The Colorline Project announces the release of its video The Underground Railroad in Mexico which documents stories of those of African descent in Mexico.
It is based on a series of 'story circles' where participants sat together in their community and told stories about being of African heritage in Mexico. In addition the video shows dances and other cultural aspects of daily life pointing toward what some call an Afro-Mestizo culture among almost 300 communities on the Mexican Pacific coast. Yet, during this process, we also learned there is much secrecy and denial about the history of African slavery in Mexico. It is simply not a part of the national story and most Mexicans living in the U.S. know nothing of this history.
Our work in discovering and dialoguing with black folk in Mexico is the beginning of a project to build an international dialogue among those of us of African descent in the Americas. We know our movement must be global to fight a global enemy. The modern system of oppression and exploitation led by the U.S. can only be met with an international anti-racist movement.
Their hope is that we will never recognize that we are one people separated by slavery and colonization. Most people of color in the U.S. have accepted a definition of who we are which insists on maintaining nationalist and ethnic identities as defined by European colonialists and slave owners. Our goal is that both Latinos and African Americans can come to see ourselves in each other. We are calling for a family reunion.
It is in this spirit that we have produced this video. We believe that the immigration question is the unity equation between Africans in the U.S and those who come here from other parts of the world. It is our intent that this video be shown to audiences willing to engage in collective discussion, story circles, if you will. We see this as part of a national and international dialogue to overcome the barriers that separate us and we invite those wishing to participate in this dialogue to show this video. We believe that this can be an important tool for those organizations and activists working around issues such as immigration, international solidarity, people of color coalitions and diversity.
For further information and copies of the video please contact Curtis Muhammad, National Organizer for The Colorline Project. He can be reached by email at: curtismuhammad@earthlink.net or by phone at: (504) 236-4703.
Because this is an ongoing project toward building alliances between people of color in the Americas, we suggest a tax-exempt donation to the Colorline Project to purchase copies of The underground Railroad in Mexico. We suggest a $500.00 donation and/or a "pass the hat" at showings.
We also urge that the audience be broken into small 'story circle' groups to share stories about this subject after each showing. A story circle guide will accompany each video we send out. We would also like groups to share the results of these circles with the Colorline Project to be used in our ongoing work to build a movement for justice in the Americas. The subtext of this style of organizing and fundraising is to produce a self-sustaining, community based organizing model limiting the need to continually look for funding from foundations and large donors.
The Colorline Project can be reached at:
Junebug Productions
P.O. Box 2331
New Orleans, LA 70176.
Please specify that any contribution is for the Colorline Project (Mexico). Our project is 501c-3 tax exempt.
Thank you in advance for your interest and support.
Copyright © 2004
Last Modified: September 9, 2004.
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