A music documentary about the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua with the Afro-Nicaraguan band Soul Vibrations. Shot in Bluefields, Pearl Lagoon, and Orinoco in 1988, directed by Greg Landau, produced by Abbie Fields and filmed by Frank Pineda, edited by Bruce Joffee.
The Fundación Afrodescendientes Organizados Salvadoreños (AFROOS) is a foundation based in El Salvador that works for the constitutional recognition of the Afro-descendant population in El Salvador and the diaspora. It also works to eliminate racism and discrimination in all its forms.
Shirley Campbell Barr is a Black Costa Rican poet, anthropologist, and activist whose writing has become a powerful voice in Afro-descendant women’s movements across Latin America. Born in San José to a Jamaican-descended family, Campbell’s work explores Black womanhood, historical memory, and self-affirmation. Her poem Rotundamente negra (1994) is widely celebrated as a declaration of pride in Black identity and has been embraced as a cultural anthem by Afro-descendant women throughout the Americas. Trained in anthropology at the University of Costa Rica and in African history and feminism in Zimbabwe, Campbell has lived and worked across Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa. She has published several poetry collections—including Naciendo and Rotundamente negra—and regularly participates in international forums, urging Black women to write their own stories and claim space in public life. Through her work, Campbell bridges poetry and activism, affirming the beauty, resilience, and political power of Black women’s lives.
The Society of Friends of the West Indian Museum of Panama (SAMAAP) is a non-profit organization based in Panama dedicated to preserving and promoting Afro-Panamanian and Afro-Antillean culture. SAMAAP plays a pivotal role in supporting the Afro-Antillean Museum of Panama, raising funds for its maintenance and expansion while highlighting the invaluable contributions of the Afro-Caribbean community, particularly migrants from Jamaica, Barbados, and other Caribbean islands who played a key role in the construction of the Panama Canal. Beyond museum support, SAMAAP also organizes cultural events, educational initiatives, and community programs to foster awareness and appreciation of Afro-Antillean heritage in Panama. The organization actively collaborates with smaller cultural groups and institutions, ensuring that the history and legacy of the Afro-Antillean diaspora remain integral to Panama’s national identity.
Soul Vibrations was an Afro-Caribbean reggae band formed in Bluefields, Nicaragua during the 1980s, known for its politically engaged lyrics, multilingual compositions, and deep commitment to Black consciousness. Singing in English Creole, Spanish, and Miskito, the group blended traditional reggae with local Caribbean rhythms to reflect the cultural richness and political struggles of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast. Members included Phillip Ellis Montalban, Raymond Myers, Clifford Hodgson, and Adolfo Bendlis, among others. Soul Vibrations gained national and international attention for their music’s message of resistance and pride, and were prominently featured in the documentary Rock Down Central America, which highlighted the role of reggae in shaping regional identity and activism during a period of revolutionary change.
This 90-minute documentary narrates the largely untold story of this group of African descendants of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Filmmakers Maria Jose Alvarez and Martha Clarissa Hernandez collected oral testimonties that detail the ethno-genesis of the Creole ethnic group, its ancestral customs, cultural traditions, historic relationship to the Caribbean, and the challenges it has faced in Nicaragua.
The Blvd (DSTL Arts, 2019) celebrates a neighborhood and its people, who face hardship with grit, gratitude, and grace. It offers a distinct narrative of Compton's past that maps the joy and pride held by those who call this place home. The Blvd is the first poetry collection by Jenise Miller and the first collection developed and published through the DSTL Arts-Poet/Artist-in-Residence Program.
In The Chase and Ruins (John Hopkins University Press, 2023), Sharony Green uncovers an understudied but important period of Hurston's life: her stay in Honduras in the late 1940s.
The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization headquartered in the South Bronx. It was founded on May 9th, 1998 and incorporated on May 28, 1999. The mission of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. is to advocate for the rights of Garifuna immigrants and strengthen civic participation within the community by nurturing local leadership through educational and cultural programs that bring together community members across racial and ethnic lines. It seeks to improve the social, economic, civic and cultural conditions of New York’s Garifuna Community.
The Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica (IHNCA) en el Exilio is a digital initiative launched by exiled Jesuit scholars and collaborators to preserve and disseminate the historical archives confiscated by the Nicaraguan government in 2023. Following the forced closure of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Managua, where the IHNCA was housed, over 70,000 unique documents—spanning from the 16th century to the present—were seized. These materials include manuscripts, photographs, audio recordings, and rare publications that are vital to understanding Nicaragua's and Central America's history. IHNCA en el Exilio serves as a platform to catalog and share digital copies of the rescued archives, ensuring continued access for researchers, students, and the public. The project underscores a commitment to historical memory, academic freedom, and the protection of cultural heritage in the face of political repression.
