Denea (pronounced Denae) Joseph is an undocumented Black DACA recipient and national immigrant rights activist. She immigrated to the United States at the age of seven years old from Belize, Central America. It wasn’t until her junior year of high school that she realized the challenges she would face as a result of her immigrant identity. However, she was accepted into the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she commuted back and forth from South Los Angeles to Westwood because of the financial limitations for undocumented youth in higher education. Nevertheless, Denea persisted.
As an undergraduate at UCLA, Denea advocated for the creation of an immigration attorney position on campus and increased sustainable financial aid for undocumented youth across the University of California system. Additionally, as a Young People For(YP4) fellow, Denea developed a social justice blueprint to address undocumented access and retention in institutions of higher learning.
Denea is a regularly sought-after media commentator on immigration issues and has been vocal about her undocumented and Black experience. She has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Essence, Vogue, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Magazine's historic immigration issue, among others.
Denea attended the 2018 State of the Union address as the guest of California Senator Kamala Harris. Denea has been serving as the Vice President for the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD), California Ambassador for the United State of Women (USOW), and currently works as the National Entrepreneurship Manager at Immigrants Rising. She aspires to be a human rights attorney, advocating for the rights of the most marginalized around the globe.
Black UndocuJoy in the Era of Trumpism
To be Black and Undocumented in the Era of Trump is to be constantly under attack at the intersections of our marginalized Black and immigrant identities. However, with great pain comes great acts of resilience. Black UndocuJoy in the Era of Trumpism explores the individual and collective resilience of the undocumented and Black community in response to racist and xenophobic speech turned policy.
Under-Protected, Over-Policed: The Criminalization of Undocumented and Black Immigrants
The mainstream media often correlates Latinx identity to immigration. As a result, Black immigrants are often ignored in conversations surrounding the migrant caravan, mass raids, detention and deportation. Under-protected, over-policed uncovers the sinister tactics used to disproportionately detain and deport undocumented and Black immigrants.
Democratic Propensity to DREAM
This talk provides a historic overview of the fight for the Development Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. In a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and DREAMer world, Democratic Propensity to DREAM outlines the origins of the fight for undocumented immigrants in the United States, the organizing tactics and eventual outcomes that resulted in temporary solutions to a longstanding problem.
Our Liberation is Bound Together: The Importance of Intersectionality
In a letter to Angela Davis, James Baldwin once said, "If they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night." This is the same approach that we must take in our organizing, understanding that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Our Liberation is Bound Together provides a historic overview of organizing rooted in intersectionality, serving as a blueprint for contemporary movements.
Digital Organizing: Tools to Advance Social Justice through Social Media
This presentation recognizes that digital organizing isn't the end all be all. However, it's a tool to amplify and bring attention to the injustice taking place across the globe in an efficient manner. With the help of smart phones and social media, issues have been easily disseminated and powerful people have been brought to heel. Digital Organizing: Tools to Advance Social Justice through Social Media delves into the origins of movements formed through social media, strategies for longevity, and tactics to advance your cause.
