NY

Jasmine Virola


By: Voces Staff

Julia Araujo


By: Voces Staff

Julia is a Master's student at New York University studying performance activism. Situated in Queens, New York, she recounts her initial reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak, its impact on her community, and the effects of this experience on her mental health. As an active participant in the Black Lives Matter Movement, Julia recounts protesting in Dallas, Texas after she returned home when her classes went online. She discusses police violence against protestors, the effects of COVID-19 on the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the use of social media in activism. 

Jack Greenberg


By Samantha Gallion

Jack Greenberg had been working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for 17 years in 1966, when he received repeated requests from Mexican Americans and Native Americans.

“We had a great deal of success with civil rights cases, and people who we ordinarily didn’t represent came to us asking us to represent them,” Greenberg said.

José Borja


By Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

Every year at Christmas, José Borja organizes a celebration at a nearby Veterans Administration Hospital, in particular to honor aging Merchant Marines.

The cause of recognizing the Merchant Marines has become Borja's life's work. He has founded an organization called Association of Merchant Marine Veterans. He has written countless letters to public officials and others. He has called and spoken to any group and journalist who might listen. He has written newspaper columns emphasizing the wartime contributions of the Merchant Marines.