Events
Environmental Maroonage: 500 Years of Black Feminist Resistance Against Ecocide on the Island of Ayiti/Hispaniola
In honor of the 500th anniversary of the Christmas Rebellion, the first known rebellion of African peoples in the Americas, this event highlights the Afro-feminist struggle for environmental justice in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Focused on the contemporary fight against mining expansion and for environmental health, water, and food access, this panel examines how race, gender, and space shape Black feminist environmental activists on the island of Ayiti/Hispaniola and in its diaspora.
Join us for this conversation with activists Saudi García, France François, Paola García, Esther Girón, and Alba López.
Participants
Saudi Garcia, NYU Ph.D. Candidate, Mellon Graduate Fellow at NYU’s Hemispheric Institute
Saudi Garcia is an Afro-Caribbean Dominican immigrant and Ph.D candidate whose work examines the impact of gold mining pollution on human health in the Central Mountains of the Dominican Republic. Her dissertation, “Unearthing Blackness: Race, Health and Anti-Mining Activism in the Dominican Republic,” analyzes how the forms of activism and everyday survival of rural Black Dominicans impacted by gold mining reveals the gap the between the project of Hispanic Caribbean racialization and the anti-colonial and maroon imaginations, philosophies and bio-cultural practices of the rural people of Ayiti/Hispaniola.
France François, Founder of In Cultured Company
France is a multi-passionate writer, activist, and change agent helping transform marginalized communities around the globe by redefining the way their stories are told and how technology, products, and policies impact their lives.
Paola García, Founder Barrio Alante
Paola García is the founder of Barrio Alante, a network of social activists and young politicians from the urban neighborhoods of Santo Domingo’s periphery. Barrio Alante visibilizes the contributions of marginalized social sectors to the economy, culture, and the democracy of the Dominican Republic.
Esther Girón, Founder Aquelarre Feminist Collective
Esther Girón is an Afrofeminist activist and Dominican attorney. She is the co-founder of Aquelarre RD, a youth feminist space where people work to defend and promote sexual and reproductive rights in the Northern part of the Dominican Republic using a grassroots approach in the communities. Girón's activism includes defending the right to a healthy environment in her community, which is impacted by Falconbridge Bonao's mining activities.
Alba López, Environmental Defender from Monte Plata, Dominican Republic
Alba is a cacao farmer and environmental defender in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, actively fighting against tailing dam construction in her community.