In 1966, there was an eruption of riots that
started on Division Street in the West Town
community. Social conditions such as racism,
poor education, lack of housing and lack of
health care peaked into violence after an
incident of police brutality occurred after
the first Puerto Rican parade. The riots lasted
for several days. As a result, a group of
Puerto Ricans convened to analyze the cause
of the anger that led to these riots and how
to address the problems affecting the community.
The group conducted a door-to-door survey
of residents and identified the following
priorities: education, housing, political
involvement, quality of services, health,
racism, and quality employment. Committees
were created to address these issues.
Mirta Ramirez was a parent of two children
in elementary school during the 60s. She noted
that there was a lack of respect for Latino
children and their parents. She also discovered
that there was segregation within the school
system. Children were not treated with dignity
and were set up to fail. Mirta was also a
student of Northeastern University, organized
a group that would address the alarming dropout
rate of Puerto Rican students and other problems
in education. During the research stage, they
discovered the ASPIRA project in New York
founded by Antonia Pantoja. Ms. Ramirez read
Dr. Pantoja’s book and began to develop the
same project in Chicago. After two years of
hard work, ASPIRA of New York submitted a
grant proposal to the Ford Foundation to expand
the agency to urban areas where large populations
of Puerto Ricans resided. ASPIRA of New York
received a three-year grant to allow individual
agencies to develop their own funding programs.
In 1968, ASPIRA, Inc. of Illinois was established
as a 501(c)(3) organization in Chicago's West
Town community area in response to the daunting
dropout rates in the Hispanic community. It
was created to address the growing social
and educational needs of youth in the Puerto
Rican community in Chicago. The first office
was located on the third floor of a bank at
the corner of Chicago and Ogden Avenues in
the community now known as River North. Mirta
Ramirez became the first Executive Director
followed by Sylvia Herrera de Fox, who would
remain in the role for the next ten years.
Mirta Ramirez remained active in the community.
Ms. Ramirez helped obtain a $60,000 grant
to set up the first bilingual program in the
public schools. Ms. Ramirez also founded the
West Side Child Parent Bilingual Center, the
first agency of its type in the nation. Ms.
Ramirez remains involved in ASPIRA activities
and serves in an advisory capacity. ASPIRA
is a success story that had its beginnings
because of the dedication and hard work of
Puerto Ricans led by Mirta Ramirez.
During its thirty-eight (38)) years of serving
youth and families, ASPIRA has helped thousands
of disadvantaged students enter college; hundreds
of parents understand the complex educational
process; and numerous families strengthen
their relationships. The programs are successful
because staff delivers services through a
comprehensive approach and addresses all family
members’ needs in collaboration with other
social service agencies, health care providers,
public schools, higher education institutions
and government agencies. ASPIRA has been serving
the needs of Latino and other economically
disadvantaged youth and their families through
educational, leadership and cultural development
efforts to improve their quality of life.
Since inception, over 60,000 families have
been served through skilled and dedicated
staff.
