Hey John,
During Black History Month, Blackness is defined as a monolith. Erased in this narrow celebration of Blackness is Indigeneity, often to elevate Black excellence and innovation. Black excellence and innovation recycle and center whiteness and reinforce performative campaigns and hollow statements. For me, it's a personal attack on my Indigeneity.
People exist at the intersection of Indigeneity and Blackness all over the world. Their experiences are often erased from mainstream narratives around climate change’s undeniable impact on Indigenous communities. Afro-Indigenous relatives have always been here and still are here. I’m a living testament of holding these identities together through my stories and organizing work. Indigenous People’'s Movement’s mission shows how Indigeneity might not look the same but have a shared connection of experience:
Indigenous people from North, Central and South America, Oceania, Asia, Africa and The Caribbean are a target of genocide. Presently, many indigenous people are victims of voter suppression, divided families by walls and borders, an environmental holocaust, sex and human trafficking, and police/military brutality with little or no resources nor awareness of these injustices.
As an Afro-Indigenous and Afro-Latino Gen Z’er with Garifuna (Honduran) roots, I carry the impacts of being a Black trans person living through climate catastrophe happening in the Global North and am also reminded of the organizers in the Global South - like in Honduras - who are ripped off their lands and lives all for protecting their community.
When honoring Black History Month, all parts of Blackness should be celebrated. We want to keep making space for these conversations, so follow us on Instagram to help us create a stronger amplification platform for Afro-Indigenous relatives.
Black and Indigenous folks have the shared experience of being colonized and stripped of our ancestral lands which makes it that much more important for us all to be included as tools of resistance.
Acknowledging and supporting the work of Afro-Indigenous organizers will only help educate, decolonize, and expand our understanding of Indigenous sovereignty and Black Liberation. These aren’t separate fights. They work hand in hand to uplift folks across borders, tribes, and cultures.
Still here,
Vic Barrett, Network Organizer at Power Shift Network
