By renaming ourselves in honor of the hundreds of “Palenques” established across Latin America and the Caribbean, we have the following intentions:

1) to invite Latinxs to remember/learn that many of us belong to the African diaspora given that nearly 90% of captive Africans were brought to Latin America;

2) to better challenge anti-Blackness and anti-Indigeneity in Latinx cultures that allows for a political analysis based on liberation, healing, and unity;

3) shaped by this decolonial historical analysis, we seek to be in relationship with all of those seeking freedom from the impacts of exploitative forces of capitalism, machismo, and white supremacy because together we are stronger; and

4) to ultimately reframe Latinx power-building as a liberatory activity that opens up the possibility for a more just and joyful future for the many.

Naming ourselves Palenque comes with a lot of responsibility to our ancestors and to those who will come after us. We speak our name as an intention, a spell, and a vision that together we will create spaces where radical liberation could both exist and thrive. Palenque describes a spirit of resistance, solidarity, and self-reflection, intentionally centering Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. We recognize that embracing a spirit of Palenque is both an internal and external shift that translates into how we approach our work, our priorities and, most importantly, determines our vision.

Statement of Work

We are a multi-issue community organization, directly serving more than 6,500 residents across the Logan Square, Hermosa, and Avondale neighborhoods of Chicago and impacting tens of thousands more through nationally-recognized issue campaigns and programs. Learn More

HISTORY

This vision of Palenque grows out of our history. In the 1970s and 1980s, Logan Square became majority Latinx, with the local public schools 90% Latinx and 95% low-income. At the time, many perceived the schools as distant and unwelcoming. The organization saw strong schools as fundamentally interconnected with community well-being and viewed them as a community resource. We worked closely with school leaders to transform schools as community centers, with deep parent involvement. Over the years, we have opened community learning centers, created workplace training programs, and helped attract more affordable housing to our communities. As our neighborhoods have evolved and faced intense gentrification, we have been leaders and partners in numerous campaigns including for balanced development and affordable set asides, driver’s licenses for all, sustainable community schools, the removal of immigration detention centers from Illinois, bringing a mental health clinic to our neighborhoods, Grow Your Own Teachers, the creation and state-wide replication of our Parent Mentor Program through the Parent Engagement Institute, establishing a demolition fee to slow gentrification, the creation of a community land trust, placekeeping efforts, and many more. Today, we have evolved into Palenque LSNA, where we serve thousands of residents and represent over 40 member institutions. Our organization has explored the concept of being a Palenque since 2020 and it officially became part of our name in April 2022. Learn More