Antumi Pallas (born 13 November 1969), also known as Antumi Toasijé, is a Spanish-Colombian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and advocate for

Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atla ...

of about half

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n descent (

Afro-Spaniard Afro-Spaniards are Spaniards, Spanish people of African descent, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and those of Afro-Caribbean, African American or Afro Latin American descent. The Spanish government does not collect data on ethnicity o ...

). A Global History lecturer at the University of New York in Madrid as well as professor in other universities in Spain, he is a specialist in African History and culture, racism, and Pan-African

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

. He is also the president of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (CEDRE), a consultative body of the Spanish Ministry of Equality.

Biography

Antumi Toasijé was born on 13 November 1969 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

to Laura Victoria Valencia Rentería, an

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...

woman from

Quibdó Quibdó () is the capital city of Chocó Department, in the Pacific/Chocó natural region, Pacific Region of Colombia, and is located on the Atrato River. The municipality of Quibdó has an area of and a population of 129,237, predominantly A ...

whose African roots are in the

Temne people The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the Northern Province, Sierra Leone, Northern Provin ...

from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, and a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

father exiled from the francoist regime. He is closely affiliated with

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, but lives and works primarily in Spain where he moved at the age of two. Toasijé identifies spiritually as a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Antumi Toasijé earned his PhD from the University of Alcala in Spain in History, culture and thought, with a Thesis on the black presence in Spain from the Iron Age to present times Previously he studied at the

University of the Balearic Islands The University of the Balearic Islands (, UIB; ) is a Balearic Islands, Balearic Spain, Spanish university, founded in 1978 and located in Palma de Mallorca, Palma on the island of Majorca. The university is funded by the autonomous Government o ...

and obtained the title of Licentiate in history before starting his doctorate degree from the

Autonomous University of Madrid The Autonomous University of Madrid (; UAM), commonly known as la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 by royal decree. UAM is widely respected as one of the most prestigious univ ...

. He has been the director of the Center for Pan-African Studies, president of the Pan-African Center, director of the Journal of Migrations of the Federation of Balearic Immigrant Associations, and has been a member of the Group of African Studies at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Toasijé lived his early years in

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

where he took up painting and poetry. He was a member of the poetic group Desfauste and participated actively in the cultural life of the island. In 2003, together with a group of African intellectuals, he founded the Association of African and Pan-African Studies, whose journal ''Nsibidi'' was the first Spanish-language journal of African social studies. In 2005 he directed the scientific committee of the 2nd Pan-African Congress in Spain under the auspices of the

National University of Distance Education The National Distance Education University (, UNED) is a distance learning and research university founded in 1972 and is the only university run by the government of Spain. The headquarters is located in Madrid, with campuses in all Spanish aut ...

. Later he became involved with the Spaniard slavery reparations movement, culminating on 17 February 2009 with the passage of a non-binding motion on the matter by the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

. Toasijé is a recognized figure of afrocentricity and Pan Africanism in the Spanish Speaking world. Currently, he is part of the civil society working team of facilitators of the African Union 6th Region in charge of Spain and the Spanish Speaking Countries. Also Antumi Toasijé is the prime impetus behind the New Universal Calendar (NUCAL) movement. In October 2020 Antumi Toasije is appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Equality Irene Montero as President of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (CEDRE), a consultative body of the Spanish Ministry of Equality. He has been awarded with a Fulbright Scholar in Residence as from August 2024 at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Toasijé has been lecturing and conferencing in various Spanish Universities and institutions, he is the coauthor of various books about immigration and African themes, and has written extensively both in the academic and the popular press. He works closely with other Spanish-speaking Pan-Africanists such as Mbuyi Kabunda Badi and

Justo Bolekia Boleká Justo Bolekia Boleká (born 13 December 1954) is an Equatorial Guinean scholar and writer of Bubi descent. Life and career He attended college at Complutense University of Madrid obtaining a Doctorate degree in Modern Philology in 1986. On Ju ...

Books

* ''Si me preguntáis por el Panafricanismo y la Afrocentricidad'' (2013) * ''La noche inabarcable'' Novel (2019) * ''Africanidad'' (2020)

Academic papers

* ''Mujer africano norteamericana decimonónica: imagen, discurso y actitudes liberadoras''. (2006) * ''The Africanity of Spain Identity and Problematization''. (2007) * ''La esclavitud en el XVI en territorios hispánicos''. (2008 Published in 2010) * ''Autoafirmación y naturalidad en las literaturas africanas clásicas de resistencia de la mano de Edward Said''. (2008) * ''Desarrollismos Despistes y Auto-Realización Africana. En torno a Amartya Sen y M. Molineux''. (2010) * ''La memoria y el reconocimiento de la comunidad africana y africano-descendiente negra en España: El papel de la vanguardia panafricanista''. (2010) * ''El cine de África negra: la mirada moral''.(2010)

References

External links

Si me preguntáis por el panafricanismo y la afrocentricidad 2013, Antumi Toasijé's book

Antumi Toasijé's Website

Interview with Antumi Toasijé in the Spanish National Radio about famine in Somalia

La memoria y el reconocimiento de la comunidad africana y africano-descendiente negra en España: El papel de la vanguardia panafricanista. Academic Paper

Articles in the "Publico" Newspaper

Interview to Antumi Toasijé (Audio)

Interview to Professor Antumi Toasijé: "El componente europeo está presente en todos y cada uno de los conflictos mayores que se han dado en África"

News about African migration in Spain, The Guardian Newspaper of South-Africa

Intervention in a round table in Madrid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toasije, Antumi 1969 births Living people Academics from Bogotá Colombian emigrants to Spain Colombian people of Spanish descent People of Temne descent Spanish activists Spanish pan-Africanists Colombian pan-Africanists University of the Balearic Islands alumni 21st-century Spanish historians Colombian Buddhists Spanish Buddhists Colombian people of African descent

Biography

Books

Academic papers

See also

References

External links