Under The Sycamore Tree

Rebel Women Lit
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Under The Sycamore Tree

A short series podcast and living archive from Rebel Women Lit documenting the work of trailblazing Caribbean feminist organisations in ecological justice, trans and queer rights, leadership, and combatting rape culture.

  1. 10: Sealing This Sankofa

    31/08/2023

    10: Sealing This Sankofa

    Hello our very dear, esteemed, and beloved audience and communities! This is Jacqui, writing with our final batch of show notes for the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast. Here are our show notes for our final Episode 10: “Sealing this Sankofa.” Possible triggers in this episode include climate change, racism, European colonization, U.S. imperialism and neoliberal capitalism, patriarchy, homophobia, and transphobia.  Remember that you can find out more about the Women’s Voice and Leadership - Caribbean partner organizations on our shared funders’ websites: Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and Equality Fund. Also learn more about the WVL partnership between these two funders here.   The passages in this episode, in order, are:  Unraveling, a novel by Dr. Karen Lord of Barbados. Published in New York, NY, USA by DAW Books in 2019. This passage is taken from page 102. “The Race for Theory,” an Black Feminist academic article by the late Dr. Barbara Christian (St. Thomas & California, USA). Her article was published in volume 14, issue 1, of the journal Feminist Studies (Spring 1988, pages 67 - 79).   We closed this episode with multiple passages from Kei Miller’s novel, Augustown, Published in New York, NY, USA by Pantheon in 2016. The passages come from pages 115 - 116, 144, and 232.  You can find former USVI State Senator Janelle K. Sauraw’s July 4th post here on her instagram profile, @jksauraw. Check out Democracy Now’s suite of coverage on U.S. imperialism, which provided rich references for this episode. We were specifically informed by the following of their reports / stories:  “How to Hide an Empire”: Daniel Immerwahr on the History of the Greater United States” (March 5, 2019) “Juan González: In Surprise Move, Gorsuch Challenges U.S. Colonialism in SCOTUS Ruling on Puerto Rico” (April 27, 2022)  “The Monroe Doctrine, Revisited: How 200 Years of U.S. Policy Have Helped to Destabilize the Americas” (April 27, 2023) We are also indebted to the example of Zora’s Daughters, as well as their syllabi. The Caribbean Sheroes Initiative, led by UNESCO with UWI’s Institute of Gender and Development Studies, has compiled a host of resources that you all might be interested in. You will even see our own Dave-Ann featured in the interview on their website! Your’s deeply, sincerely, and truly, Jacqui.

  2. Bonus: Mothering Organisers

    24/08/2023

    Bonus: Mothering Organisers

    We would like to offer you some bonus content as we wrap up our final full episode, Ep. 10, “Sealing this Sankofa.” ‘ This short bonus episode, “Mothering Organisers” features two interview excerpts which we did not include in the episodes. Candacy McEwan of Guyana Trans United and Amira Teul of Toledo Maya Women’s Council transport us back to their girl- / young adulthood selves, recounting how their mother’s built and nourished a foundation for their ongoing organizing. Their experiences of being mothered is also the foundation of what we can think of as their womanist approach to organizers - a commitment to working, patiently, with families, and being a support in any way, including extra-programmatically. Triggers include transphobia, misogyny, domestic violence, and death.

  3. 08/08/2023

    9: Contemplating a Caribbean Rematriation

    Hello lovely audience! Here are our show notes for our Episode 9: “Contemplating a Caribbean Rematriation: Indigenous Women’s Organizing”. Possible triggers include child abuse, child marriage, child pregnancy, intimate partner violence, and working with the police. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are: Amira Teul of Belize’s Toledo Maya Women’s Council, based in Belize’s Toledo District. The Toledo Maya Women’s Council (TMWC) is one of the first organizations established in Belize to create a safe space for indigenous women and girls and enable their participation, representation and leadership in public policy and decision-making spaces, mostly at the community level. Founded in 1998, the organization’s mission is to break harmful norms, advocate and educate on rights while respecting the identity of women and girls, giving them a voice and providing them with networks through community outreach. Visit them on Facebook and on Instagram @tmwcofficial. Paulette Jacobs-Allicock and Gloria Duarte of Makushi Research Unit, based in North Rupununi, Guyana. The Makushi Research Unit (MRU) is an independent collective founded in 1995, that is self-led by indigenous women and which conducts social, economic and ecological research within North Rupununi, Guyana. The organization is part of the North Rupununi District Development Board, which is a representative umbrella organization of 20 indigenous villages and communities in North Rupununi. MRU plays an important role in understanding and promoting local knowledge systems and cultural affirmation and indigenous leadership. Visit the North Rupununi District Development Board’s website.    Immaculata Casimero of Wapichan Women’s Movement, based in South Rupununi, Guyana. Wapichan Women’s Movement (WWC) is the women’s arm of the South Rupununi District Council, a representative indigenous organization in South Rupununi. WWC was founded in 2017 and it is led by a working group consisting of 10 Wapichan and Macushi women of various ages and experiences, from across the Wapichan Wi’izi community, who have been involved in community organizing, capacity-building and livelihoods projects. WWC represents the interests of women and its mandate is to bolster the role that indigenous women play in protecting the land and natural resources, retaining cultural identity and addressing the social issues affecting indigenous women’s rights. Visit South Rupununi District Council on Facebook, and visit Immaculata’s Twitter (@ImmaCasimero)! You can read Guyana’s 2006 Amerindian Act, which Immaculatta references, here and here. Read the Caribbean Court of Justice judgment for Maya Leaders Alliance et Al v Attorney General, the case which Amira references. You can also read more about the case on the CARICOM website and the United Nations’ Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) website. As mentioned in the episode, we are grateful to the All my Relations podcast and team for informing our thinking on this episode. The following episodes were especially instructive for us: “Rematriate” (April 6, 2023) “Black & Native Futures: Liberation and Sovereignty”, a conversation with Nikkita Oliver” (June 10, 2022) “Black Native Kinship with Amber Starks” (April 15, 2022) “Black Native History with Dr. Tiya Miles” (March 18, 2022)

  4. 01/08/2023

    8: Labour, Lands, Cooperatives

    Hello dear audience! Here are our show notes for our Episode 8: “Labour, Lands, Cooperatives”. Possible triggers include (neo-)colonialism, land theft, legacies of monoculture, domestic violence, sex work criminalisation, (neo-) colonialism, class discrimination, patriarchy, sex shaming, and the impact of climate change. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are: Keithlin Caroo, Founder and Executive Director of Helen’s Daughters, based in St. Lucia. Helen’s Daughters is an organization founded in 2016 to promote the economic development of rural women through adaptive agricultural techniques, capacity-building, and improved market access. More specifically, the organization aims to expand opportunities for rural women who work in agriculture; promote financial and digital inclusion for rural women in aspects of agricultural outputs; foster female entrepreneurship and enhance the productivity of women-owned enterprises; enhance the voices of rural women in decision-making related to agricultural policy and beyond; eliminate legal barriers to female economic empowerment; and reduce gender pay gaps in the agricultural sector. Visit their Facebook page, their instagram profile @helensdaughters, and, of course, their website! Dr. Nicola Suraleigh, Executive Director of Integrated Health Outreach based in Antigua & Barbuda. Integrated Health Outreach (IHO) is an organization which works at the intersection of gender, climate change, and health. The organization was founded in 2013 to meet the neglected needs of women and girls, and other vulnerable populations. IHO delivers programs to build eco-sustainability and advance health management as measures to bolster the resiliency of vulnerable groups. The organization is committed to addressing the challenges faced by small island developing states, including climate change and natural disasters, in relation to how these issues exacerbate economic, social and gender inequalities. Visit them on Facebook, Instagram (@iho_ab)and Twitter (@integrated_iho), and make it over to their website!   Denise Carr and Philona Roberts of SUCOS. Read more about SUCOS in our show notes for Episode 7: “A Self-Possessed Selfhood, or Sex Workers to the Front!”

  5. 01/08/2023

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

    Hello dear audience! Here are our show notes for our Episode 7: “A Self-Possessed Selfhood, or Sex Workers to the Front!”  Possible triggers in this episode include sex work criminalisation, (neo-) colonialism, class discrimination, patriarchy, sex shaming, and the impact of climate change. We focus on Suriname Coalition of Sex Workers (SUCOS) for this episode. We spoke to SUCOS Founder Denise Carr and member Philona Roberts in early 2021. You can read more about SUCOS on Equality Fund’s website and Red Umbrella’s website (also here). Equality Fund is our mutual funding partner and Red Umbrella is one of SUCOS’s international funding partners referred to in this episode.  The audio from this episode is from a larger conversation which Carla guided between SUCOS alongside rural women’s agricultural organizations Integrated Health Outreach of Antigua & Barbuda and Helen’s Daughters of St. Lucia. This larger conversation will be featured in our next episode, #8 “Land, Labor Cooperatives”.   And this is a note directly from me, Jacqui. I want to address and clarify a line in this episode’s introduction: “First of all, sex workers, whether it is a livelihood chosen or forced upon you, contribute hugely to the society!” Carla nor I intended for “livelihood forced upon you” to mean human trafficking. By extension, I want to make it clear that I am not saying that human trafficking or trafficked persons contribute hugely to our societies. Trafficked persons and the value we gain from this is certainly a conversation, but not one for this episode. This is line I intended to refer to socioeconomic factors that make sex work not a first (or even fifth) option, but perhaps the only option or only one of a few poor options. I extend my apologies that I wasn’t able to catch and clarify this before our production and release of this episode. Please reach out to us via Rebel Women Lit and / or Queerly Stated’s social media accounts to discuss this in more depth. - Jacqui

  6. 18/07/2023

    6: Language & Leadership

    Hello dear audience! Here are our show notes for our Episode 7: “A Self-Possessed Selfhood, or Sex Workers to the Front!”  Possible triggers in this episode include sex work criminalisation, (neo-) colonialism, class discrimination, patriarchy, sex shaming, and the impact of climate change. We focus on Suriname Coalition of Sex Workers (SUCOS) for this episode. We spoke to SUCOS Founder Denise Carr and member Philona Roberts in early 2021. You can read more about SUCOS on Equality Fund’s website and Red Umbrella’s website (also here). Equality Fund is our mutual funding partner and Red Umbrella is one of SUCOS’s international funding partners referred to in this episode.  The audio from this episode is from a larger conversation which Carla guided between SUCOS alongside rural women’s agricultural organizations Integrated Health Outreach of Antigua & Barbuda and Helen’s Daughters of St. Lucia. This larger conversation will be featured in our next episode, #8 “Land, Labor Cooperatives”.   And this is a note directly from me, Jacqui. I want to address and clarify a line in this episode’s introduction: “First of all, sex workers, whether it is a livelihood chosen or forced upon you, contribute hugely to the society!” Carla nor I intended for “livelihood forced upon you” to mean human trafficking. By extension, I want to make it clear that I am not saying that human trafficking or trafficked persons contribute hugely to our societies. Trafficked persons and the value we gain from this is certainly a conversation, but not one for this episode. This is line I intended to refer to socioeconomic factors that make sex work not a first (or even fifth) option, but perhaps the only option or only one of a few poor options. I extend my apologies that I wasn’t able to catch and clarify this before our production and release of this episode. Please reach out to us via Rebel Women Lit and / or Queerly Stated’s social media accounts to discuss this in more depth. - Jacqui

  7. 06/06/2023

    5: Stats & Storytelling (Fi Di Dolly Dem)

    Join Carla for the fifth episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast, entitled “Stats & Storytelling: Fi di Dolly Dem.” In this episode, we consider storytelling, benchmarking, and embodiment as the basis for strategic Queeribbean organizing. Carla is in conversation with three organizers: Sarah-Anne Gresham of Intersect Antigua (Antigua & Barbuda), Shantae Porteous of WE-Change Jamaica, and Denae Fairweather of Our Circle (Belize). Note: We will take a brief break for the summer and return with the second and final batch of our episodes on (x date).

  8. 05/06/2023

    4: The Kids May (Not) Be Okay

    Join Carla for the fourth episode of the “Under the Sycamore Tree” podcast, entitled “The Kids May (Not) Be Okay. In this episode, Carla guides us through interviews with four organizers whose work focuses on girls and nonbinary youth: Dr. Hazel da Breo of Sweetwater Foundation (Grenada), Chelsea Foster of Girls of a Feather (St. Lucia), and Joy Crawford of Eve for Life (Jamaica). Carla considers how we see our small ones straight; how we cultivate, nourish, and receive children in our movement and in our region, as beings full of life, will, drive, and intention; and how we set our youth up to join us in these portals. Triggers: suicidal ideation, child abuse, child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV+/AIDS, and teenage pregnancies.

    43 min
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A short series podcast and living archive from Rebel Women Lit documenting the work of trailblazing Caribbean feminist organisations in ecological justice, trans and queer rights, leadership, and combatting rape culture.

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