Afro-Latinos In the Andes: Afro-Latinos in the Andes

A very young Afro-Bolivian girl is sitting on a bed with her back to a wall that has a poster of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Afro-Latinos in the Andes, Tocana, Bolivia

A worn and faded hand-drawing, created by Dayana Rene Ballivian, 9, hangs outside her family’s home that reads: “My mother is negro, my father is negro and so am I - I am proud.” In 2009 Afro-Bolivians won a moral victory when the Bolivian government - which had always denied their existence - publicly apologized and formally acknowledged them as citizens; this occurred under the administration of Evo Morales, the countries first indigenous president.