Enrique Okenve Inaugural lecture

Join us for the inaugural lecture by Andrés Bello Chair Enrique Okenve (University of the West Indies), exploring the contested meanings of “indigenous” in Equatorial Guinea within the history of the Spanish Empire. The talk examines how colonial policies, memories, and local resistance shaped processes of indigenization across Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific. Introduced by Monique Bedasse and moderated by Adrian de León (NYU History).

This program co-sponsored by the Department of History and the Center for Latin American Studies.

This event is part of the 21st Annual MLK Week, taking place February 2–6, 2026.

Monique Bedasse is a historian of Africa and the African diaspora, focusing on East Africa and the Caribbean, with interests in decolonization, Black internationalism, and African diasporic politics. Her first book, Jah Kingdom: Rastafarians, Tanzania, and Pan-Africanism in the Age of Decolonization (2017), explores collaborations between Tanzanian and Jamaican Rastafarians and has received multiple awards, including the Wesley-Logan Prize and the Anna Julia Cooper and CLR James Award.

Adrian De León is an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at NYU and co-chair of Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative. His work examines Filipino diasporic experiences and their intersections with empire and nation-states. He is the author and editor of six books, including Bundok: A Hinterland History of Filipino America (2023) and Balikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland (2026), and has written extensively for major public outlets. De León has received numerous awards for his scholarship and public history work, including the Engaged Scholar Award (2022), and serves as a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians.

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