Afro student collectives as spaces of resistance and political subjectivities. An approach to the coffee region-Colombia

Abstract

This article arises as a result of the Afro-Colombian Presences, Memories and Struggles research project in a region that has been called Eje Cafetero due to its productive vocation, especially in the 20th century, and which consists of the departments of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. Its purpose was to recognize the multiple presences of the Afro-Colombian population in a predominantly mestizo and ideologically white region. We focus on youth participation repertoires, developed through Afro student groups in public universities. These groups create political subjectivities and identity claims that challenge a history that has erased the Afro presence in the region. To carry out the research we resorted to ethnography, with visits to the departments and their universities, participant observation, in- depth interviews, and focus groups with professors, students, and leaders in each region.