Interview with Ana Belique, a Renowned Leader from the Dominican Republic
In this conversation, Ana Belique, co-founder and leader of Reconocido, a network that mobilizes Dominicans of Haitian descent in the struggle for equality and rights to nationality and non-racial discrimination, reflects on how racism operates as a narrative system that enables multiple forms of violence. According to her, these narratives are not accidental: they construct hierarchies, justify inequalities, and sustain a social order in which certain lives can be discarded.
From her academic and personal experience, she points out how the silencing, criminalization, and naturalization of violence towards racialized people are part of a framework that begins with the denial of their humanity. In addition, she emphasizes the urgency of creating spaces for memory and resistance where the word, the lived experience, and the intellectual production of those who have been historically marginalized are valued.
The interview also addresses the challenge of naming racism in contexts where its existence is denied, and the need for a political and ethical commitment to anti-racist struggles from academic practice, social movements, and daily action.
Listen to the full interview by clicking here.
