Abstract
This article reconceptualizes the Atrato River as a living pedagogical archive that participates in the formation of Black education in Chocó, Colombia. Drawing on Black feminist oral methods, it centers a dialogue among Black educators to examine how educational knowledge emerges through relationships with the river, territory, memory, and community life. The analysis argues that river-based pedagogies distinct Afro-Colombian epistemologies that challenge White/Mestizo-centered and standardized models of schooling. Storytelling, river travel, intergenerational memory, and everyday territorial practices are examined as pedagogical processes through which Black communities sustain identity, historical consciousness, and collective sovereignty. The article further contends that the Atrato's legal recognition as a subject of rights has not displaced the colonial logics that continue to shape curriculum and Black educators’ practices. By positioning the river as a thinking partner and living archive, the article contributes to scholarship on Black education, decolonial pedagogy, Black feminist thought, and territorial education, and argues for water-centered, territory-rooted approaches to educational research and practice.
Recommended Citation
Mena-Rivera, S. S.,
Chaverra-Mosquera, K.,
&
Aguirre Ortega, M.
(2026).
Voices from the Atrato: Reclaiming AfroColombian Education from the Riverbank.
Occasional Paper Series,
(56), 96-106.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1617
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