Decolonizing Cities: Black Movement and Territories of Life in Brazil

As part of the Blackness in Latin America Series, BSP Postdoctoral Fellow Juliana Góes presents Decolonizing Cities: Black Movement and Territories of LIfe in Brazil. In the face of recent colonial and capitalist expansion, scholars and activists have advocated for the decolonization of the world. However, how can we do that? The talk investigates this question. I explore how Black movements in Brazil organize urban communities as alternatives to Western modernity. In the past decades, Afro-descendent movements in Latin America have organized their communities according to the ethnic traditions and ancestral ontologies, creating self-determined collectives in which people forge new forms of being and living - territories of life. Scholars who have studied these communities define them as a path to decolonization. Yet, these studies focus on rural areas. Considering this, this talk discusses how a self-organized group led by Black women from a Brazilian shantytown has created a territory of life. More specifically, I explore possibilities to decolonize urban spaces through the creation of solidarity networks to survive police terror, prison, and displacement, seeking to offer a holistic perspective on decolonization.

RSVP here at eventbrite.com/e/las-tertulia-juliana-goes-tickets-807209123217

Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 | 2:00pm (PST)

The Gildred Room