Under The Sycamore Tree

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.

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. 

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)

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!”

Hello dear audience!  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

Hello dear audience! Welcome back after our short summer break. Here are our show notes for our Episode 6: “Language & Leadership.”  Possible triggers in this episode include sex work, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are: Michele Irving, Founder and Coordinator of POWA, or Productive Organization for Women in Action (Belize). POWA advocates for the rights of women and girls to live lives free from violence, exploitation and abuse. Its members are certified peer counselors and provide outreach to communities to raise awareness on human rights, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, Gender Based Violence, HIV/AIDS and the gender inequalities affecting women and girls. Visit POWA online via their Facebook page; and their Equality Fund webpage.  Dylis McDonald, Project Coordinator for CIWIL, the Caribbean Institute of Women in Leadership (Regional / Antigua & Barbuda). CIWiL is  a non-political, multi-partisan, and independent organization founded in 2005 to monitor, strengthen and increase women’s political participation and leadership in the Caribbean. The organization aims to increase the number of women in politics, leadership and decision-making at all levels in the Caribbean through high-quality training, networking, research, analysis and advocacy. CIWIL acts as a coordinating and implementing mechanism for a regional programme of work developed and delivered by a network of organizations and individuals, to advance women’s transformational leadership. Visit CIWiL online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; and Twitter: @CIWiL. 

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 5: “Stats & Storytelling: Fi di Dolly dem.”  Possible triggers in this episode include abortion, domestic violence, HIV+ / AIDS, SRH, mental health, class. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are: Sarah-Ann Gresham, Co-Founder of Intersect Antigua, (Antigua and Barbuda). Intersect Antigua is a Queeribean feminist collective committed to gender justice and to centering the experiences and needs of the most marginalized among us, including queer, trans, and non-binary people and those with disabilities who are Black, Indigenous, and identify as people of colour. Intersect is here to re-imagine a world where Caribbean women, men, and non-binary people are free to live and love in societies where they are cared for and cherished. Check out Intersect’s literary magazine on their website! Find them also at their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @intersect_anu; IG: @intersect.anu; and LinkedIn.  Shantae Porteous, who, at the time of our discussion, was Health & Wellness Officer at WE Change JA (Jamaica). Women’s Empowerment for Change (WE Change) is a feminist organization focused on advocating for and with lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. WE Change is focused on equipping women with the tools to advocate and become activists for the creation of a world that recognizes and protects the rights of all people, regardless of nationality, socioeconomic status, abilities, race, gender, or sexuality. Visit WE Change online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @WEChangeJA; and IG: @wechangeja.  Denae Fairweather, Director of Publicity and President of the Board of Our Circle, based in Belize. Our Circle advances legal and lived equality for LGBT-formed family units, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy reform. Visit Our Circle online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; and Twitter: @ourcirclebze.  Carla led this conversation with Sarah-Ann, Shantae, and Denae in March 2022. We sealed this episode with audio from one of Colin Robinson’s final interview in this plane: Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson, Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV.  I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,  Jacks.

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 3: “Families Live Here.”  Possible triggers in this episode include intimate partner violence, HIV+ / AIDS, police violence, rape, unfair arrest, hiv+ / aids, trans-youth abuse. The organizer and organization featured in this episode is Charrice Talbert, Treasurer and Board President of PETAL. Promoting Empowerment Through Awareness for Lesbian and Bisexual Women (PETAL) is an organization founded in 2011, whose mission is to achieve social, economic, and gender justice for all women in Belize with a particular focus on lesbian and bisexual women. This is done through an advocacy and empowerment model, based on a human rights approach, for relevant engagement within and outside of Belize. PETAL can be found online via their website, their Equality Fund webpage, and their Facebook page. Our Producer, Dave-Ann, first interviewed Charrice and Stephanie in late 2021, and Carla’s conversation with Charrice happened in March 2022.  I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,  Jacks.

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 2: “Setting Precedent: Positive Rights?”  Possible triggers in this episode include transphobia, police brutality, rape, unfair arrest, trans-youth abuse, misgendering, and possible deadnaming. The organization and organizer featured is Candacy McEwan, Founder and Executive Director of Guyana Trans United. Founded in 2012, Guyana Trans United is an organization that aims to improve the quality of life for the trans Guyanese community and to ensure that their rights are recognized in all domains through human rights advocacy, promoting respect and acceptance within the larger society, and empowering transgender individuals through creating and sustaining an environment free from all violence, prejudice, discrimination, and other negative and adverse conduct.  The precedent-setting Caribbean Court of Justice case that frames this episode is McEwan, et. al. vs. The Attorney General of Guyana (2018). You can find a video of Judge Saunders’ judgment on the Caribbean Court of Justice’s YouTube channel, and the written judgment here. Our context on the UK Privy Council comes from Radio 90 FM (Jamaica), and according to the journal, International Legal Matters, “the savings clause of the Constitution of Guyana is to be found at Article 152; it states that nothing contained in or done under the authority of any pre-independence written law shall be held in contravention of the human rights protected by the Constitution.” Visit Guyana Trans United online via their Equality Fund webpage, their Twitter @GuyanaTrans, and their Facebook page. Our Producer, Dave-Ann, first interviewed Candacy in late 2021, and Carla’s conversation with Candacy happened in March 2022.  I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,  Jacks.

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for Episode 1: “Setting Precedent: Eldership & Selfishness.”  Possible triggers in this episode include domestic violence, family abuse, and stigma. The organizations and organizers featured in this are: Susan Doorson, Chair of Women’s Way Foundation of Suriname. Susan Doorson, Chair of Women’s Way Foundation of Suriname. Founded in 2008, Women’s Way Foundation is the oldest, first, and only lesbian and bisexual organization in Suriname. Their mission is to increase awareness around sexuality and health, and to ensure the emancipation of women—specifically women who (also) have sex with women and trans men—so that the quality of their lives become better and free from stigma and discrimination. Women’s Way can be found online here: Website; their Equality Fund webpage; Facebook; and Instagram: @wswf.sr  Colleen Douglas-Hinds, Director of Guyana Rainbow Foundation. Guyana RainBow Foundation (GuyBow) is an organization founded in 2000 whose mission is to support and strengthen the capacity of Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer women, along with increasing the overall respect, acceptance of, and support for non-gender conforming persons and non-heteronormative sexual orientations in Guyanese society. GuyBow can be found online here: Website; and their Equality Fund webpage.  Lucien Govaard, Board Member of CARI-Flags. Caribbean Forum for Liberation & Acceptance of Genders & Sexualities (CariFLAGS) was formed in the late 90s as a loose coalition of actors and activists responding to developing issues facing the LGBTQ community. The group has provided leadership in articulating an indigenous LGBTQ voice and agenda for the Caribbean regionally and in support of local groups. In 2008, a core group renewed the CariFLAGS mission with a focus on human rights, health, culture, and spirituality. In 2012, CariFLAGS transitioned into a regional movement-building coalition: activists from 15 territories agreed to work together to develop a strong, representative, regional organization capable of advancing a Caribbean LGBTQ agenda. Cari-FLAGS can be found online on Facebook; and their Equality Fund webpage.  Our interviews with Susan and Colleen were held with our Producer, Dave-Ann Moses, in late 2021. Carla’s conversation with Lucien and Larry Chang was held in April 2022. Larry is a Chinese-Jamaican gay man, community organizer and spiritual counselor. Larry has much to offer the Asian-American, LGBT, Caribbean-American, and People of Color communities, but it is his urgent message of developing local sustainability that is of immediate interest to all. Larry was born in Jamaica of Hakka Chinese immigrant parents; he is a founding member of the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays, J-FLAG . He had previously organized a gay group in Jamaica, the Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) as early as 1978 in a fiercely hostile climate. He held the position of General Secretary and was Publisher and Editor of its newsletter, Jamaica Gaily News. Learn more about Larry’s art and cultural organizing work via his website! Colin Robinson’s words came from one of his final interviews in this plane: “Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson,” Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV.  I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,  Jacks.

Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 0: “Sankofa Tings.” Possible triggers in this episode include climate change, racism, European colonization, neoliberal capitalism, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia.  Find out more about the Women’s Voice and Leadership - Caribbean partner organizations on our funders’ websites: Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and Equality Fund. Learn more about the Women’s Voice and Leadership - Caribbean partnership more between Astraea and Equality Fund more generally here.   Next, you might be interested in the excerpts we read! Here is the booklist from this episode, in the order read in the episode:  Olive Senior’s poem “Discovery,” from her over the roofs of the world (Insomniac Press, pg. 44 [2000]; RWL Book Club Pick, August 2020);  Curdella Forbes’ A Tall History of Sugar (Akashic Books, 2019; RWL Book Club Pick, April 2020 - see our  podcast episode on the book!); and  Aime Cesaire’s Discourse on Colonialism (trans. from the French by Joan Pinkham, Monthly Review Press, 2000 [1972 (1955)].  You might also be interested in all of the historical content we used! Here are links to check out more:  Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit addresses the UN General Assembly (via Resilient Caribbean)’; I became aware of this speech from Bahamian-American artist Tamika Galanis, and her video piece, “A Thousand Points of Light” (2018) Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados addresses Opening Ceremony, COP26, 1 Nov 2021 Interview with David Commissiong: “Farewell to British Colonial Rule”: Barbados Breaks From the Queen as Calls Grow For Reparations,” Democracy Now (NOTE: DemocracyNow! is a very important resource for this podcast! Check out their weekday news and podcast) MAURICE BISHOP Live at Medgar Evans College, Brooklyn (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983),  CARIBBEAN INSIGHT TELEVISION (CITV)  Day and another (Appellants) v The Governor of the Cayman Islands and another (Respondents), UKSupreme Court Privy Council Rules Against Same-Sex Marriages in Cayman Islands, Radio 90 FM (Jamaica) Finally, we sealed this episode with audio from one of Colin Robinson’s final interview in this plane: Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson, Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,  Jacks.

Our new podcast, Under The Sycamore Tree is hosted by the incomparable Carla Moore and will take the form of a virtual verandah chat. Come put up you foot, grab a drink and listen as our Caribbean neighbours tell us the stories of their struggles and victories. Subscribe to Under The Sycamore Tree for updates.