Report Back-Mobilizing, Empowering and Action- US Launching of the African Women Decade

Report Back- Mobilizing, Empowering and Action- US Launching of the African Women Decade

The Decade is off!!! What better way to share this experience with you than to share the words of the day that will bring you into the space and allow you to feel the energy that embraced us all.

We thought it was important that all participants leave with the information that was shared throughout the day so I gathered points made by all the presenters.

I share with you some of my closing and words from the strong, passionate and energizing presenters of the day.
The energy in the room is that of true Sisterhood and Community.It is with the guidance and the whispers of my ancestors that I stand here with you. What an amazing day!!!

Today we kickoff the African Woman’s Decade yet, it is more than that, today we stand to say, We are here!!! Estamos Presente!!! We remove “I” to say “We”.

Today we say we will create our own agenda, moving from our own reality.

The reality of our health, our community, our family and our future.

We are tired of being ignored. We will not wait for others to arrive. We will take care of our self and of each other.

It has been a wonderful personal experience to be at the table with these amazing women. I have to share that I now know I have a sister in Chioma. Thank you for inviting me to the table. To the Women of the Soil, Thanks.

The flyer spoke to how important this is to all of us. You could not tell who was from where. Our faces, the grace, the kindness, the depth spoke to oneness as women of African descent.

This is our journey of discovery it is our time to heal all that has made us say” You are a different kind of black.” Today we ask all of you present to stand with us, join us as we move towards a better future of a stronger unified black community.

My international work with the Red de Mujeres Afro has showed me that success in Senegal is success in Ecuador, success in Haiti, success in New Orleans.

The Beijing conference marked an international women’s movement. It brought women together and allowed them to share and create a clear gender rights agenda.

The principal themes were the advancement and empowerment of women in relation to women’s rights, women and poverty, women and decision making, the girl-child, violence against women and other areas of concern. This theme continued into the Durban conference on Racism and Beijing +5.

The conference signaled a clear commitment to international norms and standards of equality between men and women that protects and promotes our human rights.

Launching this decade also falls into the UN declaring 2011 as the year of people of African descent.

It is time to rename our priorities to community and self and reclaim self meeting at our root.

Let’s MOBILIZE and build a strong community that includes all aspects of our life. WE ask that our men join us, bring your children along and honor your grandmothers. The Decade highlights the following;

To create awareness and mobilize continental support and
political will in implementing the agreed international, regional
and sub regional decisions and gender commitments.

• To re-invigorate commitment to accelerate implementation on
agreed global and regional commitments on the human rights
perspective focusing on priorities such as education, health,
agriculture, women’s economic and political empowerment,
gender based violence etc

In preparing for today I looked back at some of my presentations throughout the years asking the following question. What has brought me to this place? What words do I carry with me? What words can you leave with today.

Empowering

I see you!!! I see you Trina, Chuck, Jemadari and Ester. That sounds simple yet when you arrive at that point in your life, the light within shines brighter.

I walk with the words of Assata Shakur as I learn more about myself and my role in the mending of our community. She wrote in her autobiography,” Our desire to be free has got to manifest itself in everything we are and do.”

Today we feel a unity and a love, yes love, for each other. That cannot change when you walk out this space. When someone says something negative about Haiti, Nigeria, stop and say, you are speaking about my sister, you are speaking about me.

As Audre Lorde said, divide and conquer, in our world, must become define and empower.

Let us love each other in the light. Empowerment for this decade should mean a cleansing of self denial and self hatred. Audre lorde wrote in Eye to Eye Sister Outsider- “We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit because what was native has been stolen from us, the love of black women for each other.”

Be tender with self. Take the time for your spiritual and physical health.

It is our right to determine our future, we will do so empowered today walking with our heads held high never looking down for anyone.

Today we heard from a group of wonderful women and men.

The MC for the day was Elizabeth Siwo-Okundi. She was amazing. Elizabeth kept everything flowing and did it with such grace.

The Chancellor of UMASS Boston, Keith Motley welcomed all to campus and to the event. He shared that women are agents of change and that he knew that this group of women will be leading this movement, making the world save for women and children. His voice was filled with pride, joy and true partnership.

We also heard from our highest ranking official in the space, State Representative Gloria Fox who in her soul sister, elder grace spoke of the importance of Massachusetts launching this decade. Rep. Fox was followed by the President of the Shalupe Foundation, Jeanne Kasango l. Ngondo and the President of the African Student Union at UMASS, Wlede Stemn.

Our opening Keynote speaker was Ms. Liz Walker. She would answer the question, Why are we here? Why now? Ms. Walker is an award winning television journalist who is currently working in war torn Sudan. She is also an ordained minister. All that said, Ms Walker took it to the pulpit, she truly set the tone for the day.

Ms. Walker spoke of lessons learned from her trip to Sudan. She heard stories about rape and torture. She got there and in addition to addressing those issues, her job became more important. As she said, she had to “walk across the lot”.

She realized that you cannot “Save a people who have been here longer than us.” This was a time to go into the world and learn something from the world. In Sudan she saw relationships, tribalism, clanship and sisterhood. It was time to look beyond material wealth and felt that the world was “Saving her”.

There was a spirit of reciprocity a power shift in this experience for her. Ms. Walker was moving around, lifting her hands with such believe and peace.

She closed by sharing this reflection, which brought on a chorus of Amen, Ase, speak Sister, in the space. “This problem will be solved, heart to heart. We will move on heart. The balance of the world is off. This is a time of great opportunity. We are not here to save each other but to learn from each other. We are caught in a single garment of destiny and we cannot disconnect.”

Ambassador Amina Salum Ali shared the importance of our role in politics and owning our own business. Ms. Ali is the first women to be the Permanent Representative of the African Union in the US.

We then had a powerful performance, Voices of Women of African Descent. that was directed by our own Women of soil Sisters, Akiba and U-Meleni. This group of young women shared their first painful experience with racism. Many cried while listening to these stories.

They closed the performance by saying out loud, “If we speak it, it will become a Decade for African Women.” Everyone joined in, clapping, signing, dancing, to the rhythm of our soul.

The Talk Back was just as powerful as participants spoke openly about the issue of rape and the need to support each other.

After lunch we had the panel, Women of the African Diaspora in the 21st Century. Many felt it was refreshing to see us, women from the Continent, Latin America, the Caribbean and the US engaging in a dialogue on identity, commonality, resiliency, conflict and strategies.

I then came back to my presentation, Mobilizing, Empowering and Action. After listening to what has been shared in this space today, how will you join us? What does it mean to join us? If you want to focus on one area, what will it be?

I went into the crowd and they shared the following;

-Acceptance of all
-Inclusion of young women. Holding hands with young women a treasure/learn process.
-Learning more about the issues that are affecting us in our individual Regions
What will be our testament to each other to our community?
I pointed out two that I feel are very important for our true unity.
-Afro descendents Immigrants- We need to acknowledge, not dismiss the struggle of African Americans that allows us to march down the street today.
-Black men- We love you, we welcome you. We need to change the tone in our exchange.
Hold each other with a bit more care.

What are some of our challenges and what are our hopes for this decade? These are the 10 areas of focus.

1. Fighting Poverty and Promoting Economic Empowerment of
Women and Entrepreneurship,
2. Agriculture and Food Security
3. Health Maternal Mortality and HIV/AIDS
4. Education, Science and Technology
5. Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
6. Peace and Security and Violence against Women
7. Governance and Legal Protection
8. Finance and Gender Budgeting
9. Women in Decision Making
10. Young Women Movement

We handed out commitment cards. Many took the time to make a commitment to the African Woman’s Decade.

I went into the crowd and many shared some Action Steps.

-Generate money
-Black enterprise
-Networking
-Promoting Africa
-Shifting language
-Development of a loving dialogue between black men and women
-Story telling
-Self-Representation
-Protect what we make
-Making our own media

Say I see you, I am here, Presente, Venceremos!!!

As we leave here today, move with the words, My AFRICAN is,

My African is,

The gentleness in your eyes as you see my real beauty.
The kindness in your voice as you call me Queen.
My African is
Revolutionary,
I will keep my head up high and fight for my right to be free.
We will not be silent.
We will speak out against the system that fails us, excludes us and minimizes us.
My African will extend my hand out, we will walk together for this decade saying I am you, you are me.

What is your African?

Thank you all for coming, thank you for your support. Thank you, Gracias Merci.
Celebrate you, celebrate your Africanness.
PEACE

A Beaming Light-Celebrating Coach Henry Jones

A Beaming Light-Celebrating Coach Henry Jones

As we get older, we gain the ability to reflect on our childhood and those aha moments that shaped us and the people that have had a lasting impact on us.

I recently wrote in my journal, “This journey has made me see Panama in a different light, love everything about being from Colon, celebrate being a product of Rainbow City, know with purpose that my Black is Beautiful and has deepened my Love for those I call Friends.”

It has also deepened my love for those I call mentors and teachers.

Many say, once an athlete always an athlete. The discipline, teamwork, focus that you develop will carry you through life. What I learned from Coach Jones has stayed with me off the track.

With my young women, I always highlight the talent I see in them and hope that they hold it close through good and bad times.

Coach saw me run at the age of 10 and saw something I did not know I had. He worked hard with so many of us. My parents trusted him and allowed me to gain more than good track skills from this amazing man.Coach was an Olympian, teacher, mentor father and confidant to many.

On my recent birthday, I heard that Coach was in the US with his children. I was so excited and on the spot decided I would give myself the gift of going and sitting with him and saying Thank you. I have seen him throughout the years but I was not able to sit and have a long conversation. I was always overcome with tears.

I wanted to ask him so many questions. I wanted to understand why he meant so much to me and to so many others.

I got to see Panama with him as a member of the Colon track team. I learned to push pass class differences with my teammates who are still today some of my closest friends. My love for running comes from this time period of being trained by him.

When I arrived to visit him I was overwhelmed with love for this man. I laughed with him, cried, held his hand, read to him and got to know him all over again on a deeper level.

One of my friends and teammates gave me a joke to share with him. As I told him I saw his face light up. I had shared my plans with others and many took the time to send him a message. They were many wonderful stories, jokes yet I will only share a few.

-He was always about simply doing your best.

-He really helped me…Please tell him, he is often thought about and some things he said to me, I’m passing to my son and daughter.

-Coach Jones was the best track coach ever at Cristobal.!! Striving for excellence with every stride, regardless of the outcome. He was always an encouraging Coach.

-Please tell Coach Jones hello. He taught me a lot about life. He is the man!!!

-Please give him my best and remind him of all those he had a great impact on.

He was moved by the messages and his face was filled with such pride. I was able to read some of my work to him. I would ask him if he was tired and he said he wanted to hear more. I asked about the challenges he faced at home during segregation and what he did to overcome them. One of the things he did was to keep studying. I found out that coach received his Masters in Education from NYU.

The more he shared, the more I realized that this man shaped many of my views on life,moving pass class differences and pride.

On the last day of my visit I woke up early and wrote this to him.

A Beaming Light

Faster than a speeding bullet,
Charming and Gracious as an African King.

Believe in self was part of your DNA.

You walked with pride that was passed on to each
and every one of us.

Doing your best was your song,
Being our best was our chorus,

I am you Coach Jones
because I am disciplined.

An Olympian, a star in our eyes,
Education was your key to success.

You were more than just a man who showed
us to pick up our legs and move our hands.

Father to many, Mentor to all.

I am you Coach Jones
because I am strong.

Preaching Unity from your starting block pulpit,
we were all Colonenses, Beep Beep Colon!!!

We hold your love for running as we find clarity and peace
on a long run through the streets.

I am you Coach Jones because I see love
and give love.

Many ask, who taught you this, I say, this beaming light
on the track field.

Then they ask, what did he say and I share a line that
I will forever hold, “not to worry about them, let them
worry about us."

I see you in me, running past the given line standing
straight and tall.

This is not an accident. I was "saved" in you hands.

Thank you Dario and Kimaura for sharing him with us.

I am you Coach Jones because I am family.

The sun rises and sets on my love for you.

You gave me long life friendships that allows me to sit and
laugh about the cow milk in Coclé, the bunk beds in Bocas,
and the loud music on the bus after another victory.

I am you Coach Jones because you are you,

The runner, the coach, the mentor, the star, the king,
The light that I will always be reaching for.

When I finished reading it, I asked what I should name the piece. I then looked up and saw the light in his eyes and the name came to me, A Beaming Light. I now speak to him weekly and get to share my life as an adult with him.

So today, I ask you all to stand and shout out, Happy 80th Birthday Coach Jones. Thank you, thank you thank you for having a lasting impact on who I am as a woman, a friend and an activist. May the ancestors continue to fill your life with joy and surround you with love.

Love you!!!

Peace
Yvette

Reflection- Footsteps to Unity

Footsteps to Unity

I am often reminded of why the word Encuentro is important to me and to this journey. It is defined as, meeting and encounter yet, when the name of the organization came to me it meant more.

The meaning of the word as we see it becomes, the gathering, meeting, seeing, acknowledging, accepting and knowing of the African Diaspora. Our collaborative event, Healing from the Roots: Africa in Hispaniola, with the Dominican student association, M.A.N.G.U. and the Haitian student association, Haitian American Society at UMASS Boston allowed all in the space to move with our expanded definition.

We spend a lot of time wanting others to see us, to understand our complexities as people of African descent. Today our focus needs to be how we see each other and accept each other while building towards a better understanding of the complexities of our individual regions.

Looking deeper into understanding that what is happening in Haiti has an impact on Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo has an impact on Puerto Rico. Nicaragua impacts Costa Rica. Colombia impacts Panama. Venezuela impacts Ecuador. Adding to this understanding, our experience in this country and our relationship with Africa Americans, we should see the advantage to building a unified message.

In preparing my opening for the dialogue, I kept saying, Afro descendents of Latin America and the Caribbean need to rename and reclaim history that would speak to our truth.

I shared in my opening a quote by Audre Lorde, “divide and conquer in our world, must become define and empower.”

It is time to redefine Latin America and the Caribbean by placing our African ancestry at the root.

By empowering ourselves to move past all the misunderstanding, address the racism and some might even say the hate, we can then take footsteps to unity.
I commend the students for taking this brave step to engage in this difficult dialogue moving from pain to hope.

Posing the following questions helped us move in that direction. Who has benefited from the struggle of the working class and the poor? Do you think you have African roots? How do we deal with the presence in each country?

Zenaida Mendez was our Dominican speaker. Folks remember that name!! She is a true feminist leader. Zenaida spoke of the similarities between Haitians and Dominicans. She shared the fluid exchange of Dominicans and Haitians in her upbringing, highlighting food, music and spirituality. It was also necessary and important to speak of the painful history which many would say, feeds the existing tension between these communities that share an island.

Other points to highlight: Dominicans helped their neighbors during the earthquake crisis. The other many would say, speak to the internal struggle in Santo Domingo. Dominicans do not have “Black” as an option on their passport. What does it mean that you do not have the option to self identify? She then, in Zenaida fluid style, shared a famous phrase, “todos tenemos negro, detras de las orejas.”

Alix Cantave was our Haitian speaker. Prof. Cantave also began by sharing a personal perspective of the connection of Haiti and Santo Domingo. His tone was of hope and development. He shared that something to recognize is that our legacy is rooted in a hierarchy of class and race.

Visuals can always take your thought process to another level, especially when numbers are presented. Prof. Cantave shared a power point that highlighted the disparities that exist such as economic inequality, poverty and education. Of the 10 million Dominicans, 1 million are of Haitian origin. The poverty level in Santo Domingo is 40% while in Haiti it is 80%.

When I travel to Santo Domingo I see Haiti and vice versa. One of the many blessings of this journey is that I see myself in the faces of all people of African descent. There is something wonderful and special when they also see you.

Haiti and Santo Domingo are two nations trapped by historical circumstances. It is time to dismiss the anti-propaganda, this ideology that has benefited the dominant class.

It is time to open our hearts and minds, to listen, to really see our neighbor.

Zenaida and Prof. Cantave shared a profound willingness to support the students by using the momentum of the event to create a project that will continue the exchange.
Prof. Cantave pointed out some specifics to keep in mind.

-Understanding the disparities
-Economic development
-Collaborative approach
-Inter-Country planning and strategies

The Dominican and Haitian students at UMASS Boston have begun taking their footsteps to unity. The Professors present pledged their support. The Encuentro family will walk closely with them as they seek truth and wellness for their communities.

We should all move with the students as a Region and as a people who continue to be invisible and excluded from the larger dialogue in our perspective countries.

Success for one is success for all!!!

Join us by putting on your best shoes and begin taking your Footsteps to Unity.


Peace
Yvette

Reflection- Guerrera Spirit

Guerrera Spirit

“It is days like these when I stand with and before these amazing women, with the spirit of the ancestors, that my journey/purpose makes absolute sense.” 9/10/10

I shared that statement with friends at the end of the first day of the IV ONECA/CABO (Central American Black Organizations) Conference of Afro Central American Women. Our call for this conference was, “ La lucha con identidad de Mujer.”

Part of our work at this conference was to look closely at the UN documents such as CEDAW, CEPAL, Beijing, Durban and Belem do Para by posing some of the following question; do they speak to our reality? Are the governments responding to our needs as Women of African Descent?

Women of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean are faced on a daily basis with issues of gender, race and poverty. We are constantly addressing how it affects us as individuals and how it relates to our communities.

HIV/AIDS, Prostitution, Trafficking, Immigration and Education were a few of the topics on our agenda. Violence against us and towards our communities was a topic that brought about many emotions.

How many of us are faced with racial violence in our work place or as we walk down the street? Many times we think it is random so we leave one job to go to a “saver” environment. We then realize that there is a stigma, a label that is placed on us as Black women that dismisses our performance.

Afro descendent women need to begin naming Racial Violence which would lead us to have deeper conversation of the long term effect. Moving in that direction, we can then challenge these documents to truly represent what we face by speaking on the internal pain and impact on our self esteem.

I spoke at the conference as a Panamanian woman and a woman of the Diaspora. It was my first time speaking publicly of an incident that filled my family with sadness. I felt a heavy wave of tears coming and in that moment, I felt her spirit, the spirit of my young cousin Gisela Crawford, holding my hand telling me it was time to tell her story.

Gisela was raped and killed in my home town of Colon. I speak of her because the system victimized her all over again. One, by posting the picture of her naked body in the newspaper, two, by not doing a proper rape test because there was no one available during Fiestas Patrias and three, by not wanting to touch her because she could be HIV positive. The lack of process, of outrage and education, led to not having an investigation on this brutal incident.

We ask that our governments develop a process that would better respond to human rights violations. As women in our perspective regions, we need to stand with all women who are faced with any level of violence that affects her well being.

As we prepare for 2011 which has been named, the year of people of African descent, Afro Central American women will continue to speak our truth.

When we come together we work hard, hold each other with care as we carry the weight of our communities on our shoulders and the spirit of our ancestors in our hearts.

The last evening of the conference, we celebrated the spirit of the Garifuna Guerrera Barauda. Barauda was the wife of the great Garifuna leader Satuye. They are stories that speak to her courage while standing next to Satuye during Hondura’s time of war against the British.

That Guererra spirit lives deep in the women who fight for the visibility, recognition and empowerment of the Afro Central American community. You hear it in their voices, see it as they stand and speak their truth, when they walk with pride and hold you with love. I commend one of our guererras, Mirtha Colon, who leads the women’s division of ONECA/CABO for moving with that energy.

We, women of African descent, move to the beat of our ancestral drum. It does not matter how tired we are at these conferences, we always leave celebrating and dancing. When we dance you see grace, joy and an ability to get down low like no bodies business.

Guerrera Spirit moves with those women who fight hard, love hard and see the light that leads to justice for our communities.

La lucha continua,

Peace
Yvette