afrocolombia NY and the colombian studies group (CUNY grad center) presents

A night of solidarity and music

Featuring

a documentary and conversation with
two afrocolombiana leaders
francia marquez and clemencia carabali
& performances by
gregorio uribe + diego obregon (grupo chonta)

monday, january 16
6:30 p.m.
terraza 7 cafe
4019 Gleane Street, Queens (Elmhurst), NY
take the 7 train to 82nd and roosevelt

for more information, contact yesenia@afrocolombiany.org

On January 16 and 17, WOLA will be taking two prominent Afro-Colombian women activists, Clemencia Carabali and Francia Marquez, from northern Cauca to NYC. Francia and Clemencia have defended the territorial rights of La Toma, an Afro-Colombian gold-mining community in southwestern Colombia. Home to 1,052 families, La Toma was founded by runaway slaves in 1636. Over the centuries, they have developed a culture and history that is tied to this land, carving out environmentally sustainable livelihoods through artisanal gold mining and basic agricultural projects, and grounding their traditions in this ancestral place. Despite a legal framework that protects the community’s rights to the land, private investors and right-wing paramilitaries have threatened, intimidated, and killed members of the community. In recent years, several massacres of miners by paramilitaries have taken place and leaders have received repeated death threats. Thanks to the strong organizational capacity of the community the people of La Toma and US solidarity, they have avoided several evictions and continue to live in their territory. The case of La Toma formed part of a hearing in the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, as an exemplary case on  abuse of Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples’ right to previous consultation in 2009. The case also forms part of the discussion on human rights certification of US military assistance to Colombia. In November PBS released an episode of its Women, War and Peace featuring Francia and Clemencia. You can view the episode online at the following link:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/the-war-we-are-living/