​Taking it back to our roots -- one week at a time

Multi-colored flags and vibrant flowers filled the hallways at Detroit Cristo Rey High School to celebrate the school’s first Latino/a heritage week. Students started every day with a biography or a quote from a famous person from the Latino/a community. Throughout the week, students participated in different activities to learn about the heritage. Monday they were introduced to the culture; Tuesday they could buy tacos at lunchtime; Wednesday they had a chance to wear anything representing the culture from soccer jerseys to dresses; Thursday they learned dances styles, from bachata to banda; and Friday they could join in the student commons for live performances from musicians in their own school.

Although Cristo Rey’s student population is predominantly Latino/a, the week still enlightened many teachers and students.

When Sister Rita, a nun at Cristo Rey, was asked about how much her life was influenced since entering Cristo Rey she said, “Prior to Cristo Rey I had never met nor known anyone who was Latino/a and upon entering Cristo Rey I knew very little about their culture and their heritage. But ever since coming I have enjoyed getting to know about their customs and traditions in the Latino community.”

Sr. Rita has been especially moved by the “depth of their spirituality,” she said.

The Latino/a community is filled with famous leaders and Cristo Rey acknowledged a few of them every morning during their announcements; they gave an insight into some history that was not always necessarily touched on by the media and this opened the eyes of many people at Cristo Rey.

After joining Cristo Rey, history teacher Mr. Lucey has learned about the leadership within the Latino/a community.”When you are from the outside looking in, you don’t see much about their community, but it’s not because they aren’t leaders. They just aren’t recognized for what they do in the media.”

Lucey grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn, “diversity was about the African American community, they never really touched on Latino/latina history.” Lucey said working with the Latino/a community and celebrating their roots at Cristo Rey inspired him to learn more about their history.

Detroit Cristo Rey is bringing diversity awareness to their school one week at a time. This Latino/a heritage week was more than a celebration, it was a cultural movement that allowed members of the school, Latino/a or not, to embrace and learn about the culture.