Dario Vasquez-Padilla

Dario H. Vásquez-Padilla received his Ph.D. in Sociology with certificates in African Diaspora Studies and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the research coordinator at the Observatory on Racial Discrimination in Colombia. His fields of specialty include the racial state in Latin America, the sociology of race and racism, and historical reparations. In his research, he explores how executive, legislative, and judicial bodies of public power interpret and regulate race, ethnicity, and racism. He also delves into debates about whiteness, anti-racism, and racial justice in the region. 

Beginning January 15, 2025, Dr. Vásquez-Padilla has been appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia where he will carry out teaching, research, extension, and academic-administrative activities.

Publications:

• Chasing racists, protecting racism: revisiting anti-discrimination law in Colombia

• Interrogando la gramática racial de la blanquitud: Hacia una analítica del blanqueamiento en el orden racial colombiano

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• “The Constitution is not ‘Multirracial’ or ‘Plurirracial’”: The Legal Fetichism of Ethnicity and the Ambiguity of Skin Color in the Colombian Constitutional Court.” Paper presented on a virtual panel at the ALARI Second Continental Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies, December 7-9, 2022.

Previous Organizations: 

• Observatory on Racial Discrimination, Colombia

• University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Upcoming Projects:

• “The Constitution is not ‘Multiracial’ or ‘Plurirracial’”: The Legal Fetichism of Ethnicity and the Ambiguity of Skin Color in the Colombian Constitutional Court.”

My work aims to improve our understanding of how racial states operate through different state institutions that reflect and structure the meaning assigned to race, skin color, ethnicity, and racism