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Black Women and the Fight for Afro-Colombian Rights

2/26/2015

5 Comments

 
On November 18, 2014, The Black Women's Movement in Defense of Life and the Ancestral Territories -- black women from the Northern Cauca region of Colombia -- began a multi-day march from their homes to the urban city of Cali. The march was both a protest and an act of defiance: they were marching to demand rights to their ancestral homelands, which are currently under eminent threat.  
This week we begin to explore the transnational elements of our class by taking a look at black women's struggles in Colombia. No where do these struggles become more salient than in the context of the land rights movement in Colombia. 

Colombia has the third largest African descendant population in the world after Nigeria and Brazil. Africans began arriving in the territory that would become Colombia in the 16th century. Like most other regions of Latin America of this time, the region of Colombia was dependent on enslaved African labor in the 17th and 18th centuries. Enslaved Africans worked in the areas of "mining, agriculture, cattle raising, commerce, pearl fishing, domestic work and craft production", but mining was their principle trade (Minority Rights Group 1995:48). In addition to the Africans who were enslaved, there were also Spanish Africans who migrated to Colombia who were descendants of soldiers and Africans who had settled in the Iberian peninsula. 

Today, most of the Afro-Colombian region is concentrated in the western coastal area (see map below). 
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One of the primary challenges facing the Afro-Colombian community today is the issue of land rights. Illegal miners, often tied to multinational corporations, seeks to remove Afro-Colombians from their ancestral homelands, which are rich in minerals and natural resources. This process of removing Afro-Colombians from their homeland often entails violence and intimidation. In response, the Afro-Colombian community has been fighting for land and human rights locally, nationally and transnationally. 

On Thursday we have the pleasure of receiving a special guest in our class. Danelly Estupiñán is an Afro-Colombian activist and community organizer from the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (Black Communities Process, PCN). She is the coordinator of the human rights program for PCN's Palenque el Congal, which works in the rural and urban areas of Buenaventura in southwestern Colombia. For nearly two decades, Ms. Estupiñán's work primarily with women has provided psychosocial support for victims of violence and defended the collective rights of black communities in the region. She has a degree in sociology and is pursuing her MA in political science.

Afro-Colombian women are not only in a fight to maintain their community's rights to their ancestral land, but also a fight for their lives. The words of Afro-Colombian organizer and leader Francia Marquez encapsulates this struggle beautifully: 
RESOURCES

Websites with more information on the Afro-Colombian Struggle: 

Afro-Colombian Human Rights Campaign
Student activist coalition Palenques y Quilombos
afrocolombian.org
Human Rights Watch's page on Afro-Colombians. 

On Tuesday in class we watched the documentary "The War We Are Living: Women War and Peace in Colombia." Check out the full episode here: 
5 Comments
Stacie Dickson
3/5/2015 04:51:46 am

These women are so strong it's so beautiful.I'm not trying to knock young girls looking who look up to Amber Rose or Beyonce, but these women are such good role models and it's so sad that more people don't know about them. Such strong women.

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7/29/2018 05:16:16 pm

I agree with you! Girls should look up to these women instead of women like Beyoncé or Amber Rose because they are far more inspirational. They are the epitome of strong women and they need to be acknowledged for all the wonderful things they have accomplished. I hope young girls will be influenced by these women because they are what I would consider as the best role models. It is important that they look up to people who will have a good influence to them.

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JOSEPH FOSTER
10/28/2016 11:08:31 pm

Netflix true crime series Narcos spurs huge demand for Colombian women.

Produced by Netflix, the show "Narcos" takes on the infamous Medellin drug cartel which follows the rise and fall of Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar and the Drug Enforcement Agency agents hunting him. The story is told largely from the points of view of Escobar (Brazilian actor Wagner Moura) and U.S. DEA Agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), on opposite sides of what would become an all-out war.

Many critics of true crime dramas have always complained they are promoting crime and violence by glorification, an unintended consequence of American entertainment industries. These shows can have other interesting consequences.  The Foreign Bride industry has seen a huge spike in demand for Colombian women. This can be viewed as positive or negative, depending on social perspective.

Foreign Brides, sometimes referred to as "mail order brides", a term the industry completely rejects, have become a billion dollar a year business.  According to industry leaders, Colombia represented only about 3% of the market three years ago.  Since the popularity of Narcos, many companies have seen near tenfold increases in men seeking Colombian wives.

A Foreign Affair (AFA), a company that helps men find women through international tours, says tours to Colombia are now selling out. AFA arranges group tours where 10 to 20 men travel together to Medellin, Cartagena or Barranquilla. During the tour, they attend arranged Social events where the men meet hundreds of beautiful Colombian women looking for marriage. Women can also place their profiles on the AFA web site, in the hopes of finding a husband.

Kenneth Agee, the marketing director for AFA says, "Because of the show we are doubling our tours to Medellin for next year. Narcos has brought a lot of attention to the intense beauty of Colombian women.  Although the show is often very violent, the women of Colombia come across as very family oriented and loyal. These values seem harder and harder to find in this world. I would have to agree, because of the interest in Narcos, we even added an excursion to where Pablo's self-built prison was located, in the hills overlooking Medellin.

The crowning of 2015 Miss Universe Paulina Vega put Barranquilla, Colombia on the map. Barranquilla now has recognition for being home to some of the most beautiful and talented women in the world. Not only is Miss Universe from here, Grammy Award winning pop singer Shakira, and actress Sofia Vergara also call Barranquilla home.  Vergara stars on the ABC series Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. She's been nominated for 4 Golden Globe Awards, 4 Prime time Emmy Awards, and 7 Screen Actors Guild Awards, all stemming from this role. In 2014, she was ranked as the 32nd Most Powerful Woman in the world by Forbes.

David from Mesa AZ says he met more qualified women in one week than he has during the last 10 years. In 2010, Lisa Ling and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) filmed a one hour show on the AFA tour called "Online Brides - Our America with Lisa Ling."  Even Lisa Ling was surprised by the beauty and sincerity of the women from Barranquilla.

Janet Davis, head of a women's rights group says "AFA is just taking advantage of women from these third world countries. This is no different than Pablo trafficking in narcotics, but these companies traffic women." Proponents refer to a Report (INTERNATIONAL MATCHMAKING ORGANIZATIONS: A REPORT TO CONGRESS) that these marriages have much lower divorce rates and abuse rates compared to traditional domestic marriages. This data makes international dating similar to a woman in the US joining eHarmony to look for a husband.



23-year-old Viviana, from Cartagena, says "I come to these events because I know the men attending are serious about marriage, they are faithful and are good to family. For Colombian women, it is the most important thing, good husband and good family.

Kenneth says, "It has not been all rosy. Narcos has brought us some problems. In Cartagena, we have several Penthouses we rent out.  One was originally owned by "Don Diego" head of the Norte Del Velle Drug Cartel, the other by Pablo's people. Over the past year, the properties have been tracked down by individuals thinking they will find large qualities of cash hidden, thus we sometimes find holes all over the walls after a tenant leaves.

For Narcos fans, those who love the gangster genre, or just those who just like seeing beautiful Latin women, there's good news; Netflix's has confirmed Season 3 and 4.

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5/14/2019 10:32:47 pm

For the past years, black men and women has been discriminated. People have been stereotyping them because of their color. I am very much moved because of what I read here in you blog. It is actually nice to know that there are people who still fight for their's and others' rights. We should keep in mind that we have no rights to belittle and discriminate others because of their looks. We are created to love and respect each and everyone of us, but if time comes that we need to fight for what is right, we should step up.

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10/31/2022 06:47:07 am

Trade during good particularly alone. Debate enough once protect. Control others other company receive two.

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  • Christen A. Smith
  • Publications
  • Interviews
  • Afro-Paradise
  • Silence Transformation Collective
  • Courses
    • Violence Trauma Memory
    • Performance, Race, Violence, Body
    • Black Women, Struggle and the Transnational State >
      • BWSTS Blog
  • Contact