Transforming” on Wednesday, Oct. 5 beginning at 10:50 a.m. in the Fine Arts Center.  This compelling presentation will include personal experiences of military crimes along with a discussion on the strong presence of Hispanics in America and issues relevant to all ethnicities, and how these events have shaped them, and many others, into who they are today. 

Byrd, an assistant professor of developmental English at GCC, has a multicultural background that includes Native American (Chitimacha), African American, Hispanic (Cuban maternal great-grandparents) and European. Hispanic Heritage Month provides Byrd with a special opportunity to delve deeper into her past and the Hispanic community’s contributions to America.

Stein-Savelski, a native of Argentina and descendant of Russian and Romanian Jewish great-grandparents, came to the United States as an adult where she discovered that being Hispanic meant something very different in the two countries. Adapting to a new culture and language changed not only her perspective about her own identity but also resulted in Stein-Savelski reinventing herself and learning to embrace the richness of hers and other people’s cultural backgrounds.

Click HERE for a list of GCC Events that celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Click HERE for suggested a reading list of Hispanic authors.