1. Connecting Experiences, Strengthening Community Partnerships: The Afro Presence in Argentina.  
Marisol Fila
Student Engagement Program
UM Library Mini Grant
March 13th 2018

2. The discourse of national identity that emerged in Argentina during the formation of the nation-state in the nineteenth and the twentieth century was constructed under a particular classist and racist vision that privileged white European migrants at the same time that turned invisible the presence of Afrodescendants and indigenous groups.
Since the 1990s, different Afrodescendant organizations have been raising their voices against the discrimination suffered, and generating mechanisms of national and transnational articulation with other social and cultural movements.
The Afro-Argentine association Xangô is a particularly active member of this network of organizations in Argentina that is currently advocating for the construction of a more equitable society in terms of social, economic, cultural and political access and inclusion of minority groups.
Contextualization:

3. From the beginning, this project is conceived to strengthen community partnerships, to enhance global scholarship, and to advocate for diversity and inclusion. A group of Xangô members visited the University of Michigan during the winter of 2017, in a series of events sponsored by the Center for Global and Intercultural Study from the University.
The project seeks to build momentum with the events that occurred last winter, and to strengthen the partnership between the University community and Xangô. The events proposed in this project do not only raise awareness of Afro struggles in Argentina, but leverage the resources of our University (students, library).
Project’s goals:

4. Screening of Afroargentinos documentary & Discussion with Afro-Argentine group Xangô. January 24th , 2018
Collective translation of videos and pedagogic guide from Xangô group. February 16th & 17th , 2018
Teaching for Diversity: Pedagogy Workshop with Lecturers, Faculty and GSIs. March 14th, 2018
Screening of videos, Discussion with Xangô group & Next steps. March 27th , 2018
Activities:

5. Screening of Afroargentinos documentary & Discussion with Afro-Argentine group Xangô.
Screening of the documentary Afroargentinos (2003), that discusses the contributions of the Afro-Argentines to the social and cultural identity of the country. The screening was followed by a Q&A session with members of Xangô, who told us more about the past and the present of the organization and the Afro presence in Argentina.
January 24th, 2018

6. Collective translation of videos and pedagogic guide from Xangô group.
Collaborative two-day session of translation, subtitling and editing of a video that young members of Xangô recorded during October of 2017 and of a pedagogic guide that Xangô group created with the Argentine Confederation of Public Education Workers (CTERA) during The video and the guide were available only in Spanish.
February 16th and 17th , 2018:

7. Teaching for Diversity: Pedagogy Workshop with Lecturers, Faculty and GSIs. March 14th, 2018
Workshop around the pedagogic guide created by Xangô and the Argentine Confederation of Public Education Workers (CTERA) during Some members of Xangô, together with elementary school teachers, will be joining remotely to discuss the impact of the guide in Argentine’s educational system, and the possibilities of connecting the experiences and the history of Afro-Argentines to the US context.
Free and Open to GSIs, Lecturers and Faculty. RSVP required.
March 14th , 2018:

8. Screening of videos, Discussion with Xangô group & Next steps
Screening of videos, Discussion with Xangô group & Next steps. March 27th , 2018
Projection of the translated and edited video, together with a series of short videos about the experiences of Afro-Argentine women and more recent immigrants. These videos were also subtitled during the Feb 16th and 17th weekend. A member of Xangô will join the conversation and the debate of the videos and the translated pedagogic guide after the screenings.
March 27th , 2018:

13. Thanks!
All the activities are possible thanks to the sponsorship of the U-M Library through the Student Mini Grant, and the support of the Language Resource Center
For more info, contact Marisol Fila at