From ethnicization to ethnicism: Transformations of the legal and political subject of blackness in Colombia

Abstract

In Colombia, since 1900s, some Afro-descendant populations are classified as an ethnic group, akin to indigenous communities. This classification has included, especially within the Comisión de la Verdad report, to recognize Afro-descendants as ethnic people, a view widely shared among activists, scholars, and NGOs. The process of ethnicization, distinct from race, involves traditionalizing and communalizing these populations from the Pacific region. Recent shifts have involved racialized ethnicism, combining racial markers with cultural traditionalized differences under a regime of victimhood, reflecting complex, overlapping transformations rather than straightforward successions. This article analyzes these evolving legal and political conceptions of blackness over the past three decades, highlighting the nuanced shifts in state policies and imaginaries.