Norma Watson

Norma Watson is a 2nd year graduate student at Penn State University. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Latin American history with a dual title in African American Studies. Her research centers anti-Blackness in education and how Blackness is labeled as a threat to nationalism, in Cuba and the US. She specifically wants to investigate the commonalities between 20th century 21st century grassroots self-help initiatives created by local community builders, Black mothers, and educators to combat anitBlackness in education systems. The overall goal of her long-term research is to identify the racism and antiBlackness rooted in political decisions that persist today while also examining the long-term resistance and sustainability developed across different generations and borders that demonstrate Black folks’ solidarity. With the use of Black Feminism, she will connect movements across the Black Diaspora and different generations, to uncover the theorist and revolutionaries that influenced Black coalitions, in the hopes of exposing more commonalities in their foundations. This research requires her to not only familiarize herself with Latin American history but also Black cultural, gender and racial theories. Her research will provide an alternative lens in understanding the Black experience in different spaces across Latin America and create a nuance understanding of Black “resistance” as just surviving in places where they are not intended to do so.