Ecuador government passes resolution to include Afro-Ecuadorian history in textbooks

• As Ecuadoreans around the country celebrate National Day of the Afro-Ecuadorian People, the government announced the new education measure to foster inclusion of Afro-Ecuadorians in the nation’s history.
• Afro-Ecuadorians number more than 600,000 in the country, but continue to face discrimination and economic difficulty.
• The National Day of the Afro-Ecuadorian People began with the 1997 congressional declaration of the National Day of the Black Ecuadorian, symbolized by celebration of fugitive slave leader Alonso de Illescas and Afro-Ecuadorian history and culture.

“On this day we have to remember all the contributions we have made as a people and bring it, together with our history, to the rest of the people because many don’t know it, which enables a lot of forms of discrimination.”

Read more:
“Ecuador to Include Afro-Ecuadorean History in Textbooks” (teleSUR English)

(Image Credit: El Telegrafo, via teleSUR)