Mirtha Colón
{{Short description|Honduran activist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mirtha Colón
| image = 2024 The Afro-Indigenous Peoples of Honduras- Exclusion, Conflict, and Migration - 1.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Colón in 2024
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|05|18}}
| birth_place = Trujillo, Honduras
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Honduran, American
| other_names =
| occupation = social worker, activist
| years_active = 1984-present
| known_for = Garifuna preservation
| notable_works =
}}
Mirtha Colón (born May 18, 1951) is a Honduran-born Garifuna activist and social worker who assists Caribbean migrants in The Bronx and travels widely supporting the issues of HIV prevention, sex education and cultural preservation. In 2012, she was recognized by the New York State Legislature for her service to the African diaspora in the state.
Early life
Mirtha Colón was born on May 18, 1951, in Trujillo on the Caribbean coast in the Colón Department of Honduras. She is of Garifuna heritage. With her mother and older sister, Colón moved often in her youth, traveling between urban centers along the coastal region of Honduras living in cities such as La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula. In 1962, Colón's oldest sister moved to The Bronx, where a large expatriate community of Garifuna lived. In 1968, the sister initiated the process for Colón to join her.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}}
Career and Education
Arriving in New York City, Colón began working in Brooklyn for a textile manufacturer. After her second child was born, she became determined to return to school. Colón enrolled in the General Educational Development (GED) program of the Hostos Community College and earned her certificate in 1984. Because of conflicts with her work schedule, she left Hostos and enrolled in social services courses at Boricua College.
Colón formed a transnational, nonprofit organization in 1992, Hondurans Against AIDS, to address the high numbers of HIV-positive Garifuna women. With her experience in social work, Colón recognized the need to educate, in a culturally sensitive manner, the Garifuna community of the Central American coastline, as well as those immigrant communities clustered around the Bronx neighborhoods of Crotona, Hunts Point, Morrisania and Mott Haven.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}} Many of the community migrants speak the Garifuna language among themselves, isolating them from other Afro-Latino and Afro-American service networks.{{sfn|Torrens|2015}} In 1994, when she completed her bachelor's degree in human services, Colón took employment as a social worker at Lincoln Hospital. While simultaneously raising two children and working full-time, Colón pursued graduate studies at Fordham University, completing her master's degree in social work in 1998.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}}
In 2007, Colón expanded Hondurans Against AIDS, after receiving a Ford Foundation grant for $100,000. The organization created a headquarters, [https://casayurumein.org/en/we/ Casa Yurumein], hired an executive director, and began training network of health professionals to address HIV/AIDS among the African diaspora living in Belize, The Bronx, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Colón, who serves as the director, and her volunteers, assist with educational activities, monitoring patients to ensure they are adhering to treatment regimens, and identifying risk factors while respecting cultural traditions.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}}{{sfn|Torrens|2015}}
In 2012 Colón was one of New York State's Outstanding Career Serving Humanity Award recipients.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}}{{sfn|McCallister|2012}} Retired from her social work career, Colón still serves as executive director of Hondurans Against AIDS, traveling throughout the Garifuna homelands to improve social services to her community.{{sfn|López Oro|2016}} In addition to healthcare, Colón promotes cultural events to create networks for improving communication among differing Garifuna populations. One such event was the 2010 community meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.{{sfn|Garcia|2014|p=210}} Other events include the Garifuna Nation Summit held in the Bronx in 2014{{sfn|Ramos|16 April 2014}} and an annually sponsored Ms Garifuna Pageant.{{sfn|Ramos|3 May 2014}} In addition to her work in New York, Colón has served as president of the Central American Negro Organization ({{langx|es|Organización Negra Centroamericana (ONECA)}}), which was organized in 1995 to organize networks for Central American members of the African diaspora to address issues facing these populations.{{sfn|Troya|2016}}{{sfn|Garcia|2014|p=104}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin|30em}}
- {{cite thesis|last=Garcia |first=Doris |date=December 2014 |title=Place, Race, And The Politics Of Identity In The Geography Of Garinagu Baündada |url=http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11072014-161403/unrestricted/DGDissertation.pdf |type=PhD |access-date=23 February 2017 |publisher=Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921185500/http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11072014-161403/unrestricted/DGDissertation.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2015 |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite book|last1=López Oro|first1=Paul Joseph|editor-last1=Knight|editor-first1=Franklin W.|editor-last2=Gates|editor-first2=Henry Louis Jr.|title=Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro–Latin American Biography|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199935796.001.0001/acref-9780199935796-e-523?rskey=5Ci9St&result=49|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-199-93579-6|chapter=Colón, Mirtha (1951– )}} {{subscription required|via=[http://www.oxfordreference.com/ Oxford University Press]'s Reference Online}}
- {{cite news|last1=McCallister |first1=Jared |title=Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson fund-raiser will honor distinguished group - past and present |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-assemblyman-eric-stevenson-fund-raiser-honor-distinguished-group-present-article-1.1053534 |access-date=23 February 2017 |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=1 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130110080719/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-assemblyman-eric-stevenson-fund-raiser-honor-distinguished-group-present-article-1.1053534 |archive-date=10 January 2013 |location=New York City, New York |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|Ramos|16 April 2014}}|last1=Ramos|first1=Wellington C.|title=Commentary: A mandate for a Garifuna nation|url=http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Commentary%3A-A-mandate-for-a-Garifuna-nation-20751.html|access-date=23 February 2017|publisher=Caribbean News Now!|date=16 April 2014|location=Dallas, Texas|archive-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330215747/http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Commentary%3A-A-mandate-for-a-Garifuna-nation-20751.html|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|Ramos|3 May 2014}}|last1=Ramos|first1=Wellington C.|title=Commentary: Ms Dangriga, Belize, captures Ms Garifuna 2014 title|url=http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/belize.php?news_id=20969&start=&category_id=27|access-date=23 February 2017|publisher=Caribbean News Now!|date=3 May 2014|location=Dallas, Texas}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- {{cite news|last1=Torrens |first1=Claudia |title=Garífunas, fenómeno único entre inmigrantes hispanos |url=http://lahora.gt/garifunas-fenomeno-unico-entre-inmigrantes-hispanos/ |access-date=23 February 2017 |publisher=La Hora |date=22 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221230917/http://lahora.gt/garifunas-fenomeno-unico-entre-inmigrantes-hispanos/ |archive-date=21 December 2015 |location=Guatemala City, Guatemala |language=Spanish |trans-title=Garífunas, unique phenomenon among Hispanic immigrants |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite news|last1=Troya |first1=Odalys |title=El Salvador acoge encuentro de afrodescendientes de Centroamérica |url=http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?o=rn&id=21968&SEO=el-salvador-acoge-encuentro-de-afrodescendientes-de-centroamerica |access-date=23 February 2017 |publisher=Prensa Latina |date=25 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826203307/http://prensa-latina.cu/index.php?o=rn&id=21968&SEO=el-salvador-acoge-encuentro-de-afrodescendientes-de-centroamerica |archive-date=26 August 2016 |location=Havana, Cuba |language=Spanish |trans-title=El Salvador hosts meeting of Afro-descendants of Central America |url-status=dead }}
{{refend}}
External links
- [https://archive.org/details/MirthaColonAndHivaidsInAfro-centralAmericanCommunities The Dream Committee interview with Mirtha Colon about HIV/AIDS in Afro-Central American Communities begins at 24:30]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Mirtha}}
Category:African diaspora in Honduras
Category:People from Colón Department (Honduras)