Before talking about the discrimination suffered by some minorities, we should have a general idea about when a group of people is considered a minority. According to Richard T. Schaefer (1993), a minority group is  a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their lives than members of a dominant or majority group.
There are also some common characteristics between the minorities, some of them are:

-Distinguishing physical or cultural traits, skin color or language.
-Unequal treatment and less power over their lives.
-Awareness of subordination and strong sense of group solidarity.

Keeping in mind this definition and these characteristics, we can easily classify the afro-Colombian people as a minority, and is a perfect example of how these kind of groups are discriminated against by the dominant culture.
Afro-Colombians refers to Colombians of African ancestry who are mostly concentrated in coastal areas. The main differences between them and the dominant culture are: skin color, artistic representations, ancestors, history and  food.
The racism is the main cause of discrimination of these people, it causes a lot of problems to this group. The idea of slavery seems to still being present in the mind of many people, and that causes outrages and prejudices in the society. Actually, the 90% of afro-Colombians live in misery, exclusion, discrimination and segregation.

The entire society needs to understand that all the human beings are equal, despite of their ancestors, skin color or beliefs; the afro-Colombians should be treated just like others, they should have the same possibilities of having a good education and then a good job, they shouldn't be prejudiced by others; they, as well as their culture, must be respected just as they are, they should receive tools in order to overcome the poverty.

We must always remember that they have given a huge contribution to our culture, specifically our artistic representations, so we should be full of gratitude with them. Apart from that, they facilitate an enrichment of our diversity.


http://academic.udayton.edu/race/01race/minor01.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Colombian
http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/sociologia/estudiosafro/estudiosafro5.htm