The Right to Difference: Explaining Colombia's Shift from Color Blindness to the Law of Black Communities1

Drawing on archival analysis and in-depth interviews, this article examines Colombia's adoption of policies for black Colombians in 1993. It argues that Afro-Colombian activists were able to seize upon changes in global policy norms around multiculturalism and state disequilibrium both by deplo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of sociology 2010-11, Vol.116 (3), p.729-769
Main Author: Paschel, Tianna S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Black people
Blindness
Ethnicity
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Policy making
Racial inequality
Social movements
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Summary:Drawing on archival analysis and in-depth interviews, this article examines Colombia's adoption of policies for black Colombians in 1993. It argues that Afro-Colombian activists were able to seize upon changes in global policy norms around multiculturalism and state disequilibrium both by deploying traditional social movement strategies and by framing their demands in terms of ethnic difference. This case extends our understanding of how social movements make strategic use of political openings and also illustrates the circumstances under which an ethnic difference framing can be a more effective political strategy for achieving rights for black populations than a racial equality framing.
ISSN:0002-9602
1537-5390
DOI:10.1086/655752