Identity of Latinos

[Hillbilly]

I think that this thread is wandering far afield of the

Intended line. This is a Dominican Republic website. Let's get back to the DR, or else

HB

 

[carl ericson70]

I also knew someone who was born in PR but had both parents from DR, yet when you asked them what they were they only said Puerto Rican.

Also, is a person with African blood from the DR, Panama, Columbia, etc. African-American? If not, do they only consider the US to be America? And if they say no because they are mixed with other races, then what should we call African-Americans in the US who have other races in their family trees? Most "black" people in the states have some Caucasian or Native-American in them, so I was curious about the rationale behind everyones racial nomenclature. Just wanted to throw that out there for discussion.

Interesting question! Based on the research that I've done on race in america, I'd say you're correct in your assesment that most african americans have caucasian and or native ancestry. Most experts believe that the average african american is approx 25% caucasian and/or native american. Of course, higher in some.

If one were to get really technical about it, african americans are not a seperate racial entity, but an amalagan of several different races and numerous ethnicities(european, african and indian). To answer your question about why this tri-racial heritage isn't touted much, if at all: I'd say it's primarily because of the one-drop-rule and the centuries long tradition in american society, whereby anyone with a trace of african blood, should be deemed black. Mulattos have always been affiliated with and more accepted in the african american community. The one drop-rule's original purpose wasn't to uphold"black unity", but to preserve "white racial purity."

From what I gather from numerous interviews that I have had with african americans on this subject, they indeed are aware of their non-black heritage, but prefer not to discuss these things with outsiders. Interestingly enough, most feel a hell of alot more comfortable discussing their native heritage as apposed to caucasian heritage, because the later carries some stigma and associations with slavery and historical subjugation etc..

Outside of haiti, most blacks in the americas are also racially mixed. How they self-identify, depends upon their nationality and socialization throughout the generations.

 

[Teddy_Ruxpin]

You have to compare how race has been viewed in the U.S.A's history and in the rest of Latin Americas history.The U.S.A has be far more concerned on race than latin america.They dont have Ku Klux Klans in Latin America,they never had Jim Crow laws, they never needed civil rights movements(some places might needed it),you see what im getting at ,notice that the U.S.A has always had a segregated society amongst races till a point where racial mixing wasnt accepted until recently,where as in Latin America its been the basis of most of the populations(most people are mixed) for centurys now.

Well actually we should compare the present situations. I think a lot of Latin America's history is just as harsh as the U.S.'s, The Haitian Massacre for example, but let's not go into all of that.

Latin America might as well have Jim Crow Laws because Afro-Latinos don't have access to many of the things that white or Mestizo Latinos do. Television for example, how many blacks do you see on Spanish television? Lots of the shows still condone Black Face actors which is very offensive. Or how many blacks do you see in the government or high profiled jobs? Latin America is segregated it's just not segregated officially. A lot of the racial barriers that have been broken in the U.S. have yet to be broken in Latin America.

And while the KKK doesn't have an impact on the daily lives of blacks, Latin America's Death Squads kill blacks on a daily basis so I would be more afraid of them. And these are trained killers(retired policemen) mind you, hired to hunt down the poor, the thieves, and they say that in most cases being poor and black are synonomous.

"The government agrees here too: according to the paper handed to the UN, the victims of death squads are almost without exception poor, black men, between 15 and 24 years old, accused of petty crime."

Latin America's racism is just less...publicized. Romulo Hernandez said that is one of the differences between U.S. racism and Latin America's racism. Like the Rodney King beating, the fact that everyone knows about it proves that it was actually taken seriously, but had it been in Latin America it would probbaly wouldn't have reached the media. In fact, almost all non-white American racism is never publicized. Like the lynching of Virgil Henry III in Hawaiian Gardens. He was pummeled to death with baseball bats by Latinos of all ages, men and women, while on his way to visit his mother. Police say his brains were literally oozing on the pavement and that it was one of the worst hate crimes ever. But it hardly even reached the ears of any black Americans or Americans period. Romulo said that another difference is that we have laws that protect us. I was watching BET a few weeks ago and they were trying to see how many jewelry stores in New York are racist and they found one that was. They sent a black guy to the jewelry store and they told him that they had a customer already and that you have to make appointments. So then they sent a white guy to the store and they let him in immediately and showed him their best jewelry. And so racial profiling was proven and the store owner was hit with a big law suit. How many Afro-Latinos get this type of justice?

Also, lot's of Latin America's elite are just as racist as white supremacists. 'Blacks are closer to apes than civilized man...all that is done in favor of the inferior races is anti-scientific'-Jose Ingenieros-most influential of Latin America's social scientists. Laureno Gomez, one of Colombias former presidents said that blacks are the plague of Latin America and that in countries where they have disappeared, such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, it has been possible to establish a stable economic basis. But yet, people know more about Rush Limbaughs comment about black football players....

Now lets look at it economically

"An estimated 150 million Latin Americans, close to a 30 percent of the total population in the region, are of African descent. But they are 40 percent of the poor, states the report quoting an IDB study. In Brazil and Colombia, the countries with the largest Black populations in South America, they are among the poorest, least educated, and lowest paid citizens. In Brazil, 52 percent of them live in houses with no adequate sanitation, while only 28 percent of Whites lives under the same conditions. In Colombia, 80 percent of the Black population live in conditions of extreme poverty."

Afro-Latinos are beginning to speak up

"We are invisible. In a way, we black people are right where we were 130 years ago, because there are no black people in high society. However, you can see many black faces in the housing projects, in prison, and in the unemployment line," said Ebenecer Lopez Ruyo, president of the Puerto Rican Council Against Racism.

Ana Irma Rivera Lassen, of the Marching Feminists Group in March, said few people acknowledge their black heritage because they think it would limit their social mobility and access to higher spheres of power.'

There are lots of Latinos who partake in violent racism against their counterparts. But I think most of them have indifference. They don't hate or love blacks, they just don't see them at all. In the long run that does more damage than outright dislike because it can't be addressed. I think its usually Latinos in the U.S. who refrain from going by race. Most of them do this out of not knowing that their nationality is not a race, or either because they know that in the U.S. Latinos have to stick together. I think Latinos are more unified in the U.S. because they're in a foreign place so some of them put their prejudices aside. In the U.S. prejudices affect Latinos of all races, even the white Latinos and that brings Latinos together. But it seems that white Latinos don't care about the racism that affects Afro-Latinos in Latin America because it doesn't affect them. It's like...only when it affects them do they want to say 'Latino Unity'. It's really true what they say, walking in someone else's shoes changes you.

 

[Pana]

Teddy great post!!!

Your post was excellent Teddy, and I agree with you 100%.

 

[Teddy_Ruxpin]

Your post was excellent Teddy, and I agree with you 100%.

Thanks Ronald, I consider myself a spokesman for the underdogs. Believe it or not, there was a time when I didn't know that Afro-Latinos exist. I never saw them on television, or anywhere for that matter. The Afro-Latino who has thrived in Latin America before there was such as an African American, remains in the shadows. So I try to do what I can, I try to educate young people like myself about the Diaspora and what not. People say I make good arguments so I'm thinking about becoming an activist.

 

[Hillbilly]

It seems that you gentlemen have not read what I said.

Please read the New York Times on this very subject.

THREAD CLOSED

HB