As a kid I was an interpreter for my parents,
I translated for them.
And I remember seeing the way people looked
at my family.
My dad didn't go to school past the third
grade, and yet he was the one who really loved to read.
Before I could even read or write, my father
and my mother would have us reciting poetry.
My name is Yomaira Figueroa, and I'm an Assistant
Professor of Global African Diaspora Studies.
I study Afro-Latino literature and Latinx
literature.
My courses are centered on the works of people
of color.
Literature is a reflection of the human...
and what humans are we looking at?
Who do we think is human?
Whose experiences do we think matter?
People like my father did not appear in my
system of education, he didn't appear in the text.
But I knew that it was him and people like
him who really kept alive the love of words
and the love of language—and a sense of
who we are.
I am really committed to seeking out these
texts and showing the contributions that they
make to the way that we think about ourselves
and the world.
So many first-generation students and students
that are underrepresented... there's a real
feeling that a lot of times, we are just left
adrift.
When you have a professor that is standing
up in the classroom bringing that with them
too, you feel recognized.
There's some real value in what you can bring.
I hope my students feel that.
