Brooklyn College Black and Latino Male Initiative - BLMI

Brooklyn College Black and Latino Male Initiative - BLMI The Black & Latino Male Initiative (BLMI) is designed to support students academically, socially and

The Black & Latino Male Initiative (BLMI) is designed to support students academically, socially and professionally throughout their college careers. The core mission is to increase the number of African and Latinos and other historically underrepresented groups who enroll in and graduate from college.

Meet our BLMI Mentors for the 2026-27 Academic Year!Freddy Jesse Izaguirre is a Nawa-Pipil & Salvadoran filmmaker who gr...
09/18/2026

Meet our BLMI Mentors for the 2026-27 Academic Year!

Freddy Jesse Izaguirre is a Nawa-Pipil & Salvadoran filmmaker who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a Film major with a concentration in Screenwriting and one of the Mellon Transfer Student Research Fellows. Freddy is passionate about the arts, Indigenous/migrants rights, and social justice. His images and essays have been published in GEN, PAPER, LEVEL, among other venues, and included with Caravan for the Children, which was later displayed as an exhibit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA. Freddy is beyond thrilled to be a peer mentor this year, and looks forward to working with students to maximize their potential and reach their goals.

Carlos Alberto Villacres is a proud Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian senior majoring in Health and Nutrition Sciences with a 3.9 GPA. As a former BLMI mentee turned mentor, he is passionate about helping students succeed academically, develop leadership skills, and build a strong sense of community. Carlos serves as President of the Public Health and Medicine (PHaM) Club, a USG Senator, and Student Disciplinarian, where he advocates for student wellness, food security, and equitable access to resources. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Food Equity and continue advancing public health and food justice through community leadership.

Orese Moses was born in Trinidad and came to the U.S. in 2014. As a senior, he now has a clearer vision of what he wants out of college that he did not have before. Watching his parents work two jobs just to provide taught him the importance of time management and commitment. He continued because he didn’t really have a backup. At a young age, he always had an entrepreneur mindset, including starting his own shoe business during quarantine, which made him think business was for him. Through all his trials and tribulations of learning what was for him, Orese learned how much alignment matters while being yourself at all times. The places you put yourself into and the impression you leave with people will stay forever. Orese wants to teach the incoming college generation and show them what a true netwo

Meet our mentors for the 2026-27 Academic Year!Freddy Jesse Izaguirre is a Nawa-Pipil & Salvadoran filmmaker who grew up...
09/18/2026

Meet our mentors for the 2026-27 Academic Year!

Freddy Jesse Izaguirre is a Nawa-Pipil & Salvadoran filmmaker who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a Film major with a concentration in Screenwriting and one of the Mellon Transfer Student Research Fellows.

Freddy is passionate about the arts, Indigenous/migrants rights, and social justice. His images and essays have been published in GEN, PAPER, LEVEL, among other venues, and included with Caravan for the Children, which was later displayed as an exhibit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA.

Freddy is beyond thrilled to be a peer mentor this year, and looks forward to working with students to maximize their potential and reach their goals.

Carlos Alberto Villacres is a proud Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian senior majoring in Health and Nutrition Sciences with a 3.9 GPA. As a former BLMI mentee turned mentor, he is passionate about helping students succeed academically, develop leadership skills, and build a strong sense of community.

Carlos serves as President of the Public Health and Medicine (PHaM) Club, a USG Senator, and Student Disciplinarian, where he advocates for student wellness, food security, and equitable access to resources. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Food Equity and continue advancing public health and food justice through community leadership.

Orese Moses was born in Trinidad and came to the U.S. in 2014. As a senior, he now has a clearer vision of what he wants out of college that he did not have before. Watching his parents work two jobs just to provide taught him the importance of time management and commitment. He continued because he didn’t really have a backup. At a young age, he always had an entrepreneur mindset, including starting his own shoe business during quarantine, which made him think business was for him.

Through all his trials and tribulations of learning what was for him, Orese learned how much alignment matters while being yourself at all times. The places you put yourself into and the impression you leave with people will stay forever. Orese wants to teach the incoming college generation and show them what a true networ

Join us at this year's  Conference for an important conversation around knowing your rights and creating a safe environm...
09/17/2026

Join us at this year's Conference for an important conversation around knowing your rights and creating a safe environment for CUNY's immigrant students

Register TODAY

🔗 Link in bio

Andres Santamaria Cortes is a New York-admitted immigration attorney with extensive experience representing and advocating for immigrants and their families. He currently serves as Lead Immigration Attorney at Make the Road New York, where he supervises the Queens immigration team and represents clients in diverse removal defense matters, including asylum, T-Visas, U-Visas, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Previously, he served as Senior Legal Counsel and Legal Counsel at the Central American Refugee Center. Andres earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School and his B.S. in Legal Studies from St. John’s University. He is fluent in Spanish and is committed to expanding access to legal services for immigrant communities.

Dr. Cynthia Carvajal is a scholar and practitioner at the intersection of immigration and education. Originally from Zapopan, Mexico she immigrated to East Los Angeles, CA at the age of five where she navigated K-12 education as an undocumented immigrant. Her personal and professional goals are grounded in her experience as a formerly undocumented immigrant, student, and community member for 12 years of her life. She previously served as the inaugural director for two immigration focused spaces: John Jay’s Immigrant Student Success Center and the CUNY-Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY-IIE). Her current role as the inaugural university director for Undocumented and Immigrant Student Programs at CUNY is a centralized role which addresses practice and policy that impacts undocumented students across CUNY campuses. One of her department’s main goals is to help develop Immigrant Student Success Centers across the CUNY campuses

Register TODAY for this year's Conference

🔗 Link in bio

Join us on Tuesday, September 22 for a shared cooking experience as we continue our Latinx Heritage Month celebration! L...
09/17/2026

Join us on Tuesday, September 22 for a shared cooking experience as we continue our Latinx Heritage Month celebration! Let’s be in community and enjoy a meal together as we discuss our cultures and culinary traditions. 🥘🫘🍽️

Join us on Tuesday, September 22 for a shared cooking experience as we continue our Latinx Heritage Month celebration! L...
09/17/2026

Join us on Tuesday, September 22 for a shared cooking experience as we continue our Latinx Heritage Month celebration! Let’s be in community and enjoy a meal together as we discuss our cultures and culinary traditions. 🥘🫘🍽️

The countdown to the  conference begins! If you're a business student, business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, this se...
09/16/2026

The countdown to the conference begins! If you're a business student, business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, this session is for you.

🔗 Link in bio to register

Moderator: Guildia Lopez
Founder & Creative Director, Brothers and Briefcases
Entrepreneurship & Leadership Strategist

Panelist: Jairo "Jack" Guzman
Jack Guzman is an undergraduate student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a Rising Scholar of Justice, and a Co-Founder of Laurel Design and Embroidery.

Laurel Design and Embroidery is a Brooklyn based space dedicated to custom embroidery, alterations, and design services. When he’s not leading the studio, communicating with clients, or neck-deep in embroidery designs, Jack spends his free time altering garments into statement pieces that he proudly wears.

As a student founder, he is dedicated to helping build sustainable, localized enterprise. Having a combined background in legal advocacy and hands-on craftsmanship, Jack views creative enterprise and justice through the same lens: empowering people to take full ownership of their stories.

Panelist: Angela Oakley
Founder & CEO, Glittered By Ang 💐✨

Panelist: Devine Poole

Panelist: Denequa Williams-Clarke

Lit Brooklyn is a cruelty free fragrance company founded by Denequa Williams-Clarke, a multi-hyphenate creative entrepreneur. Lit Brooklyn was born in 2015 out of the need to fill a void in the wellness space. Her unwavering commitment to make & introduce luxury to her community has aided in the brands’ rapid success which has garnered international coverage in print and broadcast outlets including Netflix, Beyonce.com, New York Times & Essence amongst many others

Panelist: Cynthia Royer

Cynthia Royer is the founder of Stay Potent Roots®, a fitness, holistic health, and wellness company and brand shaped by her journey of rebuilding after experiencing a life-altering family tragedy. After more than 20 years as a New York City employee, Cynthia is now pursuing her second college degree as a Physical Education Teacher at York College, adding to her A.A. degree in Human Services: Mental Health. As a wellness educator and mental health advocate, she believes in the power of

Happy National  !From Sept 15 to Oct 15, we honor the rich histories, resilience, voices, and vibrant cultures of our La...
09/15/2026

Happy National !

From Sept 15 to Oct 15, we honor the rich histories, resilience, voices, and vibrant cultures of our Latinx communities. Let’s celebrate today and all year round. ✊🏽❤️ 💃

Adelante! Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, performances, and food as we kick off this year’s Latinx Herita...
09/14/2026

Adelante! Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, performances, and food as we kick off this year’s Latinx Heritage Month. This beautiful celebration features an inspiring lineup of guest speakers, including immigrant rights activist, Angy Rivera, and Flora-Morena Ferreira Lucini, the founder, songwriter, and vocalist for the Afro-progressive hardcore band MAAFA. Come for the fun, stay for the community, and help us launch the month with energy and inspiration. You won’t want to miss it!

A month ago, we embarked on a powerful journey to the great outdoors 🏕️. Our inaugural BLMI Leadership Camping Retreat b...
08/25/2026

A month ago, we embarked on a powerful journey to the great outdoors 🏕️. Our inaugural BLMI Leadership Camping Retreat brought together our student leaders for four unforgettable days of transformative growth, brotherhood, and leadership development. Held at the beautiful North South Lake Campground, located in the Catskills, the retreat combined team-building, open dialogue, hiking, and survival training with Destination Backcountry in the rugged outdoors. We were pushed past our confort zones and navigated challenging terrains. The true test of resilience arrived with unforeseen rainfall ⛈️, but instead of dampening spirits it further strengthened our bonds.

We want to thank St. John's Bread & Life for their support and generosity. Their food contributions were a great addition to our outdoor culinary experience. We also thank our BC community for providing us with essential tools and supplies.

We look forward to more adventures like this in the future and hope you join us next time!

Congratulations to the class of 2026👏🎓 🎊Your dedication, hard work, and passion paid off. You did not just survive colle...
05/29/2026

Congratulations to the class of 2026👏🎓 🎊

Your dedication, hard work, and passion paid off. You did not just survive college; you excelled, broke barriers, and helped strengthen the path for those coming up behind you. We are proud of you and optimistically await your next endeavors. Don’t forget that BLMI and Brooklyn College will continue to be here for you.

Address

2900 Bedford Avenue, Room 3309A James Hall
New York, NY
11210

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17189515766

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