Initial evidence that COVID-19 is reaching Afro descendant communities in Latin America is growing. Statistics in Brazil show that Afro-Brazilians are more likely to have severe respiratory symptoms that are lethal (more than 20%), while the Colombian Pacific coast, with a large Afro-Colombian and indigenous population, registered the first cases of coronavirus weeks ago, and … [Read more...] about Exposure and Inequalities: African Descendants During COVID-19
Afrodescendants
Home sweet home?
Author’s note: This blog discusses domestic violence. if you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and wish to seek help, please see the table at the end of the blog and call the number in your country. Do you know of other resources? please include them in the comments section. I knew that writing a blog on intimate partner violence in … [Read more...] about Home sweet home?
Hidden figures
On July 25, 1992 representatives from 32 countries met in the Dominican Republic to celebrate the contributions of African descendant women in Latin America and the Caribbean, marking the first International Day of African Descendent Women. Now, almost 30 years later, what do we know about black women? In many ways African descendant women in Latin America and the … [Read more...] about Hidden figures
Spare the rod and spoil the child? Discipline and violence in the Caribbean
By Laurence Telson* Spare the rod and spoil the child! Who in the Caribbean has not heard this cryptic biblical proverb that in itself brought swift punishment to one’s bottom for a crime once forgotten? The Caribbean is home to some of the wealthiest per capita countries in the LAC region. In terms of human development, two Caribbean countries - The … [Read more...] about Spare the rod and spoil the child? Discipline and violence in the Caribbean
The right to wear MY HAIR
By Laurence Telson* My hair is mine and not mine. It is quite boring, some part wavy some part coarse, it grows fast and wild. Yet it tells the story of who I am (Caribbean of African descent), my social background (middle class), and my racial DNA (a medley of all that trampled the Continent). For me, it is not just hair. My “Black-Hair” stands for the … [Read more...] about The right to wear MY HAIR