Author: QM Dòwòti Désir, Redlining a Holocaust, Memorials and the People of the AfroAtlantic: Wòch kase wòch

Saturday, 11/7/2020
11:00 - 12:30
Virtual Library

United States

Désir analyzes the Maafa, known as the transatlantic slave trade in captive Africans, her book, Redlining a Holocaust, Memorials and the People of the AfroAtlantic: Wòch kase wòch, created through the lens of a photographic, sociopolitical, philosophical and geospiritual journey in the Americas, Africa and Europe. She will recount the contemporary human rights struggles of the global African community in conversation with Wanda Sabir, co-founder & CEO of MAAFA San Francisco Bay Area, in its 25th Season this year.

Her Majesty Queen Mother Dòwòti Désir of the Royal Palace of Dada Daagbo Hounon Houna II Guely, is the Founder and President of, The AfroAtlantic Theologies & Treaties Institute. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Queen Mother is the Kpodjito (Reine Mate of the King). An interfaith leader and Manbo Asogwe (High Priest) in Haitian Vodou, Her Majesty is an independent scholar, human rights activist, educator, curator, photographer and author. She has traveled extensively documenting the historic sites, memorials and monuments of the transatlantic slave trade in captive Africans. From 2017-2018, she served as the designated UNESCO Desk Review Expert for the New Approaches and Interpretations to Slavery Museums and Sites International Conference. A graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, she received her Master of Arts degree from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College and conferred her Doctorate of Ministry from The New Seminary in interfaith studies in 2020. 

 Ms. Wanda Sabir is a journalist, poet and author, moonlighting as a college professor in Alameda, California (wandaspicks.com). For 30 years, one of her many literary events has been to host “A Celebration of African American Writers and Their Poetry,” 1st Saturdays in February. She is also a Depth Psychologist, with deep roots in the bayous of Louisiana where she was born. Her interests and expertise are historic & persistent trauma and trauma healing—the Maafa, specifically ancestral memories, dream tending, women prisoners and the use of art & appreciative inquiry to stimulate those forgotten conversations, especially among Diaspora descendants. She is co-founder & CEO of MAAFA San Francisco Bay Area, in its 25th Season October 2020, co-founder of the International Coalition for the Commemoration of African Ancestors of the Middle Passage and recent recipient of the Distinguished 400 Award, 400 Years of African American History Commission (2019) She is a Transformative Justice (TJ) or Community Accountability facilitator and believes the true revolution starts at home. Contributor: Words Upon the Waters: A Poetic Response by Bay Area Artists (to Hurricane Katrina (2006); Our Spirits Carry Our Voices: West Oakland to West Africa (2019); Colossus Home: An Anthology of Lives in and out of Space (2020); The Houzin Project: Words, Art and Resources on Gentrification, Displacement, Eviction and Homelessness (PNN Survival Handbook Series).  

Connect

Majesty Queen Mother Dr. Dòwòti Désir: Website | The Royal Palace Of Hounon Houna Ii | Twitter

Wanda Sabir: Website 

 

Zoom Registration

YouTube Live

 

 

Author Readings & Lectures

Engage with your favorite writers and discover your next read.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.