Why are Dominican Americans mostly ignored in U.S.

[michellec]

I think you STILL miss the point. No one said Dominicans are not Hispanic.

*yes they did and this is what I was responding to specifically.here's the quote*

intresting that you say that with such pride(sarcaism) noting that i am blk and live in the staes and i have many latin freinds from cuba to pr and all of them do not percieved dominicans as hispanics and you can contiued to say that but in america the dominican culture is ignored and not really a big deal such as cuban or pr which you also here of

(emphasis supplied)

However, Hispanic, Latino or Dominican IS NOT a Race, Babycakes! If you were to say that your Black or of Mixed-race,etc. then that would be more specific.

*If you read my whole post I think I made the distinction pretty clear on the first 2 sentences or so: "The term "hispanic" encompassed anyone who's from a "spanish" speaking country regardless of ethnic background. Whether you are black or white if you are from one of these countries you are "hispanic".
You will find this EXACT sentence in my post. I should have made it clearer that I don't believe 'hispanic' is a race. But I assumed that could be understood by the above statement.

Furthermore, African-Americans traditionally have NOT Invented the labels that are thrown upon people of color, when they come to the U.S. from other places in the world. Usually they have been "thrown" in or Categorized as Black people. And if someone sees a 1000 people of color who look like and they Identify a "black" then naturally, you will be consider Black in there mind at first contact.

*I never said that african-americans traditionally did this. I was responding to creoleboy20's post specifically. Every black person I've met, whether from the south or not, understands the difference between a black-looking hispanic and an african-american. So I couldn't understand why creoleboy20 wanted to insinuate that dominicans are not really hispanic but something else by his comment that not even Puertoricans or Cubans consider us hispanics, which is just not true.*
Michelle

 

[creoleboy20]

*yes they did and this is what I was responding to specifically.here's the quote*


(emphasis supplied)


*If you read my whole post I think I made the distinction pretty clear on the first 2 sentences or so: "The term "hispanic" encompassed anyone who's from a "spanish" speaking country regardless of ethnic background. Whether you are black or white if you are from one of these countries you are "hispanic".
You will find this EXACT sentence in my post. I should have made it clearer that I don't believe 'hispanic' is a race. But I assumed that could be understood by the above statement.


*I never said that african-americans traditionally did this. I was responding to creoleboy20's post specifically. Every black person I've met, whether from the south or not, understands the difference between a black-looking hispanic and an african-american. So I couldn't understand why creoleboy20 wanted to insinuate that dominicans are not really hispanic but something else by his comment that not even Puertoricans or Cubans consider us hispanics, which is just not true.*
Michelle

you need to re-read my post ,i said i have latin freinds who dont percieved dominicans to be hispanic did i say that and you say you have african american freinds who notice and see the diff between a blk dominican and a blk african american well sweetie trust me that very few how many ppl actually knew alfonso rebierbo was dominican i watched that show since i was young just found out this week or how fab is dominican which doesnt matter to me its like soon as most of you see some1 famous who has dominican culture you get all excited and say o he dominican o she dominican bet if they were bums who made controversial news or somthing youd be like he cant be dominican

 

[michellec]

I agree with you...

as far as alfonso ribeiro (sp?) and fabulous are concerned. I myself had no idea that they were Dominican descent. So I personally don't take any particular pride on whether they are Dominican or not. But I wouldn't make my assumptions about Dominicans based on just them two. Just like I wouldn't make my assumptions about vietnamese based on my husband and his sister. They are Vietnamese descent, yet they don't represent Vietnamese people (and they themselves would tell you so).And no, this has nothing to do with the whole "dominican-ness" issue that seems to come up almost every time in this forum. So please don't try to take my comments that way. I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

...very few how many ppl actually knew alfonso rebierbo was dominican i watched that show since i was young just found out this week or how fab is dominican which doesnt matter to me its like soon as most of you see some1 famous who has dominican culture you get all excited and say o he dominican o she dominican bet if they were bums who made controversial news or somthing youd be like he cant be dominican

 

[asopao]

you need to re-read my post ,i said i have latin freinds who dont percieved dominicans to be hispanic did i say that and you say you have african american freinds who notice and see the diff between a blk dominican and a blk african american well sweetie trust me that very few how many ppl actually knew alfonso rebierbo was dominican i watched that show since i was young just found out this week or how fab is dominican which doesnt matter to me its like soon as most of you see some1 famous who has dominican culture you get all excited and say o he dominican o she dominican bet if they were bums who made controversial news or somthing youd be like he cant be dominican

Your "latin friends" that say that are a bunch of idiots and morons and I recommend you don't associate with them becausae they clearly have racist attitudes. Sounding to me like some Mexican mestizos saying " There are no Blacks in Mexico !" and " there is nothing wrong with the Memin Pinguin stamps". So go and tell them that " la india Maria" is Hispanic and Amelia Vega or Juan Luis Guerra aren't, because they're " Dominicans", because we all know that ALL Dominicans are Blacks. and that Blackness can't never combine with " Hispanism".

I've been to the Navaho reservation, some 80% of them look like your average Mexican you see getting exploited. As a matter of fact, Aztecs descended from them, yet they are not considered " Hispanics", just " Native Americans". So I guess I wouldn't call these low height, brown skin Mexicans " Hispanics" because, hey ! they just look like those Navahos the same as Black Dominicans like Alfonso Ribeiro looks like African Americans, so yep ! I wouldn't consider them Hispanics either :glasses:

 

[Paulita]

Dominicans Are A Foreign Black Group

Except for just baseball, I never see Dominicans in American movies, music or television, and there has been Dominicans in America for a long time.

Mexicans, Cubans and Boricuas get more attention, I'm half Dominican and I know almost nothing about my roots.

Many Americans are ignorant about Dominicans, In the south where I live, people think Dominicans are a foreign black group. They're invisible in most America mainstream.

THEY ARE A FOREIGN BLACK GROUP THAT HAPPENS TO SPEAK SPANISH. THEY ARE IGNORED, IN MY OPINION, BECASUE OF THIER LIKELIHOOD OF BEING DARKSKINNED. WHEN AN AMERICAN SEES A DOMINICAN IN PUBLIC A LOT OT THE TIME THEY ARE MISTAKEN TO BE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN. IF IT WAS MORE COMMON TO SEE LIGHTER DOMINICANS THAN THE DARKER ONES, LIKE THE BORICUAS, THEY WOULD BE KNOWN EVERYWHERE. THE CUBANS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ADMIT IT'S NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE DOMINICANS BUT THEY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM.
BY THE WAY DID YOU KNOW THAT MAXI SPARKS IS DOMINICAN. HIS REAL NAME IS MIGUEL MU?OS. AND CARLTON ON WILL SMITH IS FROM DR. HIS NAME IS ALFONOS RIBEIRO.

 

[creoleboy20]

THEY ARE A FOREIGN BLACK GROUP THAT HAPPENS TO SPEAK SPANISH. THEY ARE IGNORED, IN MY OPINION, BECASUE OF THIER LIKELIHOOD OF BEING DARKSKINNED. WHEN AN AMERICAN SEES A DOMINICAN IN PUBLIC A LOT OT THE TIME THEY ARE MISTAKEN TO BE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN. IF IT WAS MORE COMMON TO SEE LIGHTER DOMINICANS THAN THE DARKER ONES, LIKE THE BORICUAS, THEY WOULD BE KNOWN EVERYWHERE. THE CUBANS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ADMIT IT'S NOT AS SERIOUS AS THE DOMINICANS BUT THEY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM.
BY THE WAY DID YOU KNOW THAT MAXI SPARKS IS DOMINICAN. HIS REAL NAME IS MIGUEL MU?OS. AND CARLTON ON WILL SMITH IS FROM DR. HIS NAME IS ALFONOS RIBEIRO.

we mention that carlton aka alfonso thing like twice already

 

[Zorian1]

a thought from one who is not Dominican and Black

Even though I partially agree to what Deelt said, I also agree on what you said.

Being Dominican is not just biological. The adquisition of Dominican knowledge is just as important, if not more important than anything else. What I mean by Dominican knowledge is knowing why we as Dominicans are the way we are, what our history is, why our country is how it is, how can we change for the better, what it means to be Dominicans besides dancing Merengue, etc.

There are some people who are not biologically Dominican, but know more about the DR, its people, etc that they might as well be considered Dominican.

Then comes the question of shame for being Dominican. Someone pointed out here that some of these Dominicans that are in entertainment, television, etc don't point to their roots because of shame due to the DR's situation.

I find that to be due to their ignorance of the DR. How can anyone be ashamed of a country that made it possible (one way or another) for his/her ancestors to live and meet each other and mate up until the time came for his or her own existence to come into reality? How can someone feel shame of a country that explains why you are the way you are? How can someone feel shame when we are constantly reminded of the importance our land had in time past?

How can anyone take shame of a country that is among the most beautiful in the world?

I guess the biggest question is how can anyone take shame of the DR, when there are non-Dominicans (like Julio Iglesias, King Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, and many genuine foreign expats among others) who love this country as if it was their own?

It's just an inconceivable idea to me. Maybe people are very opinionated when it comes to feeling shame of being Dominican. There are things that could be better with the DR, but this country is not in such shape as to be hated or denied of one's own roots.

The sad thing is that whether they want to or not, the existence of the Dominican Republic is a big reason why they are alive today. If the DR never would have come into existence, the proper conditions that lead to the many meetings and matings that eventually lead to the birth of every single Dominican or partial Dominican person today would never had taken place. That means that if it wasn't for Juan Pablo Duarte's bravery of establishing this country, many of us probably would never had come to enjoy the lives that we have encountered.

The DR deserves to be at the very least aknowledge as part of one's existence, even if you are of Dominican decent and was born in Finland and don't know nothing about the DR or can't speak Spanish. That is my opinion on this.

I was going to read this entire thread before making a comment... But I have to jump in right here. Being Black in todays world has so much negative attachments that any one who is black (even small kids) know that its the ultimate test. The reference is so strong it shows up (where) even on a board of post in dr1.com. I find it amazing... that people in the USA can even shape there mouths to utter the phase "thirdworld" places like Brazil, Dominican Republic, and other beautiful and so called thirdworld countries have something the the USA will never understand nor figure out. So when all is said and done , imho... the USA is really the thirdworld.

 

[LadiiCalii]

Aiight, I keep reading all of this confusion back and forth about "black looking hispanics" and african americans. Realize that aside from US government designations, there is no real difference. Think about it. African Americans as a designation includes Black Americans (the ones who are ethnically black american, have been here through slavery), Jamaicans, Haitians, Nigerians, Liberians, Ghanans, Sudanese, South Africans, Bajans, Trinis, people from Suriname, St. Croix, Bahamas, Ivory Coast.... all of these different place, with nothing in common but skin color, and those of us in the diaspora have slavery in common. Hell, the slaves moved amongst the islands and the mainlands, so due to where a slave trader sold a black person, determined who they became generations later. "Black looking Hispanics" you might as well say are black hispanics.... which is not even a real ethnicity. It is a language group. Many people classified as hispanics/latinos were part of different ethnic groups when they were in Latin America... only when they moved here did some conveniently forget, and that is what the government wants you to do, because for the most part even if Latinos forget race, skin color can still be a bitch for people... hair texture still will gain discrimination. The only difference between black looking hispanics and african americans is that african americans speak many different languages, and are many different ethnicities... and black looking hispanics speak spanish (though are mostly of different ethnicities).
In Latin America, there are West Indians (people who used to live in Jamaica or other non-Spaniard owned islands), Garifuna, African and Native American mixes, African and European mixes, triracial mixes, pure Africans, African immigrants.... all who look/are black.... many whose mix isn't very Spanish (Jews, Nazi runaways, Italians, Germans, etc all have been all over Latin America) but they speak spanish. It isn't the end of the world to be black, just a reality of life. Black knows no language or country. Damn. It doesn't take away from who you are as a person.

And Fabolous... is not straight Dominican. One of his parents is American. And he is undisputably black, more than likely on both sides judging from his complexion. A "black looking hispanic" + an african american does not make a racially mixed person (like some people like to think- before I even see it typed), though he is multicultural (although from what I read, his Dominican parent didn't have much to do with his upbringing... but that could only be from the various sources I found). Seems he was basically raised American.

 

[T.O.N.Y]

I love when Hispanics can't tell the difference between social race, ethnicity, and nationality...

You gotta also love it how Americans try to apply their concept of social race to other societies. Afterall last time I saw this was DR1, not USA1, if anything the concept of social races varies from society to society, don't believe me? take a trip to Brazil or better yet to the D.R

 

[Robert]

All very interesting.

Closed.