Joy and Hope Amid Struggle in Brazil

In late April, Grassroots International, our partners, and our allies hosted a delegation to Brazil. The seven-member delegation met with social movements like the Landless Workers’ Movement and ASSEMA as they deal with threats from a growing right wing.

Piper Carter is a member of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and the World March of Women U.S. Chapter, and she served as a member of our delegation to Brazil. She is also a cultural worker; her photos have appeared in publications like National Geographic. This photoblog is a collection of some of her photos documenting the delegation. Her comments follow.

My experience traveling with Grassroots International as part of an amazing delegation was personally transformational.

As a member of a community in Detroit experiencing very similar issues of land grabbing, dismantling of democracy, and the destructive impacts of extreme capitalism on poor and working class Black and Brown folks, I was able to see how the communities we visited have used their culture to reclaim their power. The local organizations that hosted us shared not only their spaces but also their traditions, and ways of being that inspires hopefulness and joyful living in their everyday and that is what is needed at this time as we share solutions to the common struggles we face.

What I was able to share with folks in Brazil are our stories and what I’m taking back to my community are their stories. Building this relationship is so precious and valuable to our strength as a global community.