ABOUT
Kilomba Collective is a collective dedicated to centering the perspective and realities of Black Brazilian people, especially Black women and girls in their multiple identities, in the international scenario, connecting with other Black women's movements in the African Diaspora. We do so by developing advocacy, capacity building, and international solidarity strategies on issues around social justice, gender equality, and human rights.
OUR HISTORY
Kilomba Collective is the first collective of Black Brazilian women in the United States. It was founded in November 2019, by a group of five Black Brazilian women who were born and raised in different regions of Brazil, and met after moving to the United States.
The United States is home to the largest Brazilian population outside of Brazil. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that, in 2017, 1.2 million Brazilians live here. Brazil is the world's second-largest Black nation, with more than 55% of the population Black, which results in a very diverse immigrant population in the United States. However, in the country, non-Black Brazilians were unacceptably speaking about the experiences of Black Brazilians in different spaces. Those inadmissible scenes of erasure showed that anti-Blackness and different forms of violence against Black Brazilians cross borders and remain firm even on foreign territory.
​
Since its inception, Kilomba Collective has been driven by its vision, connecting a multigenerational network of Black Brazilian women from different backgrounds and centering the experiences of Black Brazilian women and girls in the international scenario. Kilomba's name is a reference to the Quilombos, self-sustainable revolutionary communities that represent Black liberation, resistance, memory, radical love, and self-determination of Black Brazilians. Our mission is to be a quilombo-like women-led space for our community where we build power and co-create a safe, welcoming, and joyful collective experience.
Mission and Values
Kilomba is guided by its mission of being an international reference in the dialogues about Brazil, building counter-narratives that center Black Brazilian people’s perspectives and realities. We foster spaces of affection and learning among Black women in their multiple identities, connecting with other Black women's movements in the African Diaspora.
​
Values: Ancestrality, Humanization, Affection, Criticism, Love for the Black People, Transnational Solidarity, and Respect.
Vision
Promote racial justice in order to achieve the full realization of the human rights of Black people. Humanize our stories and centralize girls, young people, and Black women through advocacy and organizing. Build bridges that connect the African diasporas and enable us to thrive and fully experience our humanity.
OUR STRATEGIC TEAM
Fernanda Dias
Director, Co-founder
Fernanda Dias is a Ph.D. student in the Anthropology and Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a popular educator and a critical researcher with a history of student activism for affirmative actions in Brazilian public higher education institutions and broad professional experience in various educational settings and executive coordination of educational projects.​ Fernanda was born in Belo Horizonte and raised in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais
Priscila Santana
Director
Priscila Santana is a conductor, curator, educator, and researcher, with a passion for harnessing the transcendent influence of music to instigate societal transformation. Born and raised in Salvador, Brazil, she spearheaded Prima, a governmental arts initiative that enriched the lives of over 1500 underprivileged youth. Priscila manages programming at the SummerStage Festival, contributing to the curation and coordination of 60-80 free cultural events annually in New York City, including the renowned Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Concurrently, she's pursuing doctoral studies in the Ed.D in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, exploring the intersection of Black feminist studies, cultural policies and leadership in the arts, especially music and education.
Priscila dedicates her time to nurturing her daughter, Sofia. As a musician, she lends her talents to conducting with the International Brazilian Opera Company and leading an all female samba ensemble. She actively engages in community activism, serving as a volunteering coordinator at the Collective of Black Brazilian Students at Columbia University, known as Afra.
Josanna Vaz
Director
Josanna Vaz is an actress, visual artist, and performer with over 20 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts from UFMG and was part of the renowned theater company Nós do Morro. Her career spans theater, film, and television, with TV credits including Ribeirão do Tempo (Record) and Mais Vezes Favela (Multishow). In film, she appeared in 5x Favela – Agora por Nós Mesmos (produced by Cacá Diegues) and, most recently, Música (Amazon Studios). As a visual artist, she works with performance as a primary medium, integrating disciplines and exploring the relationship between body, space, and narrative. She trained in the Meisner Technique at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She studied with renowned teachers such as Ron Stetson, Cicely Berry, Larry Moss, Thiago Felix, Dario Facal, and Márcio Libar. Her extensive stage work includes the recent play Riven (Ruptura), which she also co-created. The production was featured in American Theatre — the leading theater publication in the United States — where she was described as “a force of an actor, a powerhouse.” Josanna is also a theater teacher, combining her artistic expertise with a passion for training the next generation of actors.
Tassiana Moura de Oliveira
Director
Tassiana Moura de Oliveira is a scholar of public law whose work follows the movement of power through courtrooms, classrooms, and across borders. A Black Brazilian from Pernambuco, she connects judicial politics, social policy, and lived experience to show how courts shape—and are shaped by—the very people they are meant to serve. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Master’s in Law, moving between disciplines: analyzing judicial decisions, mapping political behavior, and mentoring new generations of thinkers. Her research explores how courts influence social policy and how, in moments of authoritarianism, they become crucial political actors. Whether studying the Brazilian judiciary or broader struggles for democracy in Latin America, her approach is intersectional, critical, and rooted in the belief that ideas, handled with care and clarity, can shift structures. She was born and raised in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Groups we have collaborated and engaged with:
.jpeg)
Kilomba Collective is fiscally sponsored by Movement Strategy Center.
KILOMBA COLLECTIVE
Kilomba Collective is the first collective formed by Black Brazilian women in the United States.
Email: kilombacollective@gmail.com
Social Media: @kilombacollective