Musician
Artist
Activist
Hi, my name is Isabel.
I have privilege, you may have it too. I consider myself an Afro-Latina; but if you look at me you probably won’t see that. Most people think I’m Indian or Pakistani. I mean I wish I was but my genealogy is a little more complicated. I’m Puertorican, but one of my parents is black and the other is white.
Yes, my dad is blackity black black.
But I got like none of his features. My hair is not curly, I am not that dark, and I look just like my mother.
Which is fine, I love my mother and she is very gorgeous. I feel extremely blessed to have most of her features.
However.
It has made it extremely hard to claim my blackness. And very hard to understand my privilege.
Many of my cousins on my dad’s side are black and have amazing, beautiful coily/curly hair, and have the ability to do many different styles to their hair such as box braids, cornrows, etc. And then there was me, who had to sit and watch them get their hair done for hours while admiring and envying their finished look.
Later on in life, I learned that despite my envy, I had to recognize that I had a lot of privilege.
It is a privilege to know that most people that look at me don’t know that I have a black father. I know that my life would have been completely different if I would have gotten more of my dad’s features. I have seen and heard how my cousins have struggled in their daily lives, especially my female Afro-Latina cousins. Being black is hard, but add being a Latina, and a woman on top of that?
Yikes.
Not only do they have to face racism from white people in the United States, but they also face racism from the Latinx community as well. In fact, most of the racism/colorism that most Afro-Latinos face is from their own community.
Yes. The Latino community.
And yes, I can most definitely say the same.
I do recognize my privilege, but just like many Latinos, I have experienced racism as well.
Yes, Latinos can be very, very racist.
While in today’s American society it is frowned upon to not allow your daughter or son to date or marry someone because of their race, in the Latino community, it is unfortunately very common.
Most Latinos have heard the phrase “Mejorando la raza”
This phrase basically means that the darker you are, you should date/marry someone who is lighter (preferably white) than you so that you can eventually have children that are lighter and therefore look “better” and more “desirable”.
I know that sounds really old school, but this is most definitely still a thing to this day.
We as Latinos, especially ones who immigrate/emigrate to the United States are unfortunately taught that white is more desirable and should be the standard that we all should reach. We see how white people are treated in the US and we desire to be treated the same, so we resort to extreme measures in order to reach that goal. Many of our parents come to this country to seek better opportunities for us, and they want us to do the same so they push this ideology onto us because everyone knows that the lighter you are, the better you will most likely end up.
“We see how white people are treated in the US and we desire to be treated the same, so we resort to extreme measures in order to reach that goal.”
And I know that I am a product of this. Whether it is intentional or not my dad is Afro-Caribbean and my mother is of Spanish descent. So yes, I do fall into that category.
However, this is not to say that if you are a black/brown Latino you should actively not marry someone who is white or light-skinned in fear that you will contribute to that horrendous phrase.
Fear not! Fall in love with whoever you want to. Whatever race. That is not the point of this article.
My point is that “mejorando la raza” is bullshit. Do not fetishize the idea of having lighter skinned children thinking that it’ll benefit the generations to come. While in this twisted world that might be true, you’d be doing it for the wrong reasons.
As for me, I recognize my privilege in that as I write this, I know that I am the biracial child that everyone thinks is desirable. I don’t have “el pelo malo”, I’m skinny, I don’t have an accent, etc. I’ve had many latinos, especially Afro-Latinos come up to me and tell me that they want their children to look like me. Have the lighter brown skin, and no curly hair.
This deeply saddens me.
I used to take it as a compliment, but now that I know where it’s rooted from, I just get overwhelmed with sadness.
So my message to all of my fellow Latinos is this.
- Call out racism when you see it. Also be aware of racism’s niece, colorism. She’s not cute or welcome either.
This means understanding that most telenovelas are not inclusive and perpetuate racism within our community. Just one example.
- Non-black latinos need to uplift black voices. So when you hear and see the phrase “Black Lives Matter” you first thought should not be “But what about us?”
Stop that. Black lives matter period. That phrase is “all lives mattering” the situation and it’s frankly racist.
- Educate yourself on Afro-Latino history. This could be super beneficial in understanding colorism within our community and how to eradicate it from our society.
- Don’t deny Afro-Latinos/Latinas their blackness. You can be black and Hispanic/Latino at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive.
Let’s continue our fight. We’ve come a long way but we have a lot of work to do. It starts with you! Have those tough discussions with your family, acknowledge your privilege, guide others. Any contribution is a step towards a better tomorrow.
The fight continues.
Yours truly,
Isa
damnmaris.com 