Juxtaposing the figure of the Eritrean madama popularized through photographs and postcards during the Italian occupation of Eritrea (1889-1941) with contemporary media and popular representation of the Caribbean sanky panky, “Mother and Whore” traces the historical junctures of colonial gendered violence in their effect on the everyday lives of black immigrant women living in metropolitan postcolonial centers. Setting off from the case study of the murder of Carolina Payano, a Black Latina immigrant, in Milan, I also examine at the ways in which Black Latina immigrants create networks of inclusion and political contestation by engaging in historical translations of their own colonialities in the diaspora. Asserting their blackness, their sexual autonomy and their right to motherhood, Black Latina migrants challenge colonial structures and affirm their political belonging to the nation(s) that exclude them.

All are welcome to join us for this educational luncheon.

Please register here.

If you are able to attend, please reply to Shauna Bush-Fenty (sfenty@mit.edu) with any dietary restrictions, accessibility considerations or other needs.