Racism and the rise of Afro-Latin American social movements will be the focus of a discussion at La Casita Cultural Center, 109 Otisco St., Syracuse. The event will feature Syracuse University faculty members who edited the recently released Comparative Perspectives on Afro-Latin America (University Press of Florida, 2012) and members of Syracuse’s Westside Residents Coalition. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8 and is free and open to the public.

Kwame Dixon, assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, and John Burdick, professor of anthropology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and in The College of Arts and Sciences, edited Comparative Perspectives on Afro-Latin America and will lead the discussion. The book is a collection of essays by renowned scholars and activists examining the processes and politics of black identity, racism, black political mobilization, and state responses to that mobilization in countries throughout the Western Hemisphere.

According the book editors, “throughout the Americas, black social movement groups are increasingly using sophisticated strategies and tactics to challenge racial and gender inequity. Simultaneously, academic interest in Afro-Latin America has increased, and so, too, has the need for a fresh text detailing the cultural and political issues facing black populations throughout the region. The thematic organization and holistic approach set (the book) apart as the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of these populations and the issues they face.”

La Casita is a vibrant cultural, artistic, and educational center supported by Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Chancellor.  The Center is committed to promoting and documenting the arts and culture of Central New York’s Latino/Latin American community through collaborative programming in the visual and expressive arts, education, and community activism.