Amplify POC Founder To Be Awarded At MLK Breakfast; Tara Vargas Wallace Has Lived Her Commitment To Social, Racial Justice

ORLEANS – Sometimes a moment, a chance occurrence, can help shape the course of your life. For Tara Vargas Wallace, one of those moments came when her seventh grade teacher gave her a copy of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

 “I couldn’t put it down,” said Vargas Wallace, a Hyannis resident. “From there, I devoured books about Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Montgomery, Tulsa — and later documentaries. I loved learning about these leaders, but I hated the injustice they endured. That tension — between inspiration and anger — has fueled my commitment ever since.”

 Vargas Wallace’s life and career has since been driven by her passion for social justice and social service, including her work with various groups and nonprofits on Cape Cod. On Monday, she will be honored with this year’s Racial Justice Advocacy Award by the Nauset Interfaith Association's Martin Luther King Action Team at its annual MLK Breakfast. The breakfast will take place at 8:30 a.m. at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Orleans.

 “I am deeply honored and truly humbled to receive this award,” Vargas Wallace said. “This recognition doesn’t belong to me alone — it belongs to the community that has shaped me, challenged me, and walked alongside me in this work.”

 Born to Puerto Rican parents in the Bronx, Vargas Wallace said that she developed “a strong internal compass for what felt right and just” from a young age. When she first moved to the Cape years ago as a single mother, she wrestled with homelessness. She recalls the support she received from a number of local nonprofits and programs that not only helped give her a foundation locally, but further influenced her dedication to social justice.

 “I remember being 22 years old when a supervisor told me during a performance review that I had a ‘passion for social justice.’ That was the first time anyone had named it for me — and it stuck,” she said.

 Vargas Wallace’s resume includes work with organizations of all stripes, among them Independence House, Housing Assistance Corporation and the Homeless Prevention Council. She also worked as a social worker for the Department of Transitional Assistance, and was formerly a commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.

 In 2020, Vargas Wallace joined the Nauset Interfaith Association and the MLK Action Team. That same year, she founded Amplify POC, a nonprofit dedicated to “eliminating the racial wealth gap…by removing barriers created by systemic racism.”

 Amplify POC was “born out of necessity,” Vargas Wallace said. She said both her personal experiences and those through her professional work showed her that many of the Cape’s most pressing social issues “are deeply connected to race and economic exclusion.”

 “I knew I had to turn my anger and grief into something constructive,” she said.

 Vargas Wallace said while there was no “grand plan” behind Amplify POC’s formation, it’s grown beyond anything she could have initially imagined. The nonprofit that was born in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis Police in May 2020 has since expanded to address issues such as economic empowerment, ownership and visibility, which Vargas Wallace said are critical tools toward “closing the racial wealth gap.”

 But while the nonprofit and its mission continues to expand, there are still challenges. One of the biggest, Vargas Wallace said, is securing sources for future funding. It’s a challenge that all nonprofits face, but she said the barriers are “steeper” for “organizations led by Black and Brown leaders and focused on racial equality.”

 “Still, we persist,” she said. “Our advocacy will always center on helping our communities not just survive, but thrive. Closing the racial wealth gap may not happen in my lifetime — but building pathways toward that future is the work.”

 Unsurprisingly, Vargas Wallace said housing remains one of the biggest unresolved issues in need of particular attention on the Cape. The cost of housing in the region, combined with the rising cost of food and other goods, continues to stress local workers and families, pushing more and more residents toward housing and food insecurity. But while the problem has deepened in recent years, Vargas Wallace said it’s hardly new. Instead, she said it’s a cyclical problem that continues to be passed down through generations.

 “Now I’m a grandmother,” she said. “My daughter is a single mother of two young children, working and going to college, relying on housing assistance to stay afloat — just as I once did, and just as my mother did before me. That generational reality is what keeps me engaged. Too many of us are one paycheck away from homelessness. Until that changes, this work remains urgent and deeply personal.”

 On Monday, Vargas Wallace will take the stage alongside the breakfast’s keynote speaker, Rev. Liz Walker, who became the first Black woman to anchor the evening news in Boston when she joined WBZ-TV in 1981. The event also will feature a performance by singer Candida Rose.

 Those interested in attending Monday’s breakfast can preregister for the event through EventBrite by searching MLK Breakfast, Orleans, MA.

 “I accept this award in honor of those whose voices have too often gone unheard, and alongside the many organizers, advocates, and everyday people who continue to show up with courage and integrity,” Vargas Wallace said.