For 2024 we are planning an issue of our magazine dedicated to the fight for the rights of Roma as citizens who continue to be structurally or directly discriminated against on the basis of their (ascribed) ethnicity, but also as members of a national minority. These two strands of citizen-activist activities are closely interlinked. We find it necessary to examine the history of the struggle for the rights of the Roma reduced by racializing state structures or directly violated by specific individuals, groups or institutions. The experience of a discriminated minority has also led in various situations to the recognition of the need to create own structures as a support in defending the position of Roma.

A number of contemporary authors agree that anti-Gypsyism is a fundamental continuity framing the position of the Roma. Our aim is to contribute to an appreciation of the ways in which Romani actors have defined themselves against their racialization and have sought ways to defend or overcome the social barriers and majority domination. We would like to contribute to exploring the changing possibilities and tools of struggle (individual and collective) against different forms of racism and discrimination. While not overlooking the role of non-Romani partners, we welcome a focus on Romani actors in these negotiations.

Specifically, we are interested in capturing instances of the fight against the violation of rights of the Roma as citizens throughout history (in the Czech context, e.g., from requests for assistance in locally recognized discrimination, to negotiations to define racially motivated attacks as particularly socially dangerous in the 1990s, etc.). We are also interested in other efforts towards legal and de facto equality, such as advocacy for Romani participation in various national and transnational institutions and forums including state bodies but also, e.g., educational and memory institutions, aimed at changing attitudes and advocating for Romani interests formulated from a Romani perspective. We are interested in the history of Romani organisations in Europe and beyond, the participation of Roma in other civic organisations, and the history of bodies established by states to coordinate activities (formally) aimed at addressing the situation of Roma, and the history of Roma participation in them.

We believe that the topic of Romani social participation and the struggle for their rights cannot be reduced to the negotiation of positions in state and other dominant social structures. Therefore, we invite focus on negotiations taking place outside the state-civic arena, directly challenging such narrowly understood notions of Romani participation. We welcome texts that allow us to follow, for example, purely individual solutions (migration, different navigation of identity issues) or insistence on belonging to local communities, etc.

We would like to present the results of research focused on different periods and regions, as well as on different areas of social struggle for equality (educational, professional, political, cultural, etc.). If your research intersects with our intention, we would be very happy if you decide to contribute to the planned monothematic issue.

Submission of texts for peer-review should be sent by the end of January 2024 (to dzaniben@email.cz, or directly to the editors of this issue - lada.vikova@seznam.cz, helena.sadilkova@ff.cuni.cz). We welcome pre-consultations and encourage you to submit an abstract of your text by the end of October 2023.

Looking forward to cooperation!

The editors of Romano džaniben

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