E/CN.4/1997/71/Add.1
page 11
“A Black who doesn't commit a crime on the way in will commit one on the
way out”;
“There's no such thing as a Black who doesn't stink”;
“To be happier than a Black using a deodorant for the first time”;
“Dressing a Black in a suit won't change the Black and will ruin the
suit”;
“Blacks in the kitchen and Whites on the rostrum”;
“Everything that is ugly and bad is black”;
“Blacks laugh all the time to show their teeth, since that's the only
white thing they have”;
“A running White is an athlete, a running Black is a thief”.
38.
An example of the use of Blacks for folklore purposes is reported by the
Palenqueras , 12 colourfully-dressed women selling fruit, food and sweets who
serve as tourist showcases in the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla. They
are photographed for postcards without their consent and placed in prominent
positions at official events for decoration purposes. But when they are out
of the limelight, they are ill-treated by the police and chased out of the
tourist areas to prevent them from plying their usual fruit and flower trade
among the tourists.
39.
In the press, Afro-Colombians are frequently presented in a negative
light, especially as thieves, and black athletes are frequently given racist
nicknames such as diablo negro (black devil). 13
40.
According to studies by psychologists and testimony gathered, one
consequence of racial discrimination and acculturation has been a severe loss
of identity among Afro-Colombians who, according to the CIMARRON movement,
include Afro-Indians, Afro-Mestizos and Afro-Creoles. The members of these
communities have a low self-image. The children do not know how to present
themselves; Mestizos lighten or straighten their hair since “black is ugly”.
The children do not like their noses; they look down on themselves.
Self-discrimination is also observed among Afro-Colombians. Unlike the
indigenous inhabitants, Afro-Colombians do not have a collective awareness and
solidarity; they are Afro-Colombians, but first they are from Chocó, Tumaco,
Uraba, etc. The Afro-Colombians are looked upon as minorities and coexist
together with the highly mobilized and mutually-supportive indigenous
inhabitants. Thus a broad movement is developing, the “Black Communities
Process”, aimed at raising the Afro-Colombian communities' awareness of their
values and cultural identity, defending them and securing their acceptance in
the Colombian national framework. The Afro-Colombians say they want to
reaffirm their cultural identity as it has been maintained and developed in
the Palenque and CIMARRON movements, which have become dynamic forces that
they wish to keep by recovering their traditional territories, including the
fishing areas.