Immediate Release: October 10, 2022 Media Contact: Gabriela Hernandez, CASA Campaigns Communications
Washington, DC – On September 10, Morelys Urbano became the first Afrolatina to win the title of Miss Fiesta DC on the local pageant’s 50th year anniversary. CASA is proud to celebrate this milestone recognizing this Dominican community youth leader. Ms. Urbano has been an active CASA member since she was 17 and continues to be an unapologetic advocate for the Black undocumented migrant youth through a wide range of organzing/mobilizations, media outlets and creative projects.
“I am extremely honored to be representing my community in a festival like this,” said Morelys Urbano. “Representation is always important to break barriers and open paths for the next generation of youth leaders.”
Through her advocacy with CASA, Morelys has testified for legislative priorities and shared her story publicly with the media. She is an award-winning spoken word artist who uses her poetry to highlight her experience in the United States as a Black undocumented woman. After graduating high school, Ms. Urbano earned a full scholarship to Morgan State University, where she is currently making her mark on campus as the founder of UndocuBears, the first-of-its-kind student organization at Morgan.
CASA’s Chief of Organizing and Leadership, Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, fondly remembers when she first met Morelys. She comments, “It has been captivating to witness Morelys continue emerging into such a powerful community leader. Her commitment to social and racial justice has been contagious to so many around her. The CASA family is ecstatic to finally see Morleys and afro-latinidad be celebrated in the Fiesta DC pageant. This is a very powerful moment to witness; the next generation of young women dismantling normalized Latin-American beauty standards, and seeing Black Beauty be celebrated.”
With over 122,000 lifetime Latino, immigrant, and working-class members across 46 US states, CASA is the foremost immigrant organization in the mid-Atlantic region and a national leader in supporting immigrant families and ensuring that all individuals have the core support necessary for full participation in society. Now a national immigrant powerhouse, CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members. Visit us at www.wearecasa.org and follow us on Twitter at @CASAforall.
