FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 14, 2020
CONTACTS:
Fernanda Durand | (214) 402-0186 | fernanda@communicationsshop.us
Alia El-Assar | (202) 938-6511 | alia@communicationsshop.us
WASHINGTON – In celebration of Alianza Americas’ 16-year anniversary this October, the transnational network is hosting “Power and Solidarity for Transformation,” a four-week program of free virtual leadership sessions to convene social justice activists from all walks of life and foster thoughtful and productive dialogue regarding strategies to combat systemic inequity and white supremacy and build a more equitable and just world.
The free weekly virtual forums will address issues ranging from the impact of health disparities, the legacy of colonization and white supremacy, transnational solidarity in justice movements and more. Sessions will feature diverse panels with renowned activists and thought leaders, including Nana Gyamfi, executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI); author and activist Bill Fletcher Jr.; and Dr. Yvette Calderon, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai; among others. The public sessions will culminate in Alianza Americas’ biennial Assembly for coalition members to reflect on the outcomes of this year’s programming and establish future programmatic lines.
“We are in a particularly challenging political, economic, and social moment. Not only are we navigating a global health pandemic, but also a long overdue reckoning with the plague of white supremacy that has infested our institutions and society at every level. However, this is also a transformational moment in our history in which we have the opportunity to chart a new course for our nation, our world, and our future,” said Oscar Chacón, executive director of Alianza Americas. “To that end, during this year’s convening, we will foster space for discussion and reflection on our current situation, the challenges we are confronting, and how to leverage our collective power and solidarity for transformation.”
The first virtual session titled, “Health Disparities and Structural Inequities during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” will take place this Friday, Oct. 16 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET, and address the impacts of long-standing structural economic and social inequities on the health outcomes of Black and Latinx communities, and their disproportionate suffering throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel will also explore strategies to confront inequities and future challenges. Register for the upcoming panel here.
Find the full programming schedule of the “Power and Solidarity for Transformation” Leadership Forum below and on Alianza Americas’ website here.
SESSION 1: Friday, Oct. 16 at 3-5 p.m. ET | 2-4 p.m. CT | 12-2 p.m. PT
Health Disparities and Structural Inequities during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Panelists:
- Yvette Calderón is a Puerto Rican physician and the Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. She is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and former Associate Dean for the Diversity Enhancement Office at the AECOM, and a board member of the Latino Commission on AIDS.
- Ricardo Castaneda is a Salvadorean Economist. He has been working at ICEFI since 2013 and is currently the country coordinator for El Salvador and Honduras. A former university professor, he has authored and collaborated on numerous studies, and he is a member of the Expert Network on Regional Integration of the Central American Integration System.
- Katya Nuques is the executive director of Enlace. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Chicago Thrive Leadership Council, the Latino Policy Forum and its Illinois Latino Agenda, the Second Federal Bank Advisory Council, and the Board of Directors of Sinai Health System.
SESSION 2: Friday, Oct. 23 at 3-5 p.m. ET | 2-4 p.m. CT | 12-2 p.m. PT
Defeating White Supremacy & Overcoming Colonialism: Challenges Facing the Latino Community
Panelists:
- Nana Gyamfi is the executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), the largest Black-led social justice organization representing the nearly 10 million Black immigrants, refugees, and families living in the U.S.
- Bill Fletcher Jr has been an activist since his teen years. He is the co-author (with Peter Agard) of The Indispensable Ally: Black Workers and the Formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 1934-1941; the co-author (with Dr. Fernando Gapasin) of Solidarity Divided: The crisis in organized labor and a new path toward social justice; and the author of ‘They’re Bankrupting Us’ – And 20 Other Myths about Unions.
- Marta Elena Casaús Arzú is the director of the María y Antonio Goubaud Carrera Foundation, and an Emeritus Americas History Professor of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
SESSION 3: Friday, Oct. 30 at 3-5 p.m. ET | 2-4 p.m. CT | 12-2 p.m. PT
Transforming Mass Protests into Institutional & Systemic Change
Panelists:
- Nadine Naber is a professor in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and the Global Asian Studies Program at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
- Juan Pablo Luna is a faculty member at the Political Science Institute and professor at the Government School at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
- Axela Romero Cárdenas is a feminist and gender equality specialist, and a consultant on cross-cutting gender perspective. She received her Master’s in Public Policy and a law degree.
SESSION 4: Friday, Nov. 6 at 12-2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. -1 p.m. CT | 9-11 a.m PT
Critical Analysis of the U.S. Elections
Panelists: To be announced.
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Alianza Americas is the only transnational organization rooted in Latino immigrant communities in the United States focused on improving the quality of life of all people in the U.S.-Mexico-Central America migration corridor. As a network of Latino and Caribbean immigrants, Alianza Americas is working for change in the U.S. while also promoting a more stable, healthy, democratic and safer conditions in the countries of origin of their members.
