November 2: América Armada: a discussion and film screening about violence against black and indigenous people in the Americas
América Armada: a discussion and film screening about violence against black and indigenous people in the Americas
Saturday, November 02, 2019 - 4PM- 8:30PM
The People’s Forum - 320 West 37th St - New York, NY 10018
Paul Robeson Room
Join us for a discussion and screening of América Armada (Armed America) on violence against black and indigenous people in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, and ways to organize the resistance and solidarity movements. We will look at current gun policies, the anti-crime package by Brazilian Minister Sergio Moro, popular resistance, community led documentation of these abuses, and other forms of resistance outside the system. Panelists will present what movements, coalitions and collectives are doing to fight back or to simply protect their communities from State violence [and what you can do to join.
The event brings together leaders of Black movement and the communities affected by State violence and by ultra-liberal regimes, to engender forms of resistance on poor black and indigenous communities in the global south.
Followed by a Q&A with Raull Santiago, a member of Coletivo Papo Reto (Rio de Janeiro) who appears in AMERICA ARMADA
An event organized by the Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee (New York) & the Brazilian Black Coalition for Rights, with support from WITNESS and The People’s Forum.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.
Program
4PM- Welcome and remarks - Natalia de Campos (DDB-NY)
4:15PM - Panel discussion with:
Karina Donaria (Movimentos)
Sara Branco (Brazilian Black Coalition for Rights)
Joel Northam (Party for Socialism and Liberation & #blacklivesmatter)
Maria Railda da Silva e Miriam Duarte Pereira (Amparar -São Paulo, Brazil)
Moderated by Leah Santos, Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee, New York
5:30PM- Screening:
“America Armada”( 2018, Brasil/ Colombia/ Mexico)
Directed by Alice Lanari and Pedro Asbeg; Executive produced by Carolina Dias and Teresa Alvarez
Synopsis: A critical analysis of the "war on drugs" policies, exported from the US and later settled and consolidated in various regions of Latin America. Three direct victims of violence from this system in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia join forces to alert and raise awareness of the dire situation of public security in their respective countries.
6:45PM- Break
7PM- Film discussion:
Raull Santiago (Coletivo Papo Reto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil),
Francilene Gomes Fernandes (Mães de Maio, São Paulo, Brazil)
Claudia Velandia- Onofre (Semilla Warunkwa, Colombia - New York)
Moderated by Carolina Parreiras, Post-doctoral researcher at the University of São Paulo, Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, member of Defend Democracy in Brazil- NY
Participants
Karina Donaria is a photographer and video maker from Complexo da Maré (Rio de Janeiro). She is a member of the group Movimentos - Drugs, Youth and Favela and one of the creators of AMaréVê, a group of black women from the Maré that seeks to reinvent and resignify the favela from an audiovisual perspective.
Sara Branco is a black Brazilian human rights lawyer advocating for the promotion of racial and gender equality. She works as a consultant at the black Brazilian organization CEERT (Center of Studies of Labor Relations and Inequalities). She is also a member of the Brazilian Black Coalition for Rights. Sara is now based in New York City where she is pursuing her Masters degree in the "Study of Americas" at the City College of New York até the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences department.
Joel Northam is an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER coalition. He has worked in the struggle against police terrorism since the Black Lives Matter movement took shape, and is active in anti-war struggles, building international solidarity that links oppressed nations people within the US to countries that are targeted by US imperialism."
Maria Railda da Silva and Miriam Duarte Pereira are founders of AMPARAR (Association of Friends and Family of Prisoners).
Leah Santos holds a Master degree in Spanish Literature (University of Sao Paulo), having studied representations of violence and intolerance in 16th century literature. She's also a licensed professor at the Federal Institute of Sao Paulo - Pirituba campus. For twenty years in Brazilian black feminism militancy, Leah has been a part of many movements, including the Afro Pastoral of Sao Paulo, United Black Women from Brasilândia, São Paulo, and Educafro. Founder of the carnival group “Dona Armenia” which performs beyond the art scene: under Leah's leadership, it welcomed women in vulnerable situations, providing music lessons and political training, in her own house . She currently defends the political emancipation of the black population, working with Minervino, João Cândido (PCO political party) in Brazil , both black collectives and in the Educafro, a women’s black collective. A member of the Defend Democracy Brazil Committee NY, seeking to broaden and make the debates about the black and poor population in Latin America more visible.
Raull Santiago is a journalist, documentary and cultural producer, social entrepreneur and an activist. He is a member of Coletivo Papo Reto (“Straight Talk Collective”), the group Movimentos and a part of the Members Assembly of International Amnesty in Brazil. Raull is also a part of the global network Frontline Defenders. He travels around the globe lecturing and training in partnership with universities, NGOs, activist groups and social movements, working to build an international network focused on ending violence and inequalities, discussing public security, fighting racism, and the guarantee to human rights, memory and life.
Francilene Gomes Fernandes is an activist from Mães de Maio and a family member of a victim of police violence in São Paulo. She is a social worker and professor currently a PhD candidate in Social Service (PUC - SP)
Claudia Velandia-Onofre - Born in Colombia (Cundinamarca - Bogota), a descendent of Amazonian and Andean Indigenous Peoples who’s work began in 1989 and who has since been Standing in the protection of Mother Earth and Indigenous Peoples Human rights in the International United Nations arena. Currently the International Liaison for Semilla Warunkwa an Indigenous Peoples organization from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Colombia.
Carolina Parreiras is an anthropologist and post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Anthropology at the University of São Paulo (USP). She is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) - Columbia University. Carolina is a member of NUMAS - Center for Studies of Social Markers of Difference and Visiting Professor at State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Since 2013, she is engaged in researching and working in favelas of Rio de Janeiro both in NGOs and universities. Her current research is about sexual violence and the relation between private and public forms of violence in favelas. A member of Defend Democracy in Brazil - NY.
Natalia de Campos is a performance artist and activist, co-founder of the Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee- NY
Stay informed with these organizations:
Coletivo Papo Reto: Coletivo Papo Reto (Straight Talk Collective) is a favela-based network of young activists that uses smartphones and social media to tell their own stories, report issues that are relevant to the community and counter stereotypes. Papo Reto’s guerrilla-style journalism is made by, for and with favela residents themselves, helping create a protective network for residents in times of violence while also fostering spaces for dialogue and exchange. The collective's work has been featured in an extensive article by the New York Times Sunday Magazine and by Fusion TV, among others.
WITNESS: is a global human rights organization that has partnered with 420+ groups in over 130 countries since its founding in 1992. Specialized in the use of video for the defense and promotion of human rights, WITNESS has supported partners using video to expose war crimes, protect indigenous land rights, stop police violence, defend immigrants, fight hate speech, and many other issues. Its current work on state violence includes supporting groups advocating for immigrant rights in the US to those fighting police abuse in North and South America -- the organization has collaborated with Coletivo Papo Reto since 2015. WITNESS' library for activists has over 180 training materials in more than 27 languages -- all available for free download at library.witness.org.
Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee (DDB- New York) is a group of Brazilians and allies fighting for democracy in Brazil and the Rule of Law, since before the illegal impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, elected with 54 million votes and ousted for minor administrative charges. Since then, and with the political imprisonment of President Lula, DDB-NY has staged more than 110 public actions and protests, among which many were performances. DDB works to change fake narratives in the media, and has written and published dozens of Open Letters, Manifestos, Statements, denouncing the illegalities and retrocess in Brazil’s public policies since 2016. It also drove the #cancelBolsonaro coalition, which contributed to the cancellation of his visit to New York for an award in May 2019. To learn more about what we did, do and how to engage, visit our pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and www.defenddemocracyinbrazil.org
Associação de Amigos e Familiares de Presos - Amparar - The association guides family and friends of initial prisoners in relation to their social rights. The association also provide a psychological space for prisoners family and friends, problematize the issue of the penal system in society, deepen the political dimension of the association and contribute to people attended by the association a critical formation process about the awareness and political emancipation.
Mães de Maio - network of mothers, family members and friends of victims of estate violence situated in São Paulo. The movement was created after the Crimes of May 2006 and their mission is to fight for the truth, the memory and for justice for all victims of violence - discriminatory, institutional and police violence - especially poor, black people and members of social movements.
Black Coalition for Rights - Aware of the genocidal politics expansion of the Brazilian State, organized civil society entities, representatives of the black population, opted in early 2019 to form the Brazilian Black Coalition for Rights. The Coalition's main goal is to focus on the Brazilian National Congress, international advocacy and seek international support from the movements across the Americas and Caribean. Black women and men are 54% of the Brazilian population and only a little bit over 20% of parliamentarians elected to the Brazilian National Congress. This underrepresentation, not only highlights the racist character of Brazilian society, but also has perverse consequences for the Brazilian black population. Twitter: @coalizaonegra https://coalizaonegrapordireitos.org.br
Movimentos: is a network made up of young activists from different favelas and peripheries of Brazil who came together in 2016 to change the current landscape of drug policies in the country. From their mission statement: "for many years, we have been suffering the violent impacts of the so-called “war on drugs”, a war we did not choose to fight. And we have been living through the stigmatization and racism which were certainly intensified by this war, though not invented by it. The violent effects of this war upon us have persisted for far too long, but we have repeatedly watched debates about us that seldom include us. For this reason, we believe it is not possible to build alternatives to current drug policies if we do not have a seat in this conversation. We must be the protagonists in any discussion regarding the impacts of this war in our lives and in any attempt to conceive solutions and reparations. These are the fundamental conditions for us to overcome decades of failed drug policies".
Party for Socialism and Liberation - www.pslweb.org
América Armada: trailer