These are currently the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Educational Resources available free of charge for teachers and educators to create lesson plans and activities with their students:  

Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II

This project includes three units that  can be incorporated within the curriculums of history, government, civics, and social studies classes to teach Dominican-specific content, as well as explore universal themes such as resisting oppression and fighting for the sake of democracy. These units are intended for middle and high school students. 

Explore and share these units:

• Participation of Dominican Veterans in World War II: An Overview (Direct link to PDF)
• Challenges Faced by Dominican Veterans in World War II: Stephen Hotesse and José Adrián Trujillo (Direct link to PDF)
• Global Impact of Dominican Veterans in World War II (Direct link to PDF)

Dominican Educational Programs

The CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library and Archives offers Educational Workshops to hundreds of students from the New York City public schools, CUNY, community based organizations, and colleges and universities throughout the United States. These workshops seek to complement teaching about the Dominican people, particularly Dominicans in the U.S. and in New York City. These workshops highlight selected library and archival resources to inform visiting groups about Dominican culture and history in the United States. The workshops also help teachers enhance their curriculum by incorporating new knowledge learned at CUNY DSI. Each workshop lasts approximately one hour and thirty minutes and may include a PowerPoint presentation, viewing of audio video clips that showcase aspects of Dominican culture and history, and many hands-on activities during which visitors can voice their interest areas.

We have developed a sustained relationship with schools with special structured programs such as: Bridge to College (for 8th graders) and Immersion Summer Institute (for 7th graders), as well as our lecture or Show & Tell presentations. We are bringing the joys and challenges of research and materials to those without too much experience, or any at all, in academia.

A History of Dominican Music in the United States includes educational profiles designed to provide educators with pedagogical resources to create lesson plans. Each profile has: A Biographical Essay, Discussion Questions, Activities, and a Vocabulary. They also include audio samples of  the music recorded by the artists during their careers. Level: high school and undergraduate students.

• Eduardo Brito 
  • Active in New York City during the 1920s, this Dominican singer performed operatic arias and tropical like “Lamento esclavo.”
• Proyecto Uno 
  • Founded in New York in 1989, this ensemble pioneered the ground breaking sound of merenhouse, a fusion of African American dance music with Dominican rhythms. 
• The Malagón Sisters 
  • Dominican all-female trio that emerged in 1949. They were one of the first Dominican musical groups to successfully cross over into the wider American music scene during the 1950s.
• Mónica Boyar 
  • During the 1939 New York World’s Fair, Boyar taught icon Arthur Murray how to dance merengue. After World War II, Boyar contributed to the anti-Trujillo movement by recording two songs against the dictatorship: “Marcha a Santo Domingo” and Chapita fue a la guerra.
• Milly Quezada 
  • Known as “the Queen of Merengue,” Milly grew to fame and stardom for her revolutionary, feminized adaptation of the merengue genre. She has earned countless musical awards, including 4 Latin Grammys.