Scholars, students and community members will come together at The University of Texas at Austin for the annual Abriendo Brecha symposium titled “Black Central America,” on Friday, April 13, 2-6 p.m. at the Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL), Learning Lab 2.

A panel of activist scholars will discuss the complex, fluid and transnational identities in Central America. Speakers will also examine the implications for a new theory of the diaspora that includes and reclaims territoriality, political participation and citizenship in Central America.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Diana Senior Angulo, associate professor of history at the University of Costa Rica, San Jose and Atlantic campus. An Afro Costa Rican woman, Angulo advocates for human rights, Black racial equity and social justice in Central America and Costa Rica. She will be discussing a number of topics pertaining to race, gender and equality in the Americas including Costa Rica’s first female Black vice president Epsy Campbell Barr.

Held every spring, the Abriendo Brecha Symposium brings together activist scholars, community members and students for timely and relevant conversations about race and social justice. The event is free and open to the public. Presentations will be in both English and Spanish.

The event is hosted by Colectivx Controamericanx, a student group within the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS). Co-sponsors include the LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, and the Social Justice Institute.