Afro-Colombian Movements
Abstract
Colombia has the second largest black population in Latin America, after Brazil. Roughly 11 million Afro-Colombians make up 26 percent of the national population today. While black resistance can be traced back to the early days of maroonage, Afro-Colombian social movements began to significantly change the political landscape in Colombia with the passing of the country's new Constitution of 1991, which provided a new political opportunity structure for black mobilization. This entry uses a framing perspective to review the changing contexts for Afro-Colombian mobilization, from an initial focus on social justice and racial equality, via ethnic-territorial and human rights, to the implementation of Colombia's peace accords in the 2000s.