Gamboa: An Ethnographic Novel of a Coveted Paradise
- Keisha-Khan Perry
- Department of Africana Studies, School of Arts & Sciences
-
Independent Creative Production Grant
Gamboa: An Ethnographic Novel of a Coveted Paradise is a collaborative project between Keisha-Khan Perry, Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, with educator and Gamboa de Baixo activist Ana Cristina da Silva Caminha, literature scholar and creative writer Claudia Santos, and architect and urbanist Matheus Tanajura, to provide a visual depiction of the last three decades of grassroots activism in Gamboa de Baixo against the violence of urban redevelopment and displacement. Gamboa de Baixo is frequently referred to by activists as a “coveted paradise.” And in the fight to occupy land residents have lived on for generations since the colonial period, we show how poor Black women have been the main political protagonists: fighting off urban developers, the military police, and drug traffickers to keep their coastal community intact. Gamboa weaves together stories of ten neighborhood activists. They are fierce, funny, and loving Black women who live seemingly ordinary lives by day, as food caterers, bar and convenient store owners, domestic workers, health care providers, etc. but who work tirelessly to confront politicians, urban planners, and militarized police forces targeting Gamboa neighborhood residents for evictions and relocation to the distant periphery of the city.
https://www.keishakhanperry.com/