Decenio Afro: Adelante

Decenio Afro: Adelante - on political leadership and democratic political participation - was the first of a three-part webchat series organized by the U.S. Department of State in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.

The Decade is a global initiative focused on recognition, justice and development, and is particularly relevant in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 200 million people of African descent live in the Americas, and their presence is felt in every country across the region. Thanks to the U.S. Speaker Program of the Bureau of International Information Programs and the team Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit for inviting me be part of this important initiative.

Stephanie Murillo:'La Panamá afro es invisible por nuestros gobernantes'

The 2018 DC Puerto Rican Diaspora Summit

The 2018 DC Puerto Rican Diaspora Summit addressed challenges and opportunities on the island from the perspective of Puerto Rican that reside in Washington, DC as described in Mayor Bowser’s Proclamation of October 27 Puerto Rican Day.

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) was once again a great host for this event. I enjoyed the opportunity to hear the discussion about the role of local governments as the first line of emergency response and the existing programs to provide community development needs. 

In September of 2017 Mayor Bowser supported 10 DC MPD officers who volunteered off-duty time to join the Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The MPD officers worked alongside members of the Puerto Rico State Police. Thank you for the opportunity to provide remarks at this important event.

Thumbs up once again to the UDC student Association, BoricuActivate, Boricuas Unidos en la Diaspora, Cenadores and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Friend of Puerto Rico, the National Puerto Rican Agenda, Margarita Varela, Angelique Sina, Eduardo Conde and the rest of the team that supported the successful execution of this event. https://bit.ly/2CKV9Oc

Montgomery County Council 2018 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

This time I quoted Jorge Familiar, World Bank Vice-President for Latin America and Caribbean, when he said, “Addressing the causes of structural discrimination will be key to fighting injustice and creating opportunities for all.” As a Central American immigrant living in the U.S., I experienced first-hand what it means to face barriers in communication (language, vocabulary, accent, dialects) culture, social status, background, education and race trying to integrate in the U.S. system.

It is why I am consistently engaged in equipping other fellow immigrants with the tools, knowledge and opportunities they need to develop themselves in this beautiful country.

I believe we are stronger together and it is part of Mayor Bowser’s DC values: “serving all DC residents no matter their immigration status.” Thank you Councilmember of Montgomery County Nancy Navarro and your staff for your leadership and inviting me to join this celebration. 

GW League of United Latin American Citizens hosted its 1st panel discussion on experiences of Afro-Latinos

The George Washington University's League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) hosted its 1st panel discussion on experiences of Afro-Latinos. Thanks to President Rachel Cohen for the invitation. Thanks also to Dr. Olga Acosta Price, The George Washington University- Milken Institute School of Public Health who did a wonderful job moderating this panel. I enjoyed this constructive and open dialogue about social and economic inclusion, international affairs and intra-community diversity.

2019 High School Business Plan Competition at Howard University Law School

As judges of this week’s High School Business Plan Competition at Howard University Law School, we were able to: a) share with the students our experiences conducting data analysis; and b) assess five business plans focused in talent development, aerospace engineering, finance, education and law. I took the opportunity to help students understand the different type of transactions that can lead to litigation. I personally: (i) favored those business plans that demonstrated a positive impact in people’s lives over those that were mainly showing a potential financial success; and (ii) enjoyed the interaction with the judges, Ms. Julie Dacar, Mr. Howard Goldberg, Mr. Raymond Reeves, and Ms. Mary Catherine Stricland. 

The writers were compensated through SYEP. The winners were invited to travel to Philadelphia and the Second and Third-place received a cash award. Congratulations to the 38 students that joined the competition, the Youth Leadership Foundation(YLF) team, especially to Morgan Downing who facilitated this event and Sandra P. Buteau for nominating me as a judge.

Explore DC, American University & Millennials

This week a group of “Explore DC” Leaders visited our office. Our conversation was mostly focused on the programs that we are implementing. Explore DC is an initiative from American University that gives new students the opportunity to learn about our city and explore the burning issues faced by our community.

I truly enjoyed our conversation. I also learned and realized that Millennials can help overcome connectivity and scalability challenges to improve the performance of organizations. Particularly now that digital transformations are well underway. Thanks to ServeDC from for facilitating this exchange of information.

When People Flee: Rule of Law and Forced Migration Conference

On April 17, 2018 the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) hosted its  annual conference on contemporary Rule of Law issues. During the conference, a panel of experts from development communities, leading academics analyzed during a panel discussion the legal aspects of forced migration,  “When People Flee: Rule of Law and Forced Migration.”  The panel on "Fleeing the Northern Triangle: Poverty, Crime, and Corruption" addressed the question on why the number of people fleeing the Northern Triangle has surged in recent years.

"The panels in this track examined the violent drivers of forced migration from the Northern Triangle and the serious threats and obstacles facing those who attempt to flee north to Mex - ico and the U.S. Among the most vulnerable groups fleeing, according to Julio Guity-Guevara (D.C. Mayor’s Office of Latino Affairs), are indigenous peoples of the region, including the Garifuna. Climate change and rising water levels have destroyed Garifuna communities on the coast, forcing them from their homes. While the numbers fleeing are historically high, they are also a repeat, panelists agreed, of the patterns from the Cold War and conflicts of the 1980s that saw hundreds of thousands of Central Americans traveling to the U.S. Since then, there have been extensive efforts to provide development assistance (40 billion over the decades) in order to promote the growth and stability that will keep people safe at home. These strategies were disconnected from economic reality, argued Manual Orozco of the Inter-American Dialogue, since they stressed work in the agricultural sector, but that sector does not pay well for Central Americans. For Orozco, the reliance on economic remittances is a big reason for migration from this region. cultural sector, but that sector does not pay well for Central Americans."

You can write to Julio at julio@guity.org

OAS SPECIAL MEETING OF THE PERMANENT COUNCIL

On Friday March 23, 2018, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) hosted a special session to commemorate the “International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade,” within the framework of the Plan of Action for the
Decade for Persons of Afro Descent in the Americas (2016-2025). The panel organized by the Permanent Council included the Secretary of the District of Columbia, Lauren C Vaughan; author and Harold Paul Green Research Professor of Law at George Washington University in Washington, DC, Dr Robert Cottrol; and Deputy Director of the Washington DC Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs (MOLA) Julio Guity-Guevara.

During the session, Julio recognized and congratulated the Mexican government for including the variable of Afro-Descendants in the 2015 survey conducted as preparation for the Census for 2020. He stated that Mexico recognizing Afro-Descendants is something we need to celebrate because in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, efforts such as this have taken many years to implement. Similarly, he also  sent a message to all local, national and international governments about the need to continue collecting data that will allow for the identification of Afro-Descendant communities in the LAC region. Although we have made significant advances in recent years, there is still much to do. In the Mexico survey, the government was able to identify about 1.3 million Afro-Descendants. There is great potential that this number will continue to increase in years to come as it has happened in other countries, such as: Columbia, Brazil, Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Panama. 

Pictures courtesy of the OAS Flicker/ You can write to Julio at julio@guity.org

Uploaded by OAS Videos - Events on 2018-03-23.

ILPS Global Network Publication

African Diaspora in Latin America, American University Washington College of Law

By Julio Guity-Guevara, LL.M.

Like Athens in the Greek Empire, Washington, D.C. is the national hub for important debates, dialogue and policy decisions that take place in the Americas. The situation of African descendants has increasingly become part of this dynamic. Approximately 150 million, or one third, of Latin America descends from slaves brought from Africa during colonial times. By taking a quick look at the socio-economic statistics in the region, it is easy to understand that the face of poverty in Latin America still has color. This is something that we simply cannot ignore.

That is why in February 2006, more than 75 leaders from all over the region came to Washington, D.C. to establish a policy agenda for racial equity in the Americas. Members of Congress, Latin American Supreme Court judges, NGO leaders, and representatives from institutions such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization of American States and the Inter-American Foundation met to debate how to reduce the socio-economic gaps between black and whites in Latin America, how to overcome the lack of political representation of African Descendants in Latin America, and discuss police misconduct and unequal racial treatment in
the justice system.

In March 2006, Washington College of Law at American University also took part in this growing dialogue. Various sponsors held a panel entitled “African Diaspora in Latin America.” Supporters included Dean Claudio Grossman, the LLM Board of the International Legal Studies Program, the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, the Black Law Students Association of WCL, and “Cimarrones” – a Howard University student association. The aim was to enlighten the student body about different challenges and contributions of African descendants in Latin America and provide a forum to access up-to-date information about their issues and think critically about possible alternatives and solutions. The audience included Ian G. Campbell, Legislative Assistant for International Relations from the Office of Congressman Gregory Meeks, and Jose Francisco Avila, president of New Horizons Investment Club in New York, and Masters in Laws candidates, scholars, and professors from local universities. Before the main panel presentation, Ms. Shazia Anwar explained how the Academy has incorporated issues regarding the African Diaspora.

Dean Claudio Grossman opened the panel by framing the topic of discussion within an agenda of human dignity. He also referred to the movement to create a Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance and the importance of educating judges, public prosecutors, public defenders and the general public about its development. The panel was comprised of Silvio Albuquerque, Brazilian Representative to the Organization of American States, Congresswoman Dayana Martinez from the Department of Francisco Morazán in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Judith Morrison, Executive Director of the Inter-Agency Consultation Race in Latin America (IAC).

Albuquerque provided valuable background information about the Working Group, which was established by a resolution of the OAS General Assembly in 2005. Since then, there have been seven meetings and one special session. By June 2006, the group expects to have a draft Convention that reflects key contributions from civil society, academia, governments and international organizations. So far, the Working Group has found it necessary to expand traditional grounds for discrimination and deal with contemporary forms, such as discrimination based on sexual orientation, people living with HIV-AIDS, gender and disabilities. It also emphasizes state obligations to create mechanisms to define and deal with hate crimes.

Dayana Martinez gave a general overview of the struggles of the Garífuna Community in Honduras and challenges she faces as a black, disabled woman in the Honduran Congress.
Judy Morrison encouraged those who have the privilege of studying to look at issues facing African descendants in Latin America. Morrison also highlighted the fact that, without the
participation of African Descendants, there cannot be true democracy in the Hemisphere. She also mentioned that many African Descendants are not recognized by the law and do not have basic documentation in their country, such as identification cards. According to a recent dialogue at the Inter-American Development Bank addressing the issue of identity papers, it is estimated that up to 50% of the African Descendant and indigenous population lack basic documentation – which means they cannot vote, do not have access to land rights, and, therefore, do not exist in the eyes of the law.

The “African Diaspora in Latin America” event was recognized as a timely opportunity for the Washington College of Law community to learn and exchange points of view about this important topic. As Morrison noted, those of us privileged to have the opportunity to study must take seriously the need to incorporate these issues into our academic work. Such steps will form the basis for others to build upon our research in the future. It also will help continue to sow the seeds for a dialogue in Washington that better incorporates challenges facing African descendants.

You can contact Julio at julio@guity.org