Back to All Events

Racial Justice Collective - Colombian abolitionist

  • Democracy Center 45 Mount Auburn Street Cambridge, MA, 02138 United States (map)

A fishbowl is a form of participatory facilitation in which a few active participants, a smaller group (up to 6 people), sit in the center to discuss the topic while the rest of the participants sit in a circle around the outside of the fishbowl to observe and can take turns joining the center if they wish.

Racial Justice Collective Youtube Channel

First International Tour


What is the Racial Justice Collective?

We are a collective of Afro-Colombian lawyers who joined to defend young people facing police and army repression during massive anti-racist street protests of recent years. We’ve grown and taken concerted action to strengthen the political power of our Black communities – providing comprehensive care and legal support for victims of repression while defending nature and the ecosystems all of our communities depend on. We support the demilitarization of policing and the decriminalization of poverty in Colombia, Latin America, and globally.


Check out these two short videos: 1. The Racial Justice Lawyer’s Collective and what it is doing to defend victims of police repression and empower safe Black communities in harmony with nature. 

2. Johan Borja; young Black Man found innocent of murder and freed by the work of the Racial Justice Lawyer’s Collective and our Director, Dr. Alí Bantu Ashanti.  


Profile of  our Director, Alí Bantú Ashanti


Alí Bantú Ashanti is an Afro-Colombian lawyer born on Colombia’s Pacific Coast in Timbiquí, Cauca. He is an expert in strategic litigation, criminal defense, criminology, and constitutional law.  He is Co-founder and Director of the Racial Justice Lawyers Collective. This organization links more than 100 black lawyers who work pro-bono in defense of victims of police and military abuse, including arbitrary arrests, false charges, racial profiling, and extrajudicial murders of young, Black, and poor people.


In 2022 Alí organized and led the Pacific Vote campaign which brought together 350 lawyers in a highly successful campaign to promote turnout and defend voters against coercion in Black communities along Colombia's Pacific Coast. 


Last December, Alí was appointed to serve as an Expert Commissioner for Justice Reform in Colombia by the government of President Gustavo Petro.

Previous
Previous
March 28

De-Escalation Training

Next
Next
May 21

Navigating Cambridge Resources