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Invisible Giants
Invisible Giants
Celebrate in their lifetime inspiring women working for social justice and well-being in their communities.
"Invisible Giants" was born out of a desire to highlight extraordinary women working in a simple and unobtrusive way for the development of their communities; activists at their levels for social change.
Whether they are from Kaolack, Toubab Dialaw, St. Louis or Ziguinchor, from Africa or its diaspora, whether they are political or civil society personalities, feminists, committed activists, or artists... They are all fully dedicated and do a remarkable job in the service of others.
We want to honor them by documenting their stories, showing their image, creating physical and virtual events to share their stories, the journey of their lives, and their experiences with as many people as possible; through a series of portraits and biographies that show how "ordinary women" can become pillars for an entire community and positively change the lives of many people in their immediate surroundings.
Fighters, unstoppable, and volunteers; they have love and generosity in common... They are brimming with life, despite the difficulties and pitfalls in their respective struggles.
"Invisible Giants is a concept I learned from another woman, another Invisible Giant. In 1996, during my first trip to the United States with the Institute for Popular Education in Mali, we met this force, this lady who regularly organizes a big event that she calls "Jubilee", which commemorates the struggle for the rights of blacks in the United States. A great event, but of all the activities, something touched me and remained in my heart. It was an activity that she called "Invisible Giants", during which she presented trophies to women who participated in the struggle for civil rights. Women whose names were unknown, at least to us from Africa: Amelia Boynton (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Boynton_Robinson), Mary Foster, Diana Nash... And Faya Rose Touré said: "There are so many women who have done so much for the movements, often they are invisible in the history of change. And I want to celebrate them. ».
This lesson has stayed with me and since then I look around me and I see these Invisible Giants, these women who patiently, patiently transform their communities. These women to whom others turn when they are in need. When we look for them, we often find them... right under our noses. We see them without paying attention to them. There are so many women who have gone beyond the cultural, religious and economic frameworks that had already decided the limits of their destiny.
Every time I meet them and recognize them, I wonder what force has allowed them to escape the spiral they have been in since birth. How and where do they find the strength and also the chance to survive and defy established norms?
For more than twenty years I have been collecting stories of Invisible Giants, stories so true that they go beyond fiction. Stories of women who cure us of despair and cynicism. But who heals those who heal? Who takes care of the invisible giants and those who give hope?
The celebration of the Invisible Giants is an attempt to recognize and care for those who give so much to so many people in our communities. »
Coumba Touré
Directrice Kuumbati
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