Mirtha Colón (born May 18, 1951) is a Honduran-born

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and traditionally speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language. The Garifuna ...

activist and social worker who assists

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

migrants in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and travels widely supporting the issues of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

prevention,

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

and cultural preservation. In 2012, she was recognized by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...

for her service to the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

in the state.

Early life

Mirtha Colón was born on May 18, 1951, in Trujillo on the Caribbean coast in the Colón Department of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. She is of

heritage. With her mother and older sister, Colón moved often in her youth, traveling between urban centers along the coastal region of Honduras living in cities such as

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida, and a port city on the northern Caribbean coast in Honduras. It forms part of the southeastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With ...

and

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

. In 1962, Colón's oldest sister moved to The Bronx, where a large expatriate community of Garifuna lived. In 1968, the sister initiated the process for Colón to join her.

Career and Education

Arriving in New York City, Colón began working in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

for a textile manufacturer. After her second child was born, she became determined to return to school. Colón enrolled in the

General Educational Development The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four academic subject tests in the United States and its territories certifying academic knowledge equivalent to a high school diploma. This certification is an alternative to the U ...

(GED) program of the Hostos Community College and earned her certificate in 1984. Because of conflicts with her work schedule, she left Hostos and enrolled in social services courses at Boricua College. Colón formed a transnational,

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization in 1992, Hondurans Against AIDS, to address the high numbers of

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

Garifuna women. With her experience in social work, Colón recognized the need to educate, in a

culturally sensitive Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed fo ...

manner, the Garifuna community of the Central American coastline, as well as those

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

communities clustered around the Bronx neighborhoods of

Crotona Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaea (ancient region), Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other f ...

, Hunts Point, Morrisania and Mott Haven. Many of the community migrants speak the

Garifuna language Garifuna (Karif) is a minority language widely spoken in villages of Garifuna people in the western part of the northern coast of Central America. It is a member of the Arawakan language family but an atypical one since it is spoken outsi ...

among themselves, isolating them from other Afro-Latino and

Afro-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

service networks. In 1994, when she completed her bachelor's degree in human services, Colón took employment as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

at Lincoln Hospital. While simultaneously raising two children and working full-time, Colón pursued graduate studies at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

, completing her master's degree in social work in 1998. In 2007, Colón expanded Hondurans Against AIDS, after receiving a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

grant for $100,000. The organization created a headquarters,
Casa Yurumein
', hired an executive director, and began training network of health professionals to address HIV/AIDS among the

living in

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, The Bronx,

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, Honduras, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Colón, who serves as the director, and her volunteers, assist with educational activities, monitoring patients to ensure they are adhering to treatment regimens, and identifying risk factors while respecting cultural traditions. In 2012 Colón was one of New York State's Outstanding Career Serving Humanity Award recipients. Retired from her social work career, Colón still serves as executive director of Hondurans Against AIDS, traveling throughout the Garifuna homelands to improve social services to her community. In addition to healthcare, Colón promotes cultural events to create networks for improving communication among differing Garifuna populations. One such event was the 2010 community meeting with Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. Other events include the Garifuna Nation Summit held in the Bronx in 2014 and an annually sponsored Ms Garifuna Pageant. In addition to her work in New York, Colón has served as president of the Central American Negro Organization (), which was organized in 1995 to organize networks for Central American members of the African diaspora to address issues facing these populations.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

The Dream Committee interview with Mirtha Colon about HIV/AIDS in Afro-Central American Communities begins at 24:30
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Mirtha 1951 births Living people Garifuna people African diaspora in Honduras People from Colón Department (Honduras) Fordham Graduate School of Social Service alumni Social workers HIV/AIDS activists Honduran emigrants to the United States