Dance Lest We All Fall Down

An unexpected detour can change the course of our lives forever, and, for white American anthropologist Margaret Willson, a stopover in Brazil led to immersion in a kaleidoscopic world of street urchins, capoeriristas, drug dealers, and wise teachers. She and African Brazilian activist Rita Conceição joined forces to break the cycles of poverty and violence around them by pledging local residents they would create a top-quality educational program for girls. From 1991 to the graduation of Bahia Street's first college-bound graduate in 2005, Willson and Conceição 's adventure took them to the shantytowns of Brazil's Northeast, high-society London, and urban Seattle.

In a narrative brimming with honesty and grace, Dance Lest We All Fall Down unfolds the story of this remarkable alliance, showing how friendship, when combined with courage, insight, and passion, can transform dreams of a better world into reality.

Bahia Street envisions a global community of individuals working for equality through locally-designed and driven social change initiatives. Bahia Street was founded on the principle that organizations must model within their own infrastructure the change that they seek in the world, and Bahia Street demonstrates its commitment to this principle through programs that bring together grassroots knowledge and dedication with global support. We strive to be a leading social change organization based within the community being served, which informs educational programs that extend our work into communities elsewhere in the world.

Founded in 1997, Bahia Street is registered as a non-profit organization in Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The infrastructure of Bahia Street is a partnership that combines the knowledge and dedication of a grassroots organization with the accountability and financial strength of an international one.

http://www.bahiastreet.org/

This is a promotional video for "Dance Lest We All Fall Down" by Margaret Willson, co-founder of Bahia Street, through University of Washington Press.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• bahia street
• brazil
• non-profit
• education
• social change
• race
• class
• gender
• equality