Fulbright WHA Navigating Blackness in the Western Hemisphere
Channel: Jeremy Gombin-Sperling, Fulbright WHA D&I Liaison
Date: 2021-09-10

On June 24, 2021, the Fulbright Diversity and Inclusion Liaison for Programs in the Western Hemisphere (WHA) in collaboration with regional colleagues from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at U.S. State Department , Fulbright Commissions, U.S. Embassies, and the Cooperating Agencies hosted the Fulbright WHA panel, Navigating Blackness in the Western Hemisphere. The panel recording is provided here with full subtitles. The panel featured Black and Afrodescendant Fulbright alumni and current grantholders from across the Americas and the Caribbean who shared stories as to how they made sense of their identity abroad, how they found community and connection during their Fulbright, and what we can do to foster greater inclusion of Black and Afrodescendant participants in Fulbright and in the international education space. The panel included:

Moderator: 
Malaika Marable Serrano (VP for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Guild Education)

Panelists:
Sheila Encarnación Castillo (Dominican Student to Northeastern University, 2020-21)
Cinthya Vasquez (Peruvian Student to New York University, 2020-21)
Dr. Prisca Gayles (U.S. Student Researcher to Argentina, 2017-18)
Mathew Holloway (U.S. ETA to Panamá, 2017-18)

The organizers, moderator, and panelists have put together a Resource List that builds on the themes of the panel and also shares contributed works from panelists: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ivvhE3W5h39cYokhcW8zPSGDTys6kPZJMsLfY5yTbVU/edit?usp=sharing 

In addition, we are providing a full transcript of the panel for those interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YVtX-3sUAf1W7fi9T3331LJOu2t9X6b9Yd_5onG_CNU/edit