The program, PII Talks, is a talk series that brings together influential people from diverse backgrounds to foster understanding, promote mutual respect, and build bridges of connection.
Executive Director Adam Ozdemir noted that the talk series aims to unite people from diverse backgrounds and cultures to engage in meaningful dialogue during National Hispanic Heritage Month. “Now it is more important than ever [to get to know each other] because of growing hate in society and how it affects people and the mindsets of the younger generation,” said Ozdemir. On October 15th, a diverse group of attendees filled the room.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th to October 15th annually, and is a celebration of the achievements, traditions, and vibrant culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans. The evening began with dinner at the Hasbrouck Heights headquarters of the Peace Islands Institute, a not for profit whose mission includes promoting peace, harmony, and mutual respect across cultures, religions, and nationalities. A mariachi band then warmed the crowd, before guest speakers spoke about the importance of Hispanic culture to society.
Award winning columnist, Daysi Calavia-Robertson, gave the history of National Hispanic Heritage Month, stating that its genesis dates back more than 50 years when it started as National Hispanic Heritage Week. Calavia-Robertson reported that in 1988, it was expanded to an entire month to celebrate the rich history and important world contributions of Hispanics living in America. She is a self described proud Latina, who admitted that in a divisive world, “it may be hard to be proud of who you are when there are people who are hell bent on tearing that [pride] down. They may make you feel that because you look a certain way or have an accent that you don’t belong in America. I feel that this month is a time to come together and be there for each other and build each other up.”
President of the Hispanic American Law Enforcement Association, Lizette Anderson, in her speech, conveyed a heartfelt story regarding her roots. Due to hardship, her mother needed to fly from the mainland to her homeland of Puerto Rico to give birth to her. Born to a Puerto Rican mother and Italian father, Anderson spoke about being one of 12 children, and joining the army at her father’s orders. After 12 years in the armed services, Anderson joined law enforcement. She quickly realized her passion was to help people and improve relations between police and community. Anderson was instrumental in bringing the National Night Out program to New Jersey, a community building campaign where police and community come together annually in early August for food, games, music and other fun activities. She approached executives at Goya Foods to plead for food donations for families in need, and they obliged.
This talk series held at Peace Islands Institute is one of four held throughout the year that Ozdemir said coincides with the theme of the month. For example, a talk series is held for Black History Month in February and for Women’s History Month in March. Volunteers at the Peace Islands Institute like Yavuz Guler, a Turkish educator, who recently began teaching in a Paterson charter school, says he supports the organization because he enjoys meeting people from different faiths. He said the Peace Islands Institute is intentional about being inclusive. Long time supporter of the organization and Rutgers University professor, John Pavlik, explained, “as a professor, my meetings tend to be in my field, but I like to come to these events because I meet people from different walks of life.” He said he has heard interesting speakers at the Peace Islands Institute, like former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, that he can then tap into later to invite to campus to speak to his students.
Peace Islands Institute started in 2003 as Interfaith Dialog Center before a name change in 2011. Its mission of creating spaces for different cultural groups and different faiths to get to know each other is believed by Ozdemir to be the catalyst to break down barriers that intercept peace.