During the last week of March, the participants in the 2022-23
Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP) visited Washington, D.C.
Free the Slaves hosted the advocates for a breakfast networking event.
Bukeni Waruzi, the executive director of Free the Slaves, and
Stephanie V. Grepo of ISHR opened the event during which the advocates made presentations about their work to an audience that included U.S. Department of State officials and representatives from organizations including the United States Institute of Peace, Legal Services Corp., the National Endowment for Democracy, the Council for Global Equality, the Global Fund for Children, and International Social Service-USA. As a group, the advocates visited Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the National Endowment for Democracy. Other organizations that welcomed the advocates included Human Rights Campaign, the American Bar Association, the Washington Office on Latin America, the Indian Law Resource Center, OutRight International, and the Latin American Working Group. In their free time, the advocates visited the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin, the White House, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Antonia Moreira of Brazil reflected on the trip: “To occupy these spaces is powerful--and a big opportunity. I have been sharing the work of
Ateliê TRANSmoras and the demands of the trans movement in Brazil. International organizations are often not aware of the critical situation this community faces. I have also had the opportunity to think intersectionally with other emergent causes including Black Communities, Indigenous Peoples, and civic spaces. With my fellow HRAP participants, I have learned about transnational solidarity and the potential we have to build borderless solutions.”
