Global Roundup: The Fight for Mexico’s 1st Afro-Mexican Museum, Roller Derby Team vs Trans Sports Ban, Indian Trans Woman on Motherhood, Pop-Up for Job-Hunting Mothers, “Kaleidoscopic” Photo Exhibit
Curated by FG Contributor Inaara Merani
Angélica Sorrosa Alvarado helped found the museum in 1999 when it employed 10 people. Photograph: Museo de las Culturas Afromestizas. (The Guardian)
After 25 years, Angélica Sorrosa Alvarado is the last and only staff member remaining at the Museo de las Culturas Afromestizas (the Museum of Afro-Mexican Culture) in Cuajinicuilapa, Mexico. She is the sole curator, manager, tour guide, administrator, caretaker, and cleaner, and she fears that she may need to retire soon.
The museum is located in the Costa Chica region in Mexico, which is home to the largest population of African-Mexicans. The museum recognizes the existence of over 2.5 million Afro-Mexicans in a country which has historically overlooked them. Now, the museum is facing closure as it has been unpaid for 15 years and deserted by the founding committee.
Inside the Museo de las Culturas Afromestizas, there are exhibits which depict important and defining times in Afro-Mexican history. This includes detailed dioramas of enslaved African people who were brought to Mexico from Africa by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Etchings show hundreds of Black people labouring in silver mines and plantations, and drawings show bodies hanging from wooden gallows.
As the exhibits move through the years towards the present day, a powerful and resistant identity emerges. Brightly coloured murals show Afro-Mexican cowboys on horseback next to flamboyant masks of devil-dancers, which symbolise slave resistance. There are paintings of Vincente Guerrero, Mexico’s second president. Guerrero, who was of African descent, abolished slavery in 1829 – 36 years before the US.
The doors to the museum must stay open because there are children growing up here who do not want to be Black. This space shows us where we came from, who we are and why we should be proud of our identity – Angélica Sorrosa Alvarado
By profession, Alvarado is a physiotherapist; she fits in enough sessions to sustain herself financially, and dedicates the rest of her time to keeping the museum going. However, she says that she feels defeated and regularly struggles to breathe after all the physical labour she does to keep the museum open.
It was not until 2015 that Mexicans were given the opportunity to identify as Afro-Mexicans in a preliminary national census, and in 2019, a landmark amendment was made to the Mexican constitution which would increase public funding and access to healthcare in Afro-Mexican communities. Like Alvarado, many residents of Cuajinicuilapa feel the same sense of frustration and disappointment with the museum closing, similar to how they felt before the constitutional amendment was passed. Alvarado has done her absolute best to keep the museum open, but its care is now beyond her capacity.
We will lose this museum because soon I will no longer be able to keep it from falling into disrepair. Then, even fewer will know the story of our people. We are still at the bottom of the ladder. – Angélica Sorrosa Alvarado
Members of the Long Island Roller Rebels in Seaford, NY.Jeenah Moon/AP Photo. (Them)
That meant the world to me. There’s definitely that queer community aspect there, and that definitely drew me to the community. And everyone is generally very kind and wonderful — even when we’re hitting each other. – Jack Sawula
Just around one year after Sawula had joined the derby, under the name Bratzilla, the Roller Rebels were told they were no longer welcome to compete or practice on part of Long Island, New York. Republican county executive Bruce Blakeman signed an order on February 22 banning any teams or leagues that include trans women or girls from participating in girls and women’s sports in Nassau County in more than 100 public facilities. The legislation, however, allowed trans boys and men to continue playing in men’s sporting leagues.
On March 11, alongside the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the Roller Rebels sued Blakeman and Nassau County for the right to play in the county’s public facilities. They have requested a preliminary injunction against the order, which would prevent the ban from being enforced while the litigation continues. In response, Blakeman sued Attorney General Letitia James and the state of New York.
The ban has not only affected trans women and girls in roller derby leagues and other competitive sporting leagues, but also for those participating in recreational leagues. As the legal proceedings continue, the Roller Rebels and the NYCLU will continue to advocate for trans women and girls’ rights in sports.
Featured Image Source: TOI. (Feminism in India)
At 17 years old, Shreegauri fled her home and found refuge with the Humsafar Trust, an organization which battles prejudice, violence, and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community. She was one of the key petitioners in the landmark National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India judgement (the NALSA judgement) in 2014 which recognized the rights of hijras, eunuchs, and other trans people to their self-identified genders and granted them legal recognition. Shreegauri also helped found the Sakhi Char Chowgi Trust which fosters safe sex practices and offers support services for trans people.
The activist lives with her daughters, who were formerly sex workers, in a safe haven she calls “Ajii ka Ghar”. Her motherhood journey began when she rescued her daughter, Gayatri, from a sex worker’s house in Mumbai - her mother, a sex worker, passed away from AIDS and Gayatri was going to be sold as a sex worker in West Bengal. Unable to watch this child be sold into sexual slavery, Shreegauri decided to step in and take in Gayatri.
Shreegauri became a public figure after a 2017 Indian advertisement for Vicks garnered more than 9 million views on YouTube, showcasing the maternal bond between Shreegauri and Gayatri. The advertisement depicted the essence of motherhood, and confront’s the viewer’s understanding of justice.
She has also given numerous TEDx presentations across India, in which Shreegauri frequently discusses the circumstances and challenges that trans people encounter daily. Shreegauri’s argument is that the contemporary presence of trans people on street corners and in marketplaces soliciting alms is a direct consequence of societal neglect which stems from the systemic barriers that perpetuate marginalization.
Shreegauri calls herself “a mother without a uterus”, arguing that motherhood is a behaviour and an ongoing engagement, rather than an inherent state. She extends this same notion to men, inviting them to embrace more maternal roles and calls for the reevaluation of societal norms regarding motherhood in India.
EuroMillions winner Zoe Hoare came up with the idea for the pop-up boutique. (BBC)
The Women’s Work Lab programme is a nine-month journey which combines classroom training with a work placement, career coaching, and mentoring for mothers who are looking to reenter the workforce. Women who are participating in the coaching programme were each given a new set of clothes based on their answers to questions about the job field they wish to enter and their preferred colours.
The Lab has supported a number of women over the last few years, with sixty percent of the 2022 graduates now back to work. The organization is dedicated to supporting mothers to become ready to work again.
We know a new top or some super stylish trousers won’t guarantee a job, but it can help women feel more confident. We really hope that each of the graduating mums from our workshop will be able to feel that bit more proud of their achievement. We hope it will give them a little more confidence when they do step through the door of a possible employer. – Zoe Hoare
Many of the mothers in the programme reported feeling unconfident in their reentry to the workforce after not working a formal job for several years, however, this gift of a new wardrobe has made a positive impact on their experiences. Although this pop-up was only catered towards participants of the program, Hoare plans to host the pop-up several times a year in Taunton to support as many women as possible.
George Nebieridze, Untitled [Nadia in her bedroom] (2023) Courtesy of the artist. (Dazed)
I think, in general, we like to consider ourselves a free- and open-minded people here in Denmark, and compared to many other places in the world there is no doubt that queer people have been given both space and rights…Having said that, there is plenty of intolerance hiding just below the surface. It makes a lot of people uncomfy if you stand out too much – or just a bit – from the crowd. The fact is, queer people in Denmark experience harassment and hatred and prejudice on a daily basis. – Marianne Ager
Around the world, Ager began to notice both a blossoming of queer photography in the public eye, both online and in-person at galleries and art fairs. She was inspired to create an exhibition that showcased diverse artistic voices from different generations. Some of the photography on display at the exhibition includes Marquardt’s kinky, leather-bound portraits from the mid-80s, as well as Marvel Harris’ take on manhood and Florian Hetz’s explorations of flesh.
Ager says that curating this exhibition created a very special and inspiring energy which helped foster an international and inter generational community of artists, many of whom had a large role in the show’s curation and who only met for the first time when the exhibition opened.
Held at the Brandts museum in Odense, Denmark until January 2025, this space will give individuals the opportunity to reflect, understand, and ask questions about themselves and about other people, according to Ager. She says that it is important for the museum to establish itself in this diverse, changing world, and this is just the start of the conversation.
Inaara Merani (she/her) recently completed her Masters degree at the University of Western Ontario, studying Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies with a specialization in Transitional Justice. In the upcoming years, she hopes to attend law school, focusing her career in human rights law.
Inaara is deeply passionate about dismantling patriarchal institutions to ensure women and other marginalized populations have safe and equal access to their rights. She believes in the power of knowledge and learning from others, and hopes to continue to learn from others throughout her career.