10: Sealing This Sankofa

10: Sealing This Sankofa

Help us seal the Sankofa of the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast. Jacqui and Dave-Ann will guide us in this sealing portal, reflecting on the testimonies we’ve received, the organisers we’ve met, the issues we’ve considered, and the state of the conversations we’ve explored. We’ll also assemble an altar, consider this podcast series as an archive, and envision the future history of our next movements. Triggers: climate change, racism, European colonisation, US imperialism, neoliberal capitalism, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia.  

9: Contemplating a Caribbean Rematriation: Indigenous Women’s Organizing

Join our new guides, Dave Ann Moses and Jacqui Brown, for our final two episodes. This, our Episode #9 is: “No Translation Necessary: Indigenous Women’s Activism.” Dave-Ann and Jacqui guide us through our consideration of the possibility of a Caribbean Rematriation through interviews with four Indigenous Caribbean women activists: Amira Teul of Belize’s Toledo Maya Women’s Council (Belize); Paulette Jacobs-Allicock and Gloria Duarte of Makushi Research Unit (Guyana); and Immaculata Casimero of Wapichan Women’s Movement (Guyana). We consider what Caribbean Indigeneity is, how Indigenous communities engage state and Indigenous institutions, and whether a Rematriation between Black and Indigenous activists in coalition is possible for our movement. Triggers: child abuse, child marriage, child pregnancy, intimate partner violence, and working with the police.

8: Labour, Lands, Cooperatives

Join Carla for the eighth episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast, entitled “Labour, Lands, Cooperatives” Carla guides us through a consideration of just what, precisely, Caribbean land has been through since colonization and how the stripping of Caribbean land is tied to patriarchal control of the land, which continues to this day. Carla also considers how empowering womxn farmers supports wellbeing for all with two organizers: Keithlin Caroo, Founder and Executive Director of Helen’s Daughters (St. Lucia), Dr. Nicola Suraleigh, Executive Director of Integrated Health Outreach (Antigua & Barbuda), and Denise Carr and Philona Roberts of SUCOS.

7: A Self-Possessed Selfhood, or Sex Workers to the Front!

Join Carla for the seventh episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast, entitled “A Self-Possessed Selfhood, or Sex Workers to the front!” Carla is in conversation with  Denise Carr and Philona Roberts, both of SUCOS, or the Suriname Coalition of Sex Workers. Carla guides us through SUCOS’ vision of a sex worker-led Caribbean feminism and what is really takes to develop a self-possessed vision of selfhood for all Caribbean folx.

6: Language & Leadership

Welcome back to the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast, and jump into our sixth episode, entitled “Language and Leadership.” Join Carla as we excavate the fundamentals of leadership in our movement and consider why so many Caribbean organizers refuse the label “feminist.” Carla is in conversation with two organizers from across the region: Michelle Irving, Founder and Coordinator of POWA, or Productive Organization for Women in Action (Belize); and Dylis McDonald of CIWiL, the Caribbean Institute of Women in Leadership (Regional / Antigua and Barbuda).

5: Stats & Storytelling (Fi Di Dolly Dem)

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 5: “Stats & Storytelling: Fi di Dolly dem.” Please note that we will take a brief break for the summer and return with the second and final batch of our episodes on (x date). 


Possible triggers in this episode include abortion, domestic violence, HIV+ / AIDS, SRH, mental health, class. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are:

  • Sarah-Ann Gresham, Co-Founder of Intersect Antigua, (Antigua and Barbuda). Intersect Antigua is a Queeribean feminist collective committed to gender justice and to centering the experiences and needs of the most marginalized among us, including queer, trans, and non-binary people and those with disabilities who are Black, Indigenous, and identify as people of colour. Intersect is here to re-imagine a world where Caribbean women, men, and non-binary people are free to live and love in societies where they are cared for and cherished. Check out Intersect’s literary magazine on their website! Find them also at their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @intersect_anu; IG: @intersect.anu; and LinkedIn. 

  • Shantae Porteous, who, at the time of our discussion, was Health & Wellness Officer at WE Change JA (Jamaica). Women’s Empowerment for Change (WE Change) is a feminist organization focused on advocating for and with lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. WE Change is focused on equipping women with the tools to advocate and become activists for the creation of a world that recognizes and protects the rights of all people, regardless of nationality, socioeconomic status, abilities, race, gender, or sexuality. Visit WE Change online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @WEChangeJA; and IG: @wechangeja. 

  • Denae Fairweather, Director of Publicity and President of the Board of Our Circle, based in Belize. Our Circle ​advances legal and lived equality for LGBT-formed family units, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy reform. Visit Our Circle online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; and Twitter: @ourcirclebze. 


Carla led this conversation with Sarah-Ann, Shantae, and Denae in March 2022. We sealed this episode with audio from one of Colin Robinson’s final interview in this plane: Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson, Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV. 


I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely, 

Jacks.

4: The Kids May (Not) Be Okay 

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 4: “The Kids May (Not) Be Okay.” 

Possible triggers in this episode include suicidal ideation, child abuse, child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV+/AIDS, and teenage pregnancies. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are:

  • Dr. Hazel da Breo, Founder and Executive Director of Sweet Water Foundation Research and Treatment Institute (Grenada. Sweet Water Foundation: Research and Treatment Institute is the only organization in the Caribbean which is focused upon research and treatment planning for women, girls, trans people, and other marginalized groups who have suffered from sexual violence from the time of early childhood. Founded in 2008, the organization conducts research, publishes findings, designs and implements trainings (thus building individual, community and institutional capacity), and provides specific psychotherapeutic care for both victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse. Visit Sweetwater Foundation online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter @SweetWaterIntl; and IG @MySistersKeeper_SWF / @UnderFive_SWF. 

  • Chelsea Foster, Founder and Executive Director of Girls of a Feather (St. Lucia). Girls of a Feather is an organization founded in 2014 to provide educational opportunities and mentorship to adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 18 in Saint Lucia. It was established in response to a recognition of the lack of opportunities for young girls to receive mentorship from older female professionals and an interest in raising awareness and advocating for the rights of adolescent girls. The organization focuses on five main pillars, which include education, leadership, relationship building, self-esteem and health. Their focus is to tackle social issues such as gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health. Visit Girls of a Feather online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter @SLUFeathers; IG: @girlsofafeatherslu; and LinkedIn. 

  • Joy Crawford, Co-Founder and Director of Programmes and Training, for Eve for Life (Jamaica). EVE for Life is an organization founded in 2008 that provides support to adolescent girls and young women who are survivors of physical and sexual abuse; and to women and children living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. The organization’s work is grounded on extensive research which informs their advocacy and service delivery to address the needs of their beneficiaries. Their mission is to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights and quality of life of young women and girls exposed to HIV and sexual and gender-based violence. Visit Eve for Life online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @EveforLife; and IG: @eveforlife_jamaica. 


Our Producer, Dave-Ann, interviewed Dr. da Breo, Chelsea, and Joy in late 2021. We sealed this episode with audio from one of Colin Robinson’s final interview in this plane: Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson, Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV. 


I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely, 

Jacks.

3: Families Live Here

Join Carla for the third episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree,” podcast, where we emerge from the historiography of our movement into our presents. In this episode, Carla is in conversation with Charrice Talbert, Treasurer and Board President of PETAL, Promoting Empowerment Through Awareness for Lesbian and Bisexual Women, the first! LBQ organization in Belize. We’ll collectively consider: what is a queer family? And which families are part of our movement?

2: Setting Precedent: Positive Rights

Join Carla for the second episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree,” podcast, entitled: “Setting Precedent: Positive Rights?” We seal our visit to the historiography of our movement, by receiving the testimony of Candacy McEwan, Founder and Executive Director of Guyana Trans United, on her organizations’ region-wide precedent setting court case, McEwan, et. al vs. the Attorney General of Guyana. Triggers: transphobia, police brutality, rape, unfair arrest, trans-youth abuse, misgendering, and possible deadnaming.