For the International Day of Peace event we partnered with Houston-Tillotson University, a historically black university. Since it was also Hispanic Heritage month it seemed a fortitious confluence of cultures in which to insert a contribution towards bringing in the guest speakers. The event was part of an Invited Writers Series. Both speakers were Hispanic poets from San Antonio. Carmen Tafolla is the present Poet Laureate of Texas and Octavio Quintanilla teaches at our Lady of the Lake University.

attentive audience

Carmen and Octavio

Students, faculty and community listeners were treated to a rich feast of language, that spoke to peace, drug and other wars, displacement, and the untold history that minorities still have to make others aware of. It became clear, that there is still much to do in peace building between ethnicities and races here and abroad.