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Afro-Colombia: Colombia's Ethno-Education as African-Centered Education with Dr. Mesi Walton

When
Saturday, March 15, 2025
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (EDT)
Location
On Zoom

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Afro-Colombia:

Colombia's Ethno-Education as African-Centered Education

This presentation will examine the curriculum created in the municipality of María la Baja under the rules that govern ethno-education in Colombia. Colombia established ethno-education to address the lack of African and Indigenous history and representation in the national curriculum. In the Caribbean municipality of María la Baja, the schools are tasked with combating the effects of local violence, racism, and a negative association with Blackness. Using an ethnographic approach, this analysis explores two projects designed to reconnect students with their heritage and community members, boosting their morale and self-esteem as Afro-Colombians and members of the Afro-descendant municipality. This work highlights the efforts in one community to restore it to a place of pride as resilient African descendants rich with their own history and culture.

Saturday, March 15, 2025

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM @ On Zoom

Presenter: Dr. Mesi Bakari Walton is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Afro-Diaspora Cultures at Howard University. Her research intersects with Africana, Latin American, and Cultural Studies and explores how cultures are employed as symbols of identity and tools of survival through the texts of music, song, dance, language, and other practices. She also organizes cultural exchange tours throughout Latin America for youth and adults.

Please register in advance. You will receive a Reminder by 9 am on the day of the presentation with the ZOOM login link/info for the event. If you register on the day of, you will receive the login link/info at that time.