The Universidad Industrial de Santander was the scene of an intercultural meeting full of reflection, ancestral knowledge and collective action, with the realization of the People’s Meeting on Proper and Intercultural Justice, Institutional Racism and Legal Resistance of Organized Black Women. The event, which took place in the Agora Auditorium of the Faculty of Human Sciences, brought together organized black and Afro-descendant women, as well as members of the university community, social organizations, legal collectives and academics committed to social transformation and racial justice.
During the event, various topics were addressed, focusing on the processes of depatriarchalization from territorial and community approaches, the forms of justice of ethnic peoples, the legal tactics promoted by Afro-descendant social organizations and political resistance actions against the State and institutions that perpetuate colonial, patriarchal and racist matrices.
Dayana Blanco Acendra, lawyer and director of ILEX Acción Jurídica, was present at the meeting and explained that “this space was to talk about the different forms of justice, especially those led by black and Afro-descendant women, from their territories and their struggles”. Because talking about structural racism, discrimination from institutions and the systematic exclusion of black, indigenous and LGBTIQ+ communities in Colombia, is not a comfortable task. “Colombia still does not fully recognize the racism that inhabits its institutions,” denounced Blanco Acendra. And he pointed out that, in Santander, as in other territories, tensions over land, megaprojects and the effects of the armed conflict exacerbate inequalities and interethnic disputes. The invitation was clear: stop looking the other way and start debating from the roots.
Meanwhile, Sofía Téllez, a fourth semester student of Law and Political Science at the UIS, spoke from her university experience. As part of the Acción Pedagógica Pacha Paqta collective, she highlighted the need for these spaces to redefine the role of law in the lives of racialized people. “The black women who are speaking to us today have been violated by the State and by the law. Listening to them allows us to understand that our career must be at the service of social transformation and not its perpetuation,” she said, reiterating that the academy cannot remain neutral in the face of injustice.
The Juntanza was organized by the Colectivo y Semillero de Investigación Social, Acción Pedagógica y Abogacía Popular Pacha Paqta, ILEX Acción Jurídica and the School of Law and Political Science of the UIS, who highlighted the importance of generating these spaces for dialogue, recognition and strengthening of the historical struggles of organized black communities.
This meeting was consolidated as a pedagogical, political and legal commitment for dignity, recognition and justice for black women in Colombia.
