Dayelin De La Cruz (18), Imagine Society activist, interviewed advocate for the elderly Suleika Cabrera Drinane in May 2021, and wrote an introduction for Suleika’s Lemlich Award.
I hope you are doing well! My name is Dayelin De la Cruz and I am 18 years old. I attend Loyola School. I am Hispanic (my family is from Dominican Republic) and I am from Harlem. I was drawn to interviewing you because I felt like I could relate to you in a way and I was so inspired by all you have done. I look forward to gaining knowledge from you. I have been doing service since the 7th grade and I am now graduating in a few weeks. I started with Ms. Robin, the Religious Director, at the middle school I used to attend and have been apart of her youth group since then. Our service has included the food pantry, homeless shelter, MLK Jr. Peace March, handing out metrocards along with a shelter card to those on the street, and many more. I have also done service within my high school and attended immersion trips ranging from environmental justice to racial justice. Meeting people through service despite their situations is what makes me want to keep going. They are human just like us and are in need of help. I feel as though it is my mission to do whatever I can to help the marginalized and advocate as much as possible.
Did you ever have a revelation in which you discovered activism was meant for you? If so, can you describe it?
No, not really. It was largely something I learned from my mother who was always a leader on our block in Spanish Harlem. My mother was a building Super and later ran a bodega. She was always a block problem solver - a block social worker if you will. While she took care of so many others, there was always enough food and clothes for all of us - me, my two sisters, my brother, and my father who was a merchant seaman, strict, respectful, and loving. From a very early age I always knew that I wanted to work with people.
What about working with seniors makes you so passionate?
Because I am one myself and all of us will eventually be seniors. Our society needs to make sure that all of our elderly can live out their lives with dignity and happiness, with basic needs of income, nutrition, healthcare, and companionship met. In our culture seniors were always seen as vital parts of the family so for me ensuring that Hispanic seniors in particular have access to all of the benefits and services to which they are entitled has been a passion. It is especially important that those providing these services are able to communicate with our seniors and have an appreciation for their language and culture.
Can you name a time where you transformed a difficulty with your advocacy into something positive?
That’s a hard question to answer because in advocacy work nothing is ever easy and progress always requires a struggle. I do recall that when the Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly, the agency that I ran, held its first Annual Conference at Columbia University, at the last minute an issue arose with the University that could have forced a postponement or relocation of the conference. We were able to advocate with some of the local legislative leaders representing the community where Columbia is located who interceded on our behalf with the University and the conference happened and was a great attended by over 500 Hispanic seniors and many of those same legislative leaders.
Did your neighborhood growing up, Spanish Harlem, influence what you aspired to accomplish in life as a young leader?
I have already mentioned the role that my mother played in shaping my life. Another key ingredient was my involvement in youth leadership activities of the Catholic church - la Milagrosa Catholic Church at 7th Avenue and 114th Street in particular. I was also very active as a young girl and teenager with a local community agency, Casita Maria, and later with Aspira of New York, founded by one of the greatest leaders in our community's history, Antonia Pantoja.
You have a multitude of awards now, reflecting on this, did you ever see yourself getting this far?
Let me just say that one of my earliest memories from my youth was receiving the Cardinal Spellman Youth Award from the Catholic Youth Organization at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. It meant a lot to me then and it still does.
Can you explain how important it has been for you to incorporate your background into your work?
If by “background” you mean that I am a Puerto Rican woman, born on the island but who came to El Barrio as a young child , where my father was a merchant seaman and my mother was the super in our building, it means everything to me since it made me who I am.
Do you have a particular person you look up to? What about them stands out to you?
There have been so many people who have inspired me and been role models and mentors for me that it is very hard to identify just one particular person. I guess that more than anything my mother and father made me the person that I am today.
If there is one quote you could leave young men and women who are activists or trying to be one, what would it be?
Again, that's a hard one. Maybe "Stand up for what you believe and then fight for it."
Being Hispanic yourself and a woman, what could you tell young girls who want to make their mark on the world but are scared because of their identity?
Never be ashamed of who you are and where you come from. Celebrate all the wonderful things about your rich cultural heritage and never stop trying to help all of your “people” to overcome all of the things that are holding them back from being all that they can be.
