Hosted by Friends of Latin America
When the Sandinista People’s Revolution triumphed in 1979, one of the first things the revolutionary government did was disband Somoza’s repressive military and police force and start new institutions to serve the poor majority in the country. Then in 1987, the country’s new constitution established autonomy for the indigenous and Afro-descendant populations of the Caribbean coast region.
Please join us for a 90-minute webinar with three Nicaraguan women who have been involved in building community control of the police and autonomy for ethnic minorities in Nicaragua. Ajamu Baraka of the Black Alliance for Peace will help us draw the lessons from the Nicaraguan experience for our struggles in the US. This event will be in Spanish and English with simultaneous interpretation.
SPEAKERS:
Aleyda Aragón, founder of the Sandinista Police in the 1980s, today she is a practicing elementary school teacher and lawyer who has decades of experience organizing in her barrio to guarantee citizen safety. She can explain the historical and current context and also share personal experience.
Lola Esquivel, member of the Board of the Gloria Quintanilla women’s cooperative in Nicaragua. Lola has decades of experience in community organizing and processes to guarantee community safety, especially for women. She has been part of the volunteer police since age 14, provides support to the head of the Women’s Police Stations (a special division of the police). She represented women peasants in the National Dialogue that took place during the 2018 coup attempt.
Betty Rigby (from Bilwi) will speak about the Nicaraguan Afro-Caribbean experience and autonomy
Ajamu Baraka from Black Agenda for Peace, will wrap up: What lessons can the US movement for Black and Brown lives learn from the Nicaragua experience?
Please help us spread the word! We are still looking for cosponsors to help us publicize the event. To endorse the event through your organization, sign up here.
If interested, write to clarkgollub@gmail.com.
SPONSORS: Pacific Northwest Solidarity Network, Black Alliance or Peace, Pan African Community Action, Friends of the ATC, Friends of Latin America, Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing (LELO), and more!
