My Peace of Mind: Sonya Williams
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Defining Ethnopluralism and Black Nationalists Movements in Colombia during the 1970’s
Aims and Objectives
During my Spring 2015 semester, I decided to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina for five months. This experience was a time of selfreflection and critical thinking of today’s world as it relates to its history. The decision to study abroad assisted me in gaining more of a sense of what I want to pursue post graduation from Howard University in 2017. I am currently participating in the Howard University’s undergraduate History program, with aspirations of obtaining a PhD in the field of History as well. I would like to take this opportunity to explore a scholarly interest in race relations throughout the Black Diaspora. This specific study will be conducted in the regions of Cali and Bogota, Colombia in the Afrodescended communities.
Research Questions
❖ Examine the ways in which Black nationalist and resistance groups formed in Colombia and their role within the historical decade of the 1970’s.
❖ The impact of groups such as the Centro para la Investigación y Desarrollo de la Cultural Negra, in Bogotá; the Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Frantz Fanon, also in Bogotá; Cimarrón, which began as a study group of Black students from the Pacific coast who were attending the university in the inland city of Pereira; and others on the AfroColombian population during the 1960’s and 1970’s.
❖ In which ways has the Colombian legislature influenced ethnic pluralism in Colombia? Background
Afro-Colombian populations have been marginalized in Colombia since their arrival as enslaved human cargo, though they have rhetorically been incorporated into society through racial democracy ideologies. Historical legacies of discrimination and subsequent “inclusion” that is more celebrated than real have together catalyzed types of ethno development among AfroColombians. Ethnopluralism argues for regional, ethnic and racial discrimination. It is therefore multiculturalism in the sense of multiple cultures or ethnicities existing in a country but separated into different enclaves, to safeguard those differences. The historical legacy of slavery led to Blacks preserving their own safe spaces as seen in Black nationalist movements formed during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Black organizations formed mainly to address the issues of discrimination and racial inequality. These organizations have shaped the perception of what it is to be an AfroColombian, or Afrodescended person in Latin America.
Literature
❖ George Reid Andrews, AfroLatin America 18002000(Oxford University Press, 2004).
❖ Thomas E. Skidmore, Peter H. Smith, James N. Green, Modern Latin America Seventh Edition(Oxford University Press, 2010).
❖ Jerry Davila, Dictatorship in South America(WileyBlackwell, 2013).
❖ Bradford Burns, Latin America: Conflict and Creation (Prentice Hall, 1992).
❖ Steve Stein, Sociology of Developing Societies(MacMillan, 1987).
❖ John Charles, Joseph S. Tulchin, Problems in Modern Latin America: A Reader (Wilmington: Scholarly Res., 1994).
❖ Abraham F. Lowenthal, Exporting Democracy: The United States and Latin America; Themes and Issues(The John Hopkins UP, 1990). Research Plan
My objective is to expand my knowledge, as an American of African descent, on the history and culture of Afrodescended Colombians and other Blacks in Latin America, while also refining my methodology of conducting historical research and fluidity of the Spanish language. This is an opportunity, as an aspiring historian, to contribute to the scholarly debate on the African/Black Diaspora and to really pursue a genuine intellectual interest in the study of race relations.
Aims and Objectives
During my Spring 2015 semester, I decided to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina for five months. This experience was a time of selfreflection and critical thinking of today’s world as it relates to its history. The decision to study abroad assisted me in gaining more of a sense of what I want to pursue post graduation from Howard University in 2017. I am currently participating in the Howard University’s undergraduate History program, with aspirations of obtaining a PhD in the field of History as well. I would like to take this opportunity to explore a scholarly interest in race relations throughout the Black Diaspora. This specific study will be conducted in the regions of Cali and Bogota, Colombia in the Afrodescended communities.
Research Questions
❖ Examine the ways in which Black nationalist and resistance groups formed in Colombia and their role within the historical decade of the 1970’s.
❖ The impact of groups such as the Centro para la Investigación y Desarrollo de la Cultural Negra, in Bogotá; the Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Frantz Fanon, also in Bogotá; Cimarrón, which began as a study group of Black students from the Pacific coast who were attending the university in the inland city of Pereira; and others on the AfroColombian population during the 1960’s and 1970’s.
❖ In which ways has the Colombian legislature influenced ethnic pluralism in Colombia? Background
Afro-Colombian populations have been marginalized in Colombia since their arrival as enslaved human cargo, though they have rhetorically been incorporated into society through racial democracy ideologies. Historical legacies of discrimination and subsequent “inclusion” that is more celebrated than real have together catalyzed types of ethno development among AfroColombians. Ethnopluralism argues for regional, ethnic and racial discrimination. It is therefore multiculturalism in the sense of multiple cultures or ethnicities existing in a country but separated into different enclaves, to safeguard those differences. The historical legacy of slavery led to Blacks preserving their own safe spaces as seen in Black nationalist movements formed during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Black organizations formed mainly to address the issues of discrimination and racial inequality. These organizations have shaped the perception of what it is to be an AfroColombian, or Afrodescended person in Latin America.
Literature
❖ George Reid Andrews, AfroLatin America 18002000(Oxford University Press, 2004).
❖ Thomas E. Skidmore, Peter H. Smith, James N. Green, Modern Latin America Seventh Edition(Oxford University Press, 2010).
❖ Jerry Davila, Dictatorship in South America(WileyBlackwell, 2013).
❖ Bradford Burns, Latin America: Conflict and Creation (Prentice Hall, 1992).
❖ Steve Stein, Sociology of Developing Societies(MacMillan, 1987).
❖ John Charles, Joseph S. Tulchin, Problems in Modern Latin America: A Reader (Wilmington: Scholarly Res., 1994).
❖ Abraham F. Lowenthal, Exporting Democracy: The United States and Latin America; Themes and Issues(The John Hopkins UP, 1990). Research Plan
My objective is to expand my knowledge, as an American of African descent, on the history and culture of Afrodescended Colombians and other Blacks in Latin America, while also refining my methodology of conducting historical research and fluidity of the Spanish language. This is an opportunity, as an aspiring historian, to contribute to the scholarly debate on the African/Black Diaspora and to really pursue a genuine intellectual interest in the study of race relations.
Organizer
Sonya Williams
Organizer
Poughkeepsie, NY
