In an effort to continue the fight for Black Feminist Liberation, several AfroLatinx groups in the U.S. have partnered to bring together a discussion on the International Day of Black, Afro Latinx, and Afro-Caribbean women on July 25, 2022. The effort is led by IamNegrx, International Alianza de Mujeres Negrx, and co-hosted by the International Society of Black Latinos, located in Los Angeles, the DC AfroLatino Caucus, Located in Washington, DC, AfroResistance, an international organization with headquarters in NYC and the afrolatin@ forum, from NYC. This event is joined by NBCUniversal Telemundo’s El Poder En Ti initiative to elevate awareness of the need for equity in the Latinx community.
The event received funding from a project of the Movement for Black Lives named the Abolishing Patriarchy Table, which seeks to center discussions of Black Diasporic womanhood.
About the Host Organizations
IamNegrx grew out of Black Latinidad: Building Siblinghood to end Child Sexual Abuse a project founded by Luz Marquez Benbow and funded by Just Beginnings Collaborative. Website: https://www.facebook.com/IamNegrx/
The mission of the International Society of Black Latinos (ISBL) is to educate the local and broader communities of the existence of Afro-Latinos and the influence that the African Diaspora has had and continues to have on the Latin cultures around the world. Website: https://blacklatinos.com/
DC Afro Latino Caucus mission is to bring visibility and improve the quality of life to Afro Latin@s in Washington DC. Website: https://www.facebook.com/AfroLatino202/
The mission of AfroResistance is to educate and organize for human rights, democracy and racial justice throughout the Americas. Website: https://www.afroresistance.org/
The afrolatin@ forum centers Blackness within Latinidad and focuses on Latin@s of African descent in the United States to provide a bridge that expands our understanding of the African Diaspora. Website: https://www.afrolatinoforum.org/
The panel, which will celebrate Black Women across the Americas and engage in a discussion about Black Feminist liberation, will be moderated by Karen Rodriguez La Paz, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and will feature a conversation between recently elected Afro-Puerto Rican Senator Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, Yvette Modestin, founder of Encuentro Diaspora Afro and Flor Montero of AfroResistance.
The panel will discuss the history of El Día de la Mujer Afro, the importance of celebrating and centering Blackness, and the leadership of Black Latinx Feminists/Womanists. The panel will also discuss the intersections of race and gender, sexual orientation; the reality of issues such as gender-based violence, child sexual abuse, anti-immigration, machismo, the disparaging effects of unjust healthcare policies, and its impact on Black women of the diaspora, and anti-Blackness.
Lastly, the panel on this day will celebrate and highlight the achievements of our Black Latinx women in politics, throughout the Americas, and how this is meaningful for AfroLatinidad and the African Diaspora overall, discussing the victories of Colombian VP Francia Márquez Mina, Costa Rican VP Epsy Campbell Barr, Puerto Rican Senator Ana Irma Rivera Lassén.
July 25th is celebrated in Latin America and El Caribe as the International Day of AfroLatin American, AfroCaribbean and Diaspora Women. This event grew out of a gathering of 33 women from various Latin American nations in the Dominican Republic in 1992. They came together to reflect on their challenges and empower themselves within the region and speak out against racism and sexism. Additionally, on July 25, 1992, La Red de Mujeres Afro-Latino-Americanas, Afro-Caribeña y de la Diáspora (Network of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women of the Diaspora) was born. La Red is a transnational organization leading the way for many of us as Black women across Latin America y El Caribe.