Carolina Latinx Center opens with expanded programs, resources for campus
From Carolina in the News article by Adrianne Gibilisco
“Welcome to our new space,” said Josmell Perez as he greeted visitors to the Carolina Latinx Center, which officially opened July 1 in Abernethy Hall.
Perez led the Carolina Latinx Collaborative for nearly a decade while it incubated within the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion. Now he will see the fruits of his labor — and that of students, faculty and staff — ripen as the CLC morphs into the Carolina Latinx Center, where he will serve as director.
The Abernethy Hall space includes an ample student workroom, offices and common space, with easy accessibility to campus in a central location. The space formerly housed the American Indian Center, now located at 205 Wilson St., across from Carolina Campus Community Garden.
The CLC’s original home was in Craige North Residential Hall through a partnership with Housing and Residential Life and D&I. “Part of my time with D&I was dedicated to managing and leading the collaborative,” Perez said. “As the collaborative grew in size, programming and impact, so did my role in overseeing it.”
The CLC was a home for the Latinx community on campus, providing an outlet for events, a space for students to organize and for faculty to connect with students and the community at large. (The term “Latinx” describes people of Latin American and/or Iberian heritage living in the United States, regardless of race or gender.)
The group organized Latinx Heritage Month events on campus, including bringing keynote speakers like civil rights activist Delores Huerta and performer Rita Moreno to campus. “The CLC also started a much needed Latinx Mentoring Program to fill a gap that wasn’t being met on campus,” Perez said.