Eleven million Africans were forcibly sent to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. Two out of every three came to Latin America and the Caribbean. Alejandro de la Fuente, Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin American History and Economics at Harvard, discusses how Afro-descendent mobilization has brought change to the region in the last twenty years. De la Fuente, who is also director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard’s Hutchins Center, points to a transformative wave—particularly in Latin American constitutions—that now recognizes Afro-descendents as integral members of pluricultural nations. That recognition has led to “concrete and measurable opportunities.” But there’s still a long way to go.