Charles,
On October 13th at 7 pm EST, join the IPS community and Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi at our virtual 45th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards Gala to honor the extraordinary work of our international awardee – the Black Fraternal Order of Honduras (OFRANEH).
Since 1978, OFRANEH has served as the representative organization and a leading voice in Honduras for the self-determination and dignity of the Garífuna people in Honduras, a matrilineal people who are both Indigenous and Afro-descendent. Their ancestral territory in Honduras along the northern coast is under constant threat from African palm plantations, Canadian and U.S. tourist operations, mining, energy extraction projects, and drug trafficking.
For decades, OFRANEH has served as a pillar of the Garífuna community. They’ve coordinated critical aid for this underserved population, including hunger and disaster response and political advocacy.
When the Black Lives Matter movement flooded the streets in cities all over the United States following the police murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, in Honduras, OFRANEH was lifting up the message that “Garífuna lives matter too” following the disappearance of four of their leaders in July 2020 from the community of Triunfo de la Cruz on the northern coast.
Join us as we honor OFRANEH as part of the virtual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards ceremony on October 13th.
Photo provided by OFRANEH
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, OFRANEH has remained a pillar in Garífuna communities, organizing holistic medical response and prevention teams across Garifuna territory on the north coast of Honduras. These teams also coordinated mutual aid through food, supplies, and medical equipment to both urban and rural centers – including extremely vulnerable incarcerated populations.
This year, OFRANEH announced the formation of the Garífuna Research and Search Committee for the Disappeared of Triunfo de la Cruz, “SUNLA,” or “Enough” in English – coordinating with national and international experts across a wide range of disciplines to fight for truth and justice for the disappeared and their families.
For these reasons and many more, IPS is proud to honor OFRANEH as our 45th Letelier-Moffitt International Awardee.
Purchase $30 early bird tickets today, and join us in celebrating OFRANEH!
If you are in the DC area, at 10 am on September 19 at Sheridan Circle in DC, IPS and friends will gather to remember Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt. This year, we will be joined by OFRANEH's representative in New York, Carla Garcia.
Onward,
Tope Folarin, Executive Director
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