Proceso organizativo de las comunidades negras rurales de Antioquia. Ancestralidad, etnicidad y política pública afroantioqueña

Abstract

This article studies the organization process of the rural black communities in Antioquia and explains the reasons of its strength. In order to do that the number of Community Councils in the department is analyzed according to different sources. The article focuses on the incorporation of the racial difference in the Colombia society, which took effect last year. After that, it presents three relevant factors that allow to better understand this process of organization: 1) The prior organizational experience of black communities, 2) the essentialist interpretation of the ethnic/racial issues by the Colombian State, and 3) The performance of some public agencies that takes place in the frame of the afroantioquena public policy. The work by Marta Dominguez (2015) in this respect is also discussed in order to critically reflect about ancestrality and ethnicity. The article claims that more than the work on these notions, the possibility to get self-determination in ancestral territories is key for rural black communities in Antioquia, as well as to be considered in the decision making that dramatically affects their living spaces.