Mayra Velez
Buffalo, NY

Picture of us, a Belarussian and Puerto Rican, soon-to-be-married, couple. When we started dating, every time I said he is belarussian to my friends and family, I heard the “oh improving the race amiga”. I think is our colonial mind, in which status in society was determined not by wealth but by skin color. Marrying an european (or anybody of whiter skin) meant improving our status and family lineage (See “Regla del Sacar “or “Gracias al Sacar”as opposite to the “one- drop-rule”. ). Sometimes I wonder, is it possible that we are racist against ourselves? Can it be that the Spanish colonial social-structures are still deeply engrained in our minds, even if we want to deny it? We complain racism we face in USA, but we forget the racial dynamics we face in own countries.

Mayra Velez
Buffalo, NY

Picture of us, a Belarussian and Puerto Rican, soon-to-be-married, couple. When we started dating, every time I said he is belarussian to my friends and family, I heard the “oh improving the race amiga”. I think is our colonial mind, in which status in society was determined not by wealth but by skin color. Marrying an european (or anybody of whiter skin) meant improving our status and family lineage (See “Regla del Sacar “or “Gracias al Sacar”as opposite to the “one- drop-rule”. ). Sometimes I wonder, is it possible that we are racist against ourselves? Can it be that the Spanish colonial social-structures are still deeply engrained in our minds, even if we want to deny it? We complain racism we face in USA, but we forget the racial dynamics we face in own countries.