Black candidate challenges political status quo in Spain

A Senegalese-born man running for a seat in Madrid's regional assembly this week wants to defy a history of underrepresentation of the Black community and other people of color in Spanish politics

MADRID -- Two young Senegalese men met on a Europe-bound migrant boat in 2006, a year that saw a record influx of Africans to Spain's Canary Islands. Since then, one died of a heart attack running away from Spanish police and the other is running in a polarized election Tuesday for a seat in Madrid's regional assembly. Serigne Mbaye not only wants to fight what he considers to be “structural racism” against African migrants but also to defy a history of underrepresentation of the Black community and other people of color in Spanish politics. “That’s where all discrimination begins,” the 45-year-old told The Associated Press.