*Image Description: Above picture show Facundo Montenegro looking into the camera, wearing a shirt with patterned red brushes and sitting in what appears to be a living room.
Facundo Montenegro was a teacher, mentor, and a dear friend. He was an activist and a filmmaker, and he loved people. A true radical is someone who truly loves humanity. Thank you for showing us the way.
March 19, 1966 to December 12, 2005
The Catalyst: You.
Change begins with you. It begins with a meaningful action; thoughtful, compassionate, and purposeful.
History
Facundo Element was founded on March 1, 2011 by Ryan Commerson. Its first task was to engage the Deaf community in a discussion on "re-framing" and encourage us to think about our identity in different ways. After series of workshops, we hosted Walk for ASL led by Alison Aubrecht, a month long walk along Pacific Coast Highway from the Golden Gate Bridge to Santa Monica. During the walk, we came up with a possible term replacing 'deaf'. Then, more dialogues followed and Sumain was born. There were a lot of challenges along the way. The next step is to share our stories with our society- our families, colleagues and neighbors - through film. At the same time, our fellow Sumains, who have been historically marginalized, need the tools to step up and assert our own worth. Freedom is a fleeting and dynamic, not static, phenomenon. For the freedom to be who you are, we must be able to take a stand, constantly. Invest in yourselves. Invest in our community.
Our Board
Fashade Afolabi / New Jersey
Ryder Patton / Oregon
Dr. Laurene Simms / Washington, D.C.
