We Keep Us Safe: Sanctuary Movements Past and Present

With Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Cinthya Santos-Briones, and Dr. Lloyd Barba

2pm: Teach-in with Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
3pm: Break for refreshments
4:30pm: Presentations and discussion with Cinthya Santos Briones and Dr. Lloyd Barba

Who do we turn to for our safety? Can we create sanctuary within our communities? Part one of the We Keep Us Safe series brings together artist Cynthia Santos-Briones, community organizer Abraham Paulos, and historian Dr. Lloyd Barba to reflect on the legacies and present day realities of sanctuary movements in the U.S., and the potential of community-centered actions for immigrant safety.

First, Abraham Paulos, Deputy Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) will lead a teach-in exploring how Black communities in New York City are already building sanctuary and mutual support for one another while examining the limitations of traditional sanctuary practices. Participants will also learn Know Your Rights basics and gain practical guidance on how friends and neighbors can provide meaningful material support to those most impacted.

Then, historian Dr. Lloyd Barba and artist Cinthya Santos-Briones will share their work, grounding us in the history of the sanctuary movement in the U.S. during the 1980s, which was led by networks of faith based institutions to protect and support refugees fleeing civil war in Central American countries including El Salvador and Guatemala. Barba and Santos-Briones also highlight the resurgence of these movements over the last two decades, which has expanded to include migrants from across the globe and the community strategies implemented to keep them safe.

We Keep Us Safe: Sanctuary Movements Past and Present is a part of Toward Sanctuary, a series of programs exploring the cultivation of sanctuary as a living history and ongoing aspiration inspired by Guadalupe Maravilla’s artistic practice and upcoming Creative Time public art commission.

Events will take place at CTHQ and engage other spaces across the city, including a nightclub and an urban farm.

Learn more here.