It is with deep sadness and pain in our hearts that Movement for Justice in El Barrio mourns the passing of our beloved long-time member leader, Felicitas Magdaleno.
It pains us to inform you that on April 13, 2020, Felicitas succumbed to complications from COVID-19. Her unexpected departure from this world has rattled our community. She leaves behind amazing sons and a legacy as a relentless luchadora for justice.
In honor of Felicitas, we wish to share with you some of our fond experiences and memories of this extraordinary woman. Felicitas joined Movimiento in 2007, as a single immigrant mother, and immediately became a leader in our fight against her landlord, Dawnay Day Group, a multinational, billion-dollar, London-based corporation that intended to displace tenants from 47 buildings in East Harlem, that they had recently purchased.
She, along with other compañerxs, tenants residing in the buildings owned by the same company, fought tirelessly against Dawnay Day, as part of our International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio, in what became a tooth and nail fight against displacement and for dignified housing. Felicitas was extremely active in the fight of her life for a better life for herself and for her two sons and all the low-income immigrant tenants of El Barrio. She became a powerful vocera or spokeswoman of the organization, exposing the illegal and malicious practices the corporation was enacting in their failed attempt to oust rent-stabilized tenants, renovate the buildings, and increase rents tenfold.
However, thanks to the valiant efforts of Felicitas and other immigrant mothers, members of Movimiento, in the front-lines of our battle, we won against Dawnay Day, when these international predators went bankrupt and retreated. Felicitas would spend the next 13 years as an active leader of Movimiento. She was one of our leaders in our battle against the landlord, E&M, and as a participant in Movimiento’s Encuentros for Dignity and Against Neoliberalism and our annual International Women’s Day Celebrations.
Felicitas was a strong woman, someone with exceptional character, and a fierce warrior for justice, wherever the battle needed to be fought. We remember her as someone who truly advanced justice in El Barrio.
We mourn with her sons, at the passing of such a remarkable woman, and are at their side as they find peace and solace in their hearts.
With our deepest sympathy,
Movement for Justice in El Barrio