Reckoning with Racism: Confronting Anti-Blackness in Latine Culture

Join us for a powerful community conversation where we will collectively explore the deeply rooted issues of anti-Blackness and white supremacy within Latine communities. This conversation seeks to uncover the historical and cultural factors that perpetuate these biases while highlighting paths toward healing, solidarity, and building true unity. This is an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage in the critical work of dismantling systemic oppression and fostering a more inclusive future for all. This evening will include a special performance of ¡azúcar!, live drumming, and an opportunity to practice the ancestral technologies of music, dance, and storytelling to help facilitate and cultivate our collective insight and healing.

Thurs Nov 7th, 7-10pm

Village Well Books and Coffee

9900 Culver Blvd, Culver CIty, CA 90232

“How do you respond to questions like: “Daddy, why do they hate us?””

— Amir Whitaker

Why is this conversation important? Confronting anti-Blackness within Latinidad is crucial for several reasons. First, it acknowledges the historical and ongoing intersections of racism that Black and Latine communities face. Second, it challenges the myth of a monolithic Latine identity, recognizing the diverse experiences and struggles within the community. Third, it promotes solidarity and allyship between Black and Latine individuals, fostering a stronger united front against systemic racism. Finally, addressing anti-Blackness within Latinidad is essential for dismantling the internalized racism that can harm both Black and Latine individuals, ultimately contributing to a more just and equitable society.

About Project Knucklehead + Afro Unidad

Project KnuckleHead is a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization operating community-based programs. Our mission is to inspire and empower youth and communities through the arts, education, activism, and other forms of self-expression. FREE THE YOUTH! We aim to assist in dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline by investing in the redirection of youth, and equipping them with pro-social skills for self-expression. We focus on serving youth in the (in)justice system, youth with mental health needs, and youth experiencing homelessness, and youth in underserved communities. We also support unity, healing, and liberation for Afro-descendants around the world through our Afro Unidad movement.

Project KnuckleHead is partnering with Caras Afro Panama and artists around the world to launch a movement to create deeper connections between Afro-descendants. Afro Unidad is a Pan-African cultural kinship movement founded in 2020 by Afro organizations and artists. The movement includes over 50 Afro Ambassadors across 14 countries who host events and programs globally. Our actions are focused on Consciousness, Liberation, Healing, and Unity. We are a decolonization movement that hopes to assist in the liberation of Africans subjected to centuries of oppression in the Americas. We understand that culture is power, and that Black Atlantic culture is one of the most influential forces in the modern world.

About Village Well Books and Coffee

We are a community-focused & impact-driven bookstore-café in the heart of Downtown Culver City. Supporting the community is part of our DNA. We regularly explore various social causes and encourage the community to learn, share ideas, and lend a hand. Currently, we are focusing on the movement to reform the criminal justice system as it disproportionately targets people of color. Through educating ourselves with the voices of abolitionists, we stand to support the disarmament and finacial redistribution of the law enforcement.

Meet the Artists

Amir Whitaker

Amir is an educator, author, human rights lawyer, and artist. He is the founder and director of Project KnuckleHead, a nonprofit organization empowering youth through music, art, and educational programs since 2012. Often referred to as “Dr. KnuckleHead,” Amir was introduced to the criminal justice system as a child when he visited both his mother and father in prison. At age 15, Amir himself was arrested and entered the juvenile justice system. Amir is currently a senior policy attorney with the ACLU of Southern California. He has written for publications like TIME Magazine, NBC News, and Washington Post. As an artist, Amir has collaborated with musicians around the world while studying and teaching styles of music and dance of the Afro diaspora. His art has been displayed in galleries, libraries, and billboards around the world. He is the co-founder of Afro Unidad, a Black cultural kinship movement with 50+ ambassadors across 14 countries. He received his doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California, juris doctorate from the University of Miami, and his bachelors from Rutgers University.

Tanee Osborne

Tanee Osborne is a West African musician, teaching artist and multi-faceted entrepreneur, first introduced to the West African Drum and Dance culture as a dancer in 2009 with Bi-Okoto Drum and Dance, a West African Drum and Dance company out of Cincinnati, Ohio.  After relocating to California, a few years later, fate placed her right in the heart of Leimert Park, LA’s premiere cultural hub. There is where Tanee met her early teachers and began studying djembe. Now you never know if you will see Tanee playing a djembe, the doudouns, kora, sabar or tama.

One thing for sure, is that today Tanee's passion lies in learning and sharing the culture and language of the ancestors full time, performing and facilitating learning experiences using the Malinke Culture through art and music.

Mya Edwards

Mya Edwards (she/ella) is a movement artist and dance educator based in Los Angeles, California. Mya co-created Body Movement and Liberation, a healing justice practice of movement to create a dance space where anyone can move and liberate their bodies. Edwards was introduced to dance through her Mexican and African-American culture. She began her dance training in her abuelita’s living room, quinceañeras, Zumba classes, and her Hip Hop team at Venice Senior High School (Class of 2020). Along the way, she was provided the opportunity to teach dance in a social justice manner during the Los Angeles Teacher Strike in 2019 and as a Freedom Fellow with Project Knucklehead in 2020. As a result of the joy Mya experienced while teaching dance on the front lines, she was inspired by her community, teachers, and mentor to teach dance in LAUSD public schools and as a teaching artist. To pursue this goal, she attended Goucher College (Class of 2024) to deepen her dance knowledge and to study secondary education. Mya is currently a student-teacher pursuing her Dance Credential in California State University, Northridge’s ACT Residency Program. 

Evan Cristo

Evan Cristo is world renown for his effortless ability to bridge musical gaps. 

From his mother's womb, rhythm took charge as Evan Cristo's first form of expression. He began learning drums soon after he began learning to speak. This percussive comfort seamlessly shines in music along with his dynamic melodic palette.

Nakeiltha A. Campbell

Nakeiltha A. Campbell [Na-kel-ta] was Born in Colon, Panama, and raised in southern California. Drumming became a vehicle to reconnect with her roots and ancestral memories. As a multicultural percussionist and founder of Puentes De Poder Org, Her work celebrates African diasporic music and culture with more than 15 years of experience working locally and abroad. Nakeiltha is grateful for the opportunities to serve and share the stage with activists, educators, and Grammy Award-winning and nominated artists worldwide.