HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH SERIES:

From the Block to the Mic: Voices from the Barrio

🌟 Hispanic Heritage Month Series | Barrio Edition 🌟

🎤 From the Block to the Mic

Hosted by Susana Elizarraraz

📅 September 8th

🕕 5:00PM–6:45 PM

📍 2301 Lexington Avenue KCMO 64124

We’re kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month like never before…

This isn’t your typical panel or polished keynote.

This is storytelling from the soul, from abuelita’s porch to the frontlines of change, from the block to the mic.

✨ About Our Host

Susana Elizarraraz is a first-generation Mexican-American and the first in her family to graduate from high school and attend college. Her own difficult experiences as a student fueled her passion for equity in education. While at UMKC, she helped establish the first multicultural sorority on campus, Sigma Lambda Gamma, just the beginning of her mission to ensure everyone has representation.

After six years of teaching in her home neighborhood, Susana transitioned into education nonprofit leadership as Deputy Director of the Latinx Education Collaborative, where she advanced the mission of increasing Latinx representation in K–12 classrooms. Today, through her business Sana Collective, LLC, she continues to drive equity in education while creating balance for her most important role: raising her two young children. She also leans into her voice as a writer through Sana sin Miedo—a practice of moving past fear and writing with courage. Susana embodies what it means to create, collaborate, and contribute fearlessly.

🔥 The Night’s Flow:

Part 1: Cultura + Corazón – The Workshop (5:00–6:00 PM)

💥 Learn how to organize through art, poetry, and storytelling

💥 Explore how your voice can spark movements rooted in cultura

💥 Hands-on exercises to turn personal stories into calls for change

Part 2: From the Block to the Mic – Poetry Slam (6:00–6:45 PM)

💥 Open mic for artists, organizers, parents, youth, educators, and everyday barrio heroes

💥 Music + DJ vibes between sets

💥 Space for truth-telling without filters

Sign up on-site to grab the mic, all styles welcome: spoken word, rap, barrio storytelling, or anything straight from the corazón.

Because el barrio sabe… and this month, we’re turning the volume all the way up.

#TheMicIsOurs #BarrioEdition #HispanicHeritageMonth #ChicanoCenter #RaícesYVoz #LatinxPower #BarrioLove #OwnTheMic

 Raíces y Voz: Leadership From the Ground Up

Hispanic Heritage Month Series: Barrio Edition

Raíces y Voz: Leadership From the Ground Up

Speak your journey. Ignite your community.

Too often, leadership is defined by degrees, titles, or boardrooms. But real leadership lives in our barrios, kitchens, classrooms, and studios. Raíces y Voz: Leadership From the Ground Up is a leadership experience created for us, by us. It’s not about “empowering” people, it’s about amplifying the power our community already holds.

This Hispanic Heritage Month, join us for an evening of storytelling, reflection, and inspiration as we highlight leaders who are redefining what leadership looks like in Kansas City. Our featured speaker, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, will share her journey: what inspired her to run for office, the challenges and experiences that shaped her, and her vision for building a community where everyone can thrive.

Through stories like Rebeca’s, participants will be reminded that leadership doesn’t start with a title, it starts with courage, lived experience, and using your voice to create change.

✨ Event Hosts

  • Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan – Candidate for Kansas City Council, housing justice advocate, community organizer, and Westside resident committed to amplifying the voices of everyday people. https://www.rebeca4kc.com/

  • Phyllis Hernandez – Founder of Sala De Arte, dedicated educator, youth advocate, and community leader whose work empowers underrepresented groups and advances social justice across Kansas City. https://www.saladearte.biz/

Join us for an inspiring evening where our speakers will share their stories:

  • What inspired them to step into leadership

  • The challenges and experiences that shaped their journeys

  • Their vision and plans for the community

📍 Location: 2301 Lexington Avenue KCMO 64124
📅 Date & Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Let’s lift up raíces y voz this Hispanic Heritage Month.


Join us! 

Hispanic Heritage Month+FUERZA Entrepreneur Week: Northeast Equity Walk


Walking for Equity, Rooted in Cultura, Powered by Comunidad and fueled by our local small businesses.

The Northeast Equity Walk is a symbolic and community-driven event that takes place in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast, a neighborhood deeply shaped by immigrant and Latino/a/e families and their ongoing fight for equity, recognition, and investment.

This walk shines a light on:
✨ Latino/a/e and Immigrant Contributions – Generations of families, small businesses, cultural spaces, and traditions that have sustained the Northeast and enriched Kansas City.
✨ Addressing Inequities in Resources & Representation – Calling attention to the systemic barriers that have left the Northeast overlooked in housing, education, healthcare, and investment.
✨ Celebrating Culture & Community Resilience – From murals to mercados, honoring the vibrant cultural identity and pride of the community.
✨ Fostering Dialogue Between Community & Leadership – Creating space for real conversations about equity and justice in the Northeast.
✨ Encouraging Collective Action – Inspiring us to support small businesses, advocate for equity, and ensure the Northeast remains thriving and essential to KC’s future.

📍 What to Expect
 Join us for a 1.5-mile walking tour through Kansas City’s Historic Northeast—visiting historic streets, Garfield Elementary, bus stops, murals, and small businesses along Independence Ave. and St. John Ave.—the very heart of the community. Along the way, hear stories of struggle, triumph, and resilience from community leaders.

🗓️ Date: Sunday, September 22
⏰ Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
📌 Starting Point: Latinx Education Collaborative, KCMO
👟 Led by: NE Community Members Monique Limón & MJ Jones with 4th District Councilman Crispin Rea

This walk is more than a tour—it’s a celebration, a call to action, and a reminder that the Northeast is thriving, vibrant, and essential to Kansas City’s future.

Let’s walk together, for equity, cultura, and comunidad.

#HispanicHeritageMonth #BarrioEdition #NortheastEquityWalk #Comunidad #Cultura #EquityInAction