The Afro Turk Community

A very interesting article about the Afro Turk community in Turkey published on ibw21.org. The article written by Alev Scott was originally published on BBC.com. IBW21 (The Institute of the Black World 21st Century) is committed to building the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. to work for the social, political, economic and cultural upliftment, the development of the global Black community and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people.

Although some estimates put the number of Afro Turks as high as 100,000. (Credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy)

According to the article there are approximately 100,000 Afro Turks in Turkey but the community remains relatively unknown, especially outside of the Aegean area. They were originally brought to Turkey as slave families and sent to work on the cotton fields near the port of old Smyrna (modern day Izmir) in the 18th Century.

In the villages, Afro Turks are generally accepted as part of the community (Credit: Bradley Secker)

Hatice and her son Esat in the courtyard of their home (Credit: Bradley Secker)

To read the story click here.

All images originally appeared on https://ibw21.org/editors-choice/afro-turks-lost-language-turkeys-african-descendant-population/ and credited appropriately.