Amanda Alcantara

Amanda Alcantara is a writer, a journalist, and a community organizer. Her work has appeared on Guerrilla Feminism, El Diario La Prensa and The Grio. She is a Co-Founder of La Galería Magazine, a magazine for Dominican Diaspora, and author of the blog Radical Latina. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies and Political Science from Rutgers University where she helped relaunch the Latin American Womyn's Organization. Amanda also does community theater and writes poetry. She's a firm believer in healing through art and in fighting for liberation. A map of the world turned upside down hangs on her wall.

Posts Written by Amanda

Haitian woman
By Amanda Alcantara • 9 years ago

Why Haitian immigration to the Dominican Republic is a feminist issue

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

The unrest and conditions in Haiti have pushed many Haitian citizens to choose to move to the Dominican Republic. This issue of Haitian immigration is a controversial one, especially now that thousands have been casted into immigration limbo when a law that retroactively stripped Dominican-born people of Haitian descent of birth-right and then required them to apply for citizenship was enacted in recent weeks.

"black and breathing" sign
By Amanda Alcantara • 9 years ago

Friday Feminist Fuck Yeah: An interview with a Black Brunch organizer

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

Most direct actions aren’t meant to be a pleasant experience for their intended audience. From the Civil Rights Era sit-ins to the Montgomery bus boycott, they are meant to, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.” 

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

Most direct actions aren’t meant to be a pleasant experience for their intended audience. From the Civil Rights Era sit-ins to the Montgomery bus boycott, they ...

"not one more" protest sign
By Amanda Alcantara • 9 years ago

#BlackLivesMatter and anti-blackness among Latinxs

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

As an Afro-Latina, I grew up aware of anti-black sentiments. A look at the attention that my light-skinned, green-eyed family members received was enough to learn that being negra wasn’t good, and I even came to internalize some of that self-hatred.

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

As an Afro-Latina, I grew up aware of anti-black sentiments. A look at the attention that my light-skinned, green-eyed family members received was enough to learn that ...
By Amanda Alcantara • 10 years ago

A Feminist Guide For Overcoming Rejection

Last night I got an email saying that I didn’t get this pretty exciting job that I had applied for. That’s the 3rd job rejection I’ve gotten in less than a month. That rejection and a recent heartbreak have left me feeling like shit.

Overall, I am confident in my capabilities. I think that every employer should want me. So I get overexcited every single time that I submit a resume. I also don’t have a problem telling a guy that I like him. I mean, really? What could possibly go wrong? I’m smart, talented, and I look good! (I’d post a picture but that would be too much).

Anyway, something could go wrong: he could reject me. Just like I’ve rejected ...

Last night I got an email saying that I didn’t get this pretty exciting job that I had applied for. That’s the 3rd job rejection I’ve gotten in less than a month. That rejection and a recent ...
By Amanda Alcantara • 10 years ago

No Place for Women in Journalism of Dissent

I’m almost done with my seasonal job as a camera-person at a TV station in NYC and I’ve decided to take a break from journalism until at least November. I’m not satisfied with my career choice- Journalism- which doesn’t mean I will give up; it just means my approach has to change.

It almost feels easy (although it’s not) to be a reporter for mainstream media sources. Whether that be a network television station or an online liberal newspaper, it seems that these places are open to you as long as you have connections there and are in line with their politics. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have either. As a first-generation college-graduate with Dominican parents, having connections anywhere is difficult, ...

I’m almost done with my seasonal job as a camera-person at a TV station in NYC and I’ve decided to take a break from journalism until at least November. I’m not satisfied with my career choice- Journalism- ...