September 28, 1998 Volume 21, No. 3

Latina Actress Breaks Television Barriers

The first installment of Ithaca College’s 1998–99 Racial Awareness Series will feature a talk by Sonia Manzano, a cast member and Emmy Award-winning writer for the long-running children’s television series, Sesame Street.

Manzano, who has played "Maria Rodriguez" since the show’s third season, will visit the College on Thursday, October 1, for a 7:00 p.m. talk in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. Her talk, "Breaking the Culture Barrier in TV," is free and open to the public.

"Ithaca College is committed to promoting an appreciation of multiculturalism," says Keeon Gregory, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. "This series is a valuable tool in the continued effort to educate the College community on issues of race. It also serves to enlighten members of the minority community about their own heritage."

Gregory credits Manzano as a pioneer in the breakthrough of Latinas into the growing field of children’s television. "She has served as an inspiration to countless young men and women interested in television careers."

The Racial Awareness Series will continue in January with a presentation of The Meeting, a critically acclaimed play about the lives, philosophies and times of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Jeff Yang, publisher of A magazine. arrives in April.