Join us for a conversation with Black legal scholar activists to discuss the challenges African and Afro-descendants face in Argentina, the famed “European” or white nation of Latin America. After more than 120 years of erasure, a category for Afro-descendants appeared in the Argentine Census in 2010. In spite of this and other important steps of recognition for social inclusion, these individuals continue to face various forms of racialized violence and discrimination on a daily basis. Our panelists will provide insight into the legal fight against racism in the Argentine landscape.
For additional resources on Africans and Afro-descendants in Argentina, click here.
Moderator:
Judith Anderson, Ph.D.
Dr. Judith Anderson is a cultural anthropologist and Afro-Latin Americanist whose research focuses on Black political mobilization in present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has taught and conducted scholarly research in areas including the African Diaspora in the Americas; Latin American Studies, and Race and Identity in Argentina. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida. She is widely published, with articles focusing on the politics of Black identity in Buenos Aires. Dr. Anderson has created and led Black Studies-focused study abroad programs to both Buenos Aires, Argentina and Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. She is actively engaged in several projects supporting Afro-descendants and other underrepresented communities across Latin America. She has also created multiple programs bringing these activists and scholars to the U.S. for knowledge exchange as well as community building. Along with Madoda Ntaka, she is the cofounder of the Organización Afrodescendiente para la Asistencia Jurídica y Formación (OAFRO), the first Black legal aid organization in Argentina.
Panelists:
Madoda Ntaka, Esq.
As one of the only Afro-Argentine lawyers, Madoda Ntaka’s professional and personal mission is to increase legal aid and access to justice for Afro-descendants in Argentina. Along with Dr. Judith Anderson, he cofounded the Organización Afrodescendiente para la Asistencia Jurídica y Formación (OAFRO). The legal initiative empowers the Afro-descendant community through legal aid and access to justice. He experienced many challenges while defending Afro-descendants who lack the resources to access qualified legal assistance. Mr. Ntaka participated in the meetings of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent that visited Argentina in 2019. He was also selected to be part of the International Visitors Leadership Program, in Washington DC in 2017 as the Director of the Human Right Unit of the Argentine Institute for Equality, Diversity and Integration (IARPIDI). He is a member of the Commission of African issues of the Argentine Council of International Relations (CARI). Mr. Ntaka was the co-organizer of the First Meeting of Free Legal Services Providers in 2018 which was held to discuss challenges facing those who needed free legal assistance. He was part of the International Congress of African Studies lecturers, Indianapolis, IN in 2014. He also lectures on Afro-descendant issues at the University of Buenos Aires.
Alí Delgado
Alí Delgado is an activist of Cape Verdean descent and a member of Afro-descendant youth organization Agrupación Xangó. He is a member of the 8th of November Commission, an organization which brings together more than 20 Afro-descendant groups in Argentina. He has been a member of the political group La Cámpora through which he exercised his activism at the University of Buenos Aires where he is in the final year of his studies in law. He currently works in the Government of the City of Buenos Aires as an auditor. Mr. Delgado wants to use the professional practice of law as a tool for social transformation. In 2019, he participated in the Regional Meeting of Young People of African Descent, which took place in the Province of Buenos Aires and provided workshops on youth, culture, and education.
Patricia Gomes
Patricia Gomes, an Afro-Argentine lawyer, black feminist activist, and member of the Cape Verdean community of Argentina. Since 2005 she has been part of the advisory committee for the Cape Verdean Mutual Aid Society "Unión Caboverdeana," an institution founded in 1932 and the oldest existing African organization in Argentina. She is also part of the gender section of the organization the 8th of November Commission’s “National Day of Afro-Argentines and Afro-descendant Culture” and the organization Todos con Mandela. She works at the Institute against Discrimination and the LGBT Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires in claims management, complaints, and legal advice on discrimination and sexual diversity, specializing in Afro-descent and racial discrimination. Ms. Gomes has also worked at the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI) and at the National Women's Council. As part of her activism, she teaches and lectures on Afro-descendant issues in Argentina.
Ndathie “Moustafa” Sene
Ndathie “Moustafa” Sene is a Senegalese immigrant who migrated to Argentina at the age of 22. He is a former student in the Literature Department of the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences of the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. He studies law at the University of Buenos Aires, with a focus on public international law. Mr. Sene is a founding member of the Association of Senegalese Residents in Argentina (ARSA), former president of the association, and current head of institutional relations there. He is also a member of the Argentine Institute for Equality, Diversity and Integration (IARPIDI), advisory committee of the Argentine Federation of Collectivities, and the Africa Week organizing committee. Mr. Sene serves as the deputy coordinator in the Secretariat of the National Commission for Refugees.
Mailen Lamadrid
Mailen Lamadrid is a seventh generation Afro-Argentine, a second year law student at the University of Buenos Aires, and a paralegal at Allonca Abogados. She has been an activist for over 10 years in the struggle against racism and discrimination for the visibility of Afro-Argentines, Afro-descendants, and Africans. In 2006 she joined the organization Africa Vive, founded by activist María “Pocha” Lamadrid, who inspired her in the fight against the constant denial of Afro-Argentines in Argentina. In 2010 she collaborated with the organization Africa y su Diaspora in the promotion of the Afro-descendant question census question. In 2011 she participated at the National Meeting of Young Afro-descendants of Argentina. In 2012 she took part in the Meetings of Afro-descendant, African, Afro-Caribbean, and diaspora women carried out in the National Foreign Ministry. Ms. Lamadrid was the coordinator of the Afro-descendant youth group Agrupación Xangó. In 2018 she was part of cultural exchange program that visited the U.S. where discussion and workshops were held regarding the problems that Afro-Argentine communities face. She also participated in the Regional Meeting of Young People of African Descent, which took place in the Province of Buenos Aires, providing workshops on youth, culture and education.
*If you require an accommodation such as live captioning or interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Mark Hoff at hoff.96@osu.edu. Requests made one week in advance of the event will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.*
