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Sunday March 24, 2002 
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Howard University, Blackburn Center, Gallery Lounge
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The 36-person delegation from Columbia has issued the following statement to clarify who they are, and who they represents, and their main purpose for coming to Washington, DC at this time. 
 
We thanks the Howard University Project on Appropriate Technology, the Blackburn Center and the Afroamerican XXI for helping to facilitate this introduction and opportunity to meet, and dialogue with representatives of the African community in Columbia.  We are also helping to facilitate meetings with key sectors and groups within the African community in DC, Richmond and New York.
 
Our objective is to meet, listen to and learn from them, and to see if and where we can be helpful to them, and their struggle and work.  For us, self-determination is the critical and key component of any and all solidarity work.
 
Afroamerica XXI Delegation to the US to Confront Institutional Racism and Disrespect of Afro-Columbians
 
Afroamerica XXI -- Colombia Chapter does not represent the Afro-Columbian population in totality, nor do we wish to, however we are by far the largest organized grouping of African descendants in Colombia, which includes some 110 Afro-Colombian organizations. We are a member of Afroamerica XXI, the largest grouping of African descendants in the Latin American Region, made up of over 264 organizations in Spanish-speaking countries.
 
Afroamerica XXI is credited with bringing visibility to the plight of Afro-Latin Americans internationally. They are the only African network in the region to have created a "mesa de concertacion." This is a space in Valle de Cauca (Cali) defined by departmental edict which brings together government officials and Black grass-roots organizations to solve problems peacefully, and deal with problems of poverty. 
 
A delegation of 35 persons from Afroamerica XXI will be visiting Washington, DC the week of March 18. The delegation is very diverse: elected officials, local government officials, displaced persons, academicians, cultural groups, and others that have a history of real and sacrificial work in the communities. The delegation will address the following issues:
 
The impact of the Plan Colombia on Black Communities.
 
The mechanisms and instruments that Afroamerica XXI employs to build capacity among Afro-Colombian populations.
 
The exclusion of significant and important populations of Afro-Latin Americans from the Durban conference -- WHO and WHY.
 
The growing international "dirty" politics surrounding Afro-Latin Americans, in particular Afro-Colombians.
 
Issues on the table:  the "grab" for alliances with Afro-Colombians by various groups and institutions in the United States that consciously or unconsciously have auto-designated certain persons as Afro-Colombian "leaders" and who are now using Afro-Colombians as pawns internationally for their own political, career, funding, and resume-building agendas. Some of these organizations include the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Commision on Human Rights, and the so-called progressive organizations in civil society and the Church.
 
What are the Afro-Colombian people asking of people in the United States? Who are the organizations and groups that have the confidence of the Colombian grass-roots? Who in the Afro-Colombian community have the ability to carry out an agenda that bests suits their interests? Why are Afro-Colombians not consulted
before actions are taken in their behalf that will affect their lives? Actions on a massive scale in support of a people require massive consultations with the people who will be affected.
 
IS THE ABUSE OF AFRO-COLOMBIANS NOW GLOBAL? HAS THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES BECOME ARROGANT AND PATERNALISTIC -- PERHAPS EVEN RACIST?