The Village Speaks: Black Immigrants & the Current Movement




In solidarity George Floyd, #BlackLivesMatter and the collective efforts to dismantle anti-Blackness, racism, and white supremacy in the United States, we welcome all members of our Immigrants Rising community to join us in an online conversation “The Village Speaks: Black Immigrants and the Current Movement”.

This round table discussion brings together Immigrants Rising community members Kai Martin, Denea Joseph, and Edem Tomtania to speak about systematic racism and what it means to be black, undocumented, and living through current challenges in the United States today. The discussion will begin and end with a centering exercise to help ground and heal participants. This event is open to the entire Immigrants Rising community, including community members who do not identify as Black immigrants.

EVENT INFO

Date: Thursday, June 11th
Time: 5:30-6:30 PM PT | 8:30-9:30 PM ET

  Watch Video  

Check out this complementary resource that expands on this conversation.

SPEAKERS

KAI MARTIN
Masters of Public Policy Candidate at George Washington University


Kai K. Martin is a Masters of Public Policy candidate, with a concentration in Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis at George Washington University. Born in Trinidad, West Indies and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Kai earned her degree in Law and Society from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Passionate about serving her community, Kai volunteers with organizations such as TheDream.us, where she serves as an alumni council member, Immigrants Rising, where she served as an entrepreneur ambassador, and is a member of the DMV chapter of the Undocublack Network. Adding to her public service, Kai is the communications chair for the Minority Leadership Program at George Washington University and facilitates community workshops on mental health, domestic violence, immigration policies, and race relations. At the completion of her graduate program, she hopes to further her community services by partnering with local agencies to provide life skills and job training to domestic violence survivors, while continuing to advocate for disadvantaged social groups.

DENEA JOSEPH
Host of the Undocumented Black Girl Podcast


Denea (pronounced Denae) Joseph is an undocumented Black DACA recipient and national immigrant rights activist who advocates for the representation of Undocumented and Black immigrants within the mainstream immigrant narrative. She immigrated to the United States at the age of seven from Belize, Central America.

Denea is a regularly sought-after media commentator on immigration issues and has been vocal about her undocumented and Black experience. She has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Essence, Vogue, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Magazine’s historic immigration issue, among others.

Denea currently serves as the Vice President for the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD), California Ambassador for the United State of Women (USOW), Host of the Undocumented Black Girl Podcast and Board Member for the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

O. EDEM TOMTANIA
Owner of Audilus and Sead Publishing


O. Edem Tomtania is a Togolese immigrant who emigrated to the US in 2001. Othniel was an Immigrants Rising entrepreneurship fund grantee and is the founder of Audilus, a media production company and Sead Publishing, a music publishing and licensing company. Both companies were birthed out of a passion for art, music and a desire to create a platform for other undocumented artists and creatives.