“I was pleased to participate in the Diaspora Gala and join a fantastic panel of leaders within our community to speak with local youth about their future career opportunities,” said Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “It was very inspiring to see so many youth engaged in the event. I trust that the City of Lynn’s future is bright.”
“What the Gala meant to me was that we can grow here in Lynn and we can get to places, and if other people were able to, we could too. Lynn is a world of opportunities.” — Hernan Reynoso, Junior at Lynn Classical High School
Woman of Color Association was proud to partner along with Beyond Walls and North Shore Juneteenth on the Diaspora Gala 2019, an event that allowed the youth of Lynn to interact with community members of Color. It was a night of inspiration, opportunity, and exposure. The event itself took about four months to put together, and I knew from the moment we started working on this that the Diaspora Gala, and the resulting educational programs, would become impactful programs of change for our community. And I was right, the impact of the evening was felt and expressed by a number of adult mentors and more importantly, the youth. I cannot wait to begin the process of planning the 2021 event and expand on the work we are doing.
Adriana Paz
Founder of North Shore’s Women of Color Association, V.P. of North Shore Juneteenth
“The Diaspora Gala felt empowering to know that I was seen as a woman of substance, not a problem to society or even a target for foolishness.”
— Jah’Nyah Spencer, Senior at Lynn Vocational & Technical High School
