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Black and Afro-descendant women in Latin America and the Caribbean have been a source of strength for me
Black and Afro-descendant women in Latin America and the Caribbean have been a source of strength for me. Their socio- political mobilisation has inspired my personal, professional and academic paths. In fact, it was a course aimed at Afro-Ecuadorian and Afro-descendant women in Ecuador that was the final push I needed to embark on my doctoral journey. The course focused on capacity-building and leadership for Afro-descendant women on matters concerning Afro-feminisms, Afro-epistemologies, and new ways of thinking about how we wanted our communities to exist.
The course’s opening ceremony took place in a lecture hall at the Central University of Ecuador (UCE), Quito. There, participants had the opportunity to meet Sergia Galvan – one of the founding members of the regional women-led collective Red de Mujeres Afro-Latinoamericanas, Afro-Caribeñas y de la Diáspora [Afro Latin American, Afro Caribbean and Diaspora Women’s Network]. Networks like these have permitted Afro-descendant women to construct transnational solidarity networks, safe spaces where they can freely practice sororidadafro - or Afro-diasporic feminisms.
We brought these Afro-diasporic feminisms to the UCE classrooms with viewpoints spanning from my own Afro-Caribbean background, to the Colombian Pacific, to the ancestral territories of the Chota Valley in the Ecuadorian highlands. Arullos, bomba and marimba rhythms were some of the Afro-Ecuadorian traditions that students brought alongside feminist theory to our intensive workshop sessions. Sometimes there were tears of hurt or sheer joy as we shared in the singing and dancing to ancestral beats. I began to see the convergences in the lived experiences that many of us confront as Black women in the diaspora and the need for us to shape political structures and the policies that affect us.
Black women leaders such as Epsy Campbell, Costa Rica’s first Black vice-president, Francia Marquez Mina also Colombia’s first Black female vice-president, and assembly member Paola Cabezas of Ecuador, demonstrate how Afro-descendant women continue to redefine political agendas throughout the region. These women fiercely advocate not only for the rights of Afro-descendant women in particular, but also for Afro-descendant People as a whole. For instance, Epsy Campbell promoted and insisted on the institution of Afro-descendant Day (August 30th) and the UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, of which she is the former Chair. Francia Marquez’s embrace of vivir sabroso - joyful living - and environmentalism reminds us that we can imagine futures where we respect territory and life - joyfully. For Paola Cabezas who hails from the ancestral territory of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, dignity and repair for the community is at the core of her campaign.
The work and activism of these women, in addition to Sonia Viveros, the Founder of the course that led me on this PhD journey, and Director of Fundacion Azucar, challenge us to expand our definitions of resistance and reimagine what knowledge and leadership can be. I celebrate these women every day.