The Basandja Coalition Free Congo Tour
Friends of the Congo in partnership with the Basandja Coalition is undertaking an eight-city awareness and fundraising tour in the United States from September 23rd to October 31st. As a part of Friends of the Congo’s seventeenth annual presentation of Congo Week, we have invited our frontline partners from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the United States.
They will share their organizing and movement building experiences from the frontlines of the rainforest, mining communities, conflict zones and urban centers in the DRC. The delegation is made up of three members of the Basandja Coalition and their allies: Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, Filmmaker, Activist and Educator; Samuel Yagase Bayombe, Indigenous Leader and Climate Justice Advocate and Marie-Claire Faray, Women and Human Rights Defender.
The delegation will visit New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Chicago. During the tour, the delegation will screen films concerning the Congo Basin Rainforest (exploring the role of Indigenous knowledge and wisdom in combating the climate crisis) and the challenges of mining communities (tying the accelerated quest for critical minerals that power the green and/or clean energy transition to cobalt diggers). In addition, the delegation will showcase a photo display of 27 photos taken by displaced women from the east of the Congo in the Bulengo displacement camp. The display will be complimented by a photo book that will be available for sale during the tour.
- Tuesday, September 24th, 7 – 9 PM, City University of New York, Graduate Center, Room 5414, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016
- Sunday, September 29th, 1 – 4 PM, Fellowship Baptist Church 5605 Colorado Ave., NW Washington, DC 20011
- Monday, September 30th, 7 – 9 PM, Sankofa Videos and Books, 2714 Georgia Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Film screening of Katasumbika (Coltan) by Petna Ndaliko Click here to RSVP! - Wednesday, October 2nd, 11 AM – 1 PM, United Methodist Building: 100 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002.
RSVP at info@friendsofthecongo.org - Thursday, October 3rd, 6 – 9 PM, BloomBars: 3222 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20010
- Sunday, October 6th, 4 – 6 PM, 1926 Randolph Street, NE Washington, DC 20018
- Sunday, October 6th, 10 AM – 12 noon, Park Avenue Baptist Church, 486 Park Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
- Monday, October 7th, 6 – 7:30 PM, Emory University, White Hall, 201 Dowman Dr, Atlanta, GA 30322
- Wednesday, October 9th, 8 – 9:30, Spelman College, Science Center NASA Auditorium, 350 Spelman Ln SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
- Thursday, October 10th, 5:30 – 8:00 PM, Morehouse College, African American Hall of Fame Building, 830 Westview Drive, SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
- Friday, October 11th, 7 – 9:00 PM, For Keeps Bookstore, 171 Auburn Ave, NE Atlanta, GA 30303
- Sunday, October 13th, 10 – 11AM, First Afrikan Church, 5197 Salem Rd, Lithonia, GA 30038
Click here to watch service live! - Sunday, October 13th, 2 – 3:30 PM, Shrine of the Black Madonna, 946 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
- Tuesday, October 15th, 6 – 9 PM, Arts Connect International, 15 Channel St., Suite 103, Boston, MA 02210
Film Presentation and Discussion in Collaboration with Liyang Network
Click here to register! - Wednesday, October 16th, 5:00 – 7 PM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Film Presentation and Discussion with Coalition for Palestine at MIT
Nexus space in Hayden Library
160 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA, 02142
- Friday, October 18th & Saturday, October 19th, 7 – 10 PM, Maysles Cinema, 343 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10027 Purchase Tickets!
Sunday, October 20th, 5 – 8 PM, Congo Benefit Concert and Reception, Westminster Presbyterian Church
Featuring, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Ayanna Gregory, Navasha Daya, Free BenJamin, Wayna, Anna Mwalagho, Laini Mataka, Maimouna Youssef, and Deja Belle
Click here to purchase tickets!
- Monday, October 21st, All Day, Congo Day, Stanford University
- Tuesday, October 22nd, 7:00 – 9:30 PM, 3134 International Blvd, Oakland, CA
- Wednesday, October 23rd, University of San Francisco
- Wednesday, October 23rd, 4:00 – 6:00 PM, SF State, Library 121 at 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA
- Thursday, October 24th, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, UC San Francisco
- Friday, October 25th, 11 AM – 1 PM, UC Berkeley, ASUC Senate Chambers, 2465 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA
Saturday, October 26th & Sunday, October 27th, Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W 95th Street, Chicago, IL 60628 Community Gathering and Sunday Service
- Monday, October 28th, 7 – 9 PM, Human Resources LA, 410 Cottage Home Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Fundraiser, Film Screening, Discussion and Photo Display - Friday, November 1st, 6 – 8 PM, Film Screening and Discussion
Code Pink, Inland Empire
CASA Pitzer, 200 S Euclid Ave, Ontario, CA 91762 - Sunday, November 3rd, Black Image Center, Congo Photo Display
Please contact Friends of the Congo at info@friendsofthecongo.org or Phone 202-584-6512 for media inquiries and more information about the Basandja Free Congo Tour.