Roberto Lovato writes on his Of América blog about the disappointment Black activists are feeling about the fact that the administration of President Barack Obama did
not attend the Durban Review conference in Geneva, Switzerland. "Regardless of country, creed or political orientation,
all of the members of the African diaspora I interviewed hailed the election of U.S President Barack Obama as a great global
milestone.
"But, after inhaling and closing their eyes at the thought of
the first black President to occupy the most powerful seat on earth, many of these same African-descended participants then
opened their eyes, gazed at the empty Conference chairs behind the sign saying 'Etat Unis' (United States) and let
out any number of thoughts and concerns about such issues as racial profiling, political participation, reparations, xenophobia,
media racism, defining the transatlantic slaver trade as crime against humanity and the discrimination of migrant workers."
Natasha G. posts a story on the care2.com website about how the affirmative action system in Brazil is having problems determining who fits its requirements:
"Tatiana Oliveira, a 22 year old student, has stirred up controversy in Brazil for being admitted
to the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) under its quota system for Afro-Brazilians, and then dropped soon after.
"The quota system requires 11 percent of admitted students to be black or pardo (roughly translated
as mixed). Oliveira applied and was admitted to UFSM under this quota, as the daughter of a white woman and pardo man, and
granddaughter of a black woman.
"However one week into her studies, she was
taken in for an interview with the director and the school's affirmative action commission due to doubts about her qualifications.
She was asked about her race and whether she had ever been discriminated against."
"It is a three-hour journey on a winding route known as the Death Road from La
Paz to the region of Los Yungas, a patch of rainforest in the Andes Mountains," writes Andres Schipani for the BBC
News.
"...Afro-Bolivians are traditionally farmers, growing citrus,
coffee and banana trees. But today many grow coca.
"Los Yungas is one
of the two places in Bolivia where coca - cocaine's raw material - can be grown legally, albeit in limited amounts."
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The View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their
lives in the present, and their hopes
for the future
by Karen Juanita Carrillo
The View from Chocó: The Afro-Colombian past, their lives in the present, and their hopes for the future
is an introduction to the lives of Blacks in Colombia. Afro-Colombians live in a resource-rich yet remote region of Colombia.
They only recently won recognition as one of that nation's distinct ethnic groups. But Colombia's on-going civil war has
led many Afro-Colombians to reach even farther than their nation's borders for recognition: many have made their way to the
United States as refugees and as political activists working for peace in their homeland. The View
from Chocó introduces the lives and struggles of a too-long neglected community of Colombian
Blacks.
Raise Your Brown Black Fist is a collection of essays written
by Kevin Alberto Sabio during his time as a Contributing Writer for an online magazine.
The book combines his two article series, "Black
vs Brown" and "Black Thoughts: A Political Ideological Perspective for Afrolatinos"
into one volume, plus three other miscellaneous entries.The bookis currently available
through his publisher, AuthorHouse.
Click the logo above to view and purchase the book.
