I wrote a blog a while back somewhere else, and just joined this site. I figured I'd posted here for all to read and comment. All opinions are welcomed!
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I feel that when people choose to be ignorant and call Dominicans "black" they are insulting us and trying to strip us of our heritage. This is not about racism, I love my black Dominican brothers as much as my white Dominican brothers, and I would feel the same way if people were to call Dominicans "white". it's hard for the ignorant to understand that Dominicans come from a mixture of European, Taino and African heritage. Some Dominicans come from mostly European heritage, like Oscar De La Renta, some mostly from African heritage like Sammy Sosa, and most a mixture of it all like Alex Rodriguez. This is why we are so beautiful and diverse. DO NOT deny my history by categorizing us, because that is one thing you can't do.
What I find even more interesting is that calling Dominicans "black" because most have African heritage is INHERENTLY A RACIST COMMENT because even more have European heritage, so why are we called one thing and the other is ignored? Because ONE IS CONSIDERED PURE AND THE OTHER IS CONSIDERED TO RUIN THE PURENESS. No one realizes this, so let me explain. 11% of the population in DR comes mostly from Africans, 16% comes mostly from European, and 73% are a mixture of it all. Now add the numbers; most of the ignorance through books and media will always say and highlight the fact that "Over 80%" of Dominicans come from African ancestry...which is true... YET, THEY WILL NEVER EVER SAY "Close to 90% of Dominicans come from European ancestry" even though it is also true! Why is this? Because if you have ONE DROP of African heritage, you are considered "unpure" and thus "black"...you CANNOT be white, since white is seen as the "pure" race, get it? So by saying that most Dominicans come from African heritage and ignoring the fact that in actuality MORE COME FROM EUROPEAN HERITAGE they are implying that Dominicans, even the whitest ones, cannot be anything BUT BLACK because they are "tainted" with even the smallest African ancestry. A Dominican family who is thrown into the 73% mixed category, can consist of 2% Taino Origins, 5% African Origins and 93% of European origins and still be considered BLACK! Most Dominicans would agree with this. If you are Dominican and know your people, you will notice that most Dominicans are not BLACK...and alot actually have more European features than not.
Realize this whole post is NOT against black ancestry, it is defending the black "race" because the black "race", through this mental mechanism, is being ****ed on and seen as garbage!
Langston Hughes wrote, "You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown."
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I feel that when people choose to be ignorant and call Dominicans "black" they are insulting us and trying to strip us of our heritage. This is not about racism, I love my black Dominican brothers as much as my white Dominican brothers, and I would feel the same way if people were to call Dominicans "white". it's hard for the ignorant to understand that Dominicans come from a mixture of European, Taino and African heritage. Some Dominicans come from mostly European heritage, like Oscar De La Renta, some mostly from African heritage like Sammy Sosa, and most a mixture of it all like Alex Rodriguez. This is why we are so beautiful and diverse. DO NOT deny my history by categorizing us, because that is one thing you can't do.
What I find even more interesting is that calling Dominicans "black" because most have African heritage is INHERENTLY A RACIST COMMENT because even more have European heritage, so why are we called one thing and the other is ignored? Because ONE IS CONSIDERED PURE AND THE OTHER IS CONSIDERED TO RUIN THE PURENESS. No one realizes this, so let me explain. 11% of the population in DR comes mostly from Africans, 16% comes mostly from European, and 73% are a mixture of it all. Now add the numbers; most of the ignorance through books and media will always say and highlight the fact that "Over 80%" of Dominicans come from African ancestry...which is true... YET, THEY WILL NEVER EVER SAY "Close to 90% of Dominicans come from European ancestry" even though it is also true! Why is this? Because if you have ONE DROP of African heritage, you are considered "unpure" and thus "black"...you CANNOT be white, since white is seen as the "pure" race, get it? So by saying that most Dominicans come from African heritage and ignoring the fact that in actuality MORE COME FROM EUROPEAN HERITAGE they are implying that Dominicans, even the whitest ones, cannot be anything BUT BLACK because they are "tainted" with even the smallest African ancestry. A Dominican family who is thrown into the 73% mixed category, can consist of 2% Taino Origins, 5% African Origins and 93% of European origins and still be considered BLACK! Most Dominicans would agree with this. If you are Dominican and know your people, you will notice that most Dominicans are not BLACK...and alot actually have more European features than not.
Realize this whole post is NOT against black ancestry, it is defending the black "race" because the black "race", through this mental mechanism, is being ****ed on and seen as garbage!
Langston Hughes wrote, "You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown."
