USA Africa Dialogue Series - "The Battle over Black Freedom in Colombia"

The 21st of this month marks the annual Afrocolombian Day (el día de la Afrocolombianidad), commemorating the final abolition of slavery in Colombia, decreed 164 years ago on May 21, 1851. Across the country this month, cultural and educational programs, festivals, and other public events will be held in honor of the contributions of the nation's Afrocolombians. Indeed, it wasn't until 1991 that the Colombian constitution officially recognized the Black population of Colombia and the nation itself as "pluriethnic" and "multicultural," transforming the nearly two-century old perception of Colombia as a strictly "mestizo" nation in the process of continual whitening. For many, the día de la Afrocolombianidad is viewed as a moment for Afrocolombians to, as El Mundo recently wrote, "commemorate their freedom."

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/The-Battle-over-Black-Freedom-in-Colombia-20150516-0009.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

it wasn't until 1991 that the Colombian constitution officially recognized the Black population of Colombia and the nation itself as "pluriethnic" and "multicultural," transforming the nearly two-century old perception of Colombia as a strictly "mestizo" nation in the process of continual whitening. For many, the día de la Afrocolombianidad is viewed as a moment for Afrocolombians to, as El Mundo recently wrote, "commemorate their freedom."

But what does it mean to celebrate Afrocolombian "freedom" when Black life is continually rendered expendable in Colombia?

Read more here.

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This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/The-Battle-over-Black-Freedom-in-Colombia-20150516-0009.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

The 21st of this month marks the annual Afrocolombian Day (el día de la Afrocolombianidad), commemorating the final abolition of slavery in Colombia, decreed 164 years ago on May 21, 1851. Across the country this month, cultural and educational programs, festivals, and other public events will be held in honor of the contributions of the nation's Afrocolombians. Indeed, it wasn't until 1991 that the Colombian constitution officially recognized the Black population of Colombia and the nation itself as "pluriethnic" and "multicultural," transforming the nearly two-century old perception of Colombia as a strictly "mestizo" nation in the process of continual whitening. For many, the día de la Afrocolombianidad is viewed as a moment for Afrocolombians to, as El Mundo recently wrote, "commemorate their freedom."

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/The-Battle-over-Black-Freedom-in-Colombia-20150516-0009.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/englihttp://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/The-Battle-over-Black-Freedom-in-Colombia-20150516-0009.htm

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