A day after many will celebrate arrival to the Western Hemisphere of the colonial pirate Cristoforo Colombo (aka Christopher Columbus), the movement for Black Lives from the U.S. to South America hightlights a persistent legacy of reistance in stark contrast. In Colombia, the South American country named after Columbus by European colonialist and home to the third largest population of African people outside of Africa, the plight of Afro-Colombians has become even more daunting over the last twenty-five years with the “new” circumstances of internal armed conflict that has engulfed large portions of Afro-Colombian territory, paramilitary terror, and the free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombian.

Hidden from healines is massive displacement, state and paramilitary violence, assassinations of community leaders, disappearances and an invasion of traditional Afro-Colombian territories by U.S. and other European multi-national corporations who want the land that Afro-Colombians occupy and the minerals beneath the ground.

In response is incredible organizing and political education work on the ground in Riohacha, Colombia by the PCN (National Council of Palenques) that is part of its program to build resistance and counter-power that should be seen as an international extension and expression of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Come to a unique video and discussion presentation with veteran Pan-African human rights activists Ajamu Baraka, who lives in Colombia and Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo, both of whom attended the recent PCN’s IX National Council of Palenques gathering in August. The video he will present captures some of the realities that exist on the ground and the incredible organizing of the PCN, including a scene from a political education class conducted by one of our most dynamic young organizers there, Francia Marquez now under death threat from para-militaries and is forced to move around the country with a special car and body guards.

Ajamu Baraka is a human rights activist, organizer and geo-political analyst. Baraka is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, D.C. and editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report. He is a contributor to “Killing Trayvons: An Anthology of American Violence” (CounterPunch Books, 2014).

Maurice Carney is a co-founder and Executive Director of the Friends of the Congo. He has worked with Congolese for over fifteen years in their struggle for peace, justice and human dignity. Carney has worked with civic associations in West Africa providing training on research methodology and survey.  He has provided analysis on the Congo for Al Jazeera, ABC News, Democracy Now, Real News Network, Pambazuka News, All Africa News, and a host of other media outlets.

There is a suggested donation of $5 to cover event costs but no one will be turned away. Please support Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe,  the District’s place for thoughtful reflection of works particularly generated by and about people of African Descent.