Click here to watch the film: Movement for Justice in El Barrio at the Women’s Freedom Conference
“We are building a space where the ones from below can meet to listen to each other, learn and share. Resisting and fighting, to create a space where we can exist….”
This film, “El Barrio Women Fighting for Freedom and Against Displacement,” was presented by Movement for Justice in El Barrio at the ground-breaking first worldwide online Women’s Freedom Conference, held on October 25th, 2015.
The purpose of this historic conference was to concentrate and amplify the unique voices and experiences of women of color (Black, Asian, Latino and Indigenous women) who have little or no representation, and who have been deprived of their rights not only by patriarchy but also through racism and other forms of oppression. These intersections help shape and define their identities and their common struggles.
More than 20 presentations by women from all five continents were chosen to be shared at the conference after a rigorous selection process. The only organization selected to participate was Movement for Justice in El Barrio, the migrant community organization fighting for dignity and against displacement in East Harlem, New York.
The film they presented highlights three of the many women of color who lead the organization, as they struggle for freedom and against displacement and oblivion. As they take on local companies and multinational corporations, the women declare their opposition to the new plans for rezoning being imposed from above, which threaten to displace low income tenants, immigrants and people of color from their homes and community in East Harlem. As they struggle for freedom, the women of Movement for Justice in El Barrio are also building a new world in which many worlds fit. This film is a powerful story of migrant women of color coming together and constructing a new culture of resistance in El Barrio.
Feminista Jones, one of the main organizers of the Women’s Freedom Conference, was asked why this particular organization was chosen. She replied:
“We selected Movement for Justice in El Barrio because our mission was to highlight the work being done by women of color around the world. When we read the submission and watched the screen test, we were so inspired by the work of the women featured. The work that Movement for Justice in El Barrio is doing is important, empowering, and inspirational, and the Women’s Freedom Conference was honored to showcase their commitment to social justice on such a global stage.”
Click here to watch the film: https://goo.gl/AF8HrS
Founded by low-income immigrant women, Movement for Justice in El Barrio remains a majority-women, grassroots community organization that fights for dignity and against displacement in East Harlem, New York. Committed to autonomy and self-determination, Movement practices participatory democracy and horizontal decision-making on a community-wide scale.
