Piedad Cordoba, Lawyer. Politician

Piedad Esneda Córdoba Ruiz (born January 25 1955, in Condoto, Chocó) is a Colombian lawyer politician, affiliated to the Colombian Liberal Party. She is currently serving as Senator for the period 2006-2010. She is a Colombian of African descent and represents these minorities in congress as part of the "Poder Ciudadano Siglo XXI" political movement. She is an outspoken critic who has opposed several of the policies implemented by the President Álvaro Uribe. Read more here

Colombian, Colombia

The Black African presence in Colombia dates back to Colombia's colonial period. Afro Panamanians from the colonial period are also related to many of these Afro Colombians. Black African slaves began being imported by the Spaniards in the first decade of the 16th century. By the 1520s, Blacks were being imported into Colombia steadily to replace the rapidly declining native American population. Blacks were forced to work in gold mines, on sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and large haciendas. Black African labor was essential in all the regions of Colombia, even until modern times. continue reading here

Día de la Afrocolombianidad

The Afro-Colombian Day is commemorated since 2001, date which was established through Law 725, in memory of the 150 years of the abolition of slavery in Colombia, consecrated on May 21, 1851. source