Cape Verdean Association of Boston
Founded in 2000 as the Cape Verdean Task Force, Cape Verdean Association of Boston, was formed with a mission to promote the power and the potential of the Cape Verdean community. Our commitment to social justice issues around race is central to our mission, vision and values as an organization. Our mission was motivated by a desire to bring this ethnic community to a level playing field in America.
CVAB has a long history of advocating on behalf of the community’s needs. It is the public voice with a commitment to social justice issues around race, which advocates for, and reflects the opinions of over 60,000 Cape Verdeans in the Greater Boston area. CVAB informs and organizes the Cape Verdean community to reach its cultural, social and economic well-being and has a successful history of advocating on behalf of the community’s needs.
Some of our most important accomplishments include the hiring of a Cape Verdean community liaison in the Mayor’s Office, successful campaigns for more Cape Verdean DCF social workers and police officers, gang dialogues in response to gun violence, support groups from others victimized by gun violence as well as the formation of the Cape Verdean Providers network. CVAB recent organizing activities have brought together over 100 residents and community members towards the goals of school reform. Essential to the turnout was the personal relationships board members and volunteers had with the various segments of the community.
In 2013 CVAB won the MassVote award for the Youth Academy: voter registration in the area was up 37% on the previous election year. In 2014, CVAB was the winner of the Youth Advocate of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Advocates for Children for its important work helping teach young people advocacy skills.