ABSTRACT
Contemporary Afro-descendants have continued to organize and insist on political engagement within their societies, often under great duress and violence in three interrelated ways. The ways are: fighting for full rights and visibility; forging alliances with other Afro-Latin Americans and with allies across racial and cultural boundaries; and breaking down barriers between 'migrants' that the establishment casts as outsiders and 'Natives'. Afro-Latin Americans throughout the region have also lobbied for various types of affirmative action programs. Like Colombia's and Brazil's constitutional laws, the affirmative action programs are incomplete, but they are also a testament to the power of Afro-Latin American political engagement in the contemporary era, which is connected to the historical struggles of Afro-descendants. While regional political dynamics diverge temporally and geographically, people of African descent throughout the region have faced significant social, economic and cultural challenges since the 16th century. Migration and migration policy have been an important role in these dynamics.
