Latin-American Archives - The Race Card Project

Not wanting to deny my roots

December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 culture, death, deny, hair, Half, language, Latin-American, Laura, learning, NJ, non-hispanic, privilege, Puerto Rico, racial forms, Red bank, Roots, Spanish

Laura,
Red bank, NJ.

Let me just start by saying that racial forms are the death of me. I keep clicking back and forth between non Hispanic white and Latin American. Here’s the thing. My mom and her family are from Puerto Rico. The language and culture are very important to her but here is the thing- she doesn’t look Puerto Rican or at least stereotypically Puerto Rican. She has brown straight hair, European features and light skin. And then my dad is white. But here I am. I look white. I have white privilege and I’m certainly not going to deny that. I tell people I am half Puerto Rican and they look at me puzzled and say “really I didn’t know that” or that must be where you get your curls from!” (Even though my hair comes from my European side).

I was raised very removed from the culture. I am currently learning Spanish but I was not taught at an early age. I really wish I knew more about Puerto Rican culture but I simply don’t, I think mainly because I was raised in a white community with a white father. But nevertheless being half Puerto Rican is very important to me and my identity. I want to learn more about my Latin roots but I don’t want to be accused of cultural appropriation. So hear I am caught in a limbo between Puerto Rican and white. It makes me so sad that society keeps telling me I can’t be both.

I believe in the hyphen!

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022 All American, Alto, asian-american, believe, colorblind, food, Hispanic male, hyphen, Latin-American, melting pot, MI, origin, Roberto Jara

Roberto Jara,
Alto, MI.

It drives me nuts when people say, “Let’s all be color blind, forget our cultures of origin and just be ‘American,’ instead of ‘Latin-American,’ ‘Asian-American,’ etc. I can be American and preserve by culture of origin! Those of us who come from cultures other than the dominant Northern European Culture, have something to contribute to North America as our country evolves. Life would be boring without Chinese food, Salsa music, etc. I’m proud to be Mexican-American. My suspicious side suspects that when people say, “Let’s just all be American,” that they just want me to forget my culture and be absorbed into their dominant Northern European culture and story. The story needs to grow! My ancestors didn’t come across on the Mayflower, they waded across the river and I am not ashamed. I’m proud of what they have done to make this country better by not being absorbed into a melting pot, but making a wonderful stir-fry of people from all kinds of beautiful cultures living side by side and creating a whole better than the sum of the parts!

I am not who you think

November 11, 2021 black men, elevators, Fredericksburg, Latin-American, not who you think, religion, Stella, together, VA

Stella,
Fredericksburg, VA

White woman here. I grew up in a town that was mostly white with a small percent of Latin Americans. Black people were a rare site—I would see one maybe once a year. We had TV, but I didn’t watch much. I had no experience with black people. I didn’t, and still don’t watch or read a lot of news or participate on social media. When I was thirty, I moved to Virginia where there are black people. Imagine my surprise when I learned first hand of the “angry black woman.” Why was she SO NASTY to me? What had I done? Imagine my consternation when I continually encountered shockingly rude behavior from black women? I once ran for the elevator that had one person in it: a young black man. I called to him to wait for me, and he smiled and held the elevator door open, and the two of us had a pleasant one-story trip together.

Imagine my shock when, a few days later, I read an online comment that said many white women avoid riding elevators alone with black men. How odd! Why would they do that? I’d heard of racism, sure, but never really knew what it looked like except for national news stories that I understood to be outlier events like the beating Rodney King. That every once in a while a white man beat up a black man. I had no context—no knowledge of the endemic casual, as well as more overt, racism in mixed race populations. I had no idea I had lived such an extraordinarily sheltered life. I moved to Virginia because I felt I was lacking a richer world of diversity. I wanted to make friends with peoples of different races, ethnicities, and religions to have a richer life experience. Why have Cheerios every day when you can continually have a variety pack in your cupboard to choose from?

The difference are delicious! They make life enjoyable. I was naïve in thinking I would move to Virginia and become friends with a cornucopia of diverse fellow humans. There isn’t a whole lot of social cross over in race or ethnicity. What I’ve experienced far more of than anything else is being accused of taking part in racism from the mere fact that I am a white woman. A shy white woman who begs the pardon of a street sign for bumping into it. Im so fearful now of black women in general that my default is to quickly cater to them (e.g. let them cut in line, move out of their way, etc.), and I resent that. I haven’t been around any black people to oppress them (not that that is an objective), but I get treated and spoken to in general (online, at work) like I have personally done them wrong. I’ve gotten to the point where I fantasize about ranging a sign around my neck saying “I’m new to racial diversity. I know a lot of people have been awful, but I’m haven’t been nor will I be, so let’s go get cookies and play together.”

Latin America has light-skinned racists too.

April 23, 2018 Australia, Black, British Empire, check the box, diplomat, Hispanic, history, Indian, Latin-American, light skin, lump, Mexico, one box, Patricia Linderman, Racist, rich, spouse, wife

Patricia Linderman,
Mexico.

I’m the spouse of a US diplomat, and we have lived in four Latin American countries for a total of 11 years. We have sometimes seen strong discrimination and heard ugly remarks against people in these societies with darker skin color. It is definitely not just a U.S. and European problem. Besides the fact that the concept of “race” is biologically nonsense, it is misguided to lump Hispanics together as one “race.” There are rich “white” Hispanics and poor “black” and “Indian” Hispanics, and everything in between. They also do not share the same culture, any more than a person from India and someone from Australia do because they both speak English and have historical ties to the British Empire.

I’m a POOR BLACK LATINA FEMALE.

February 12, 2016 4 strikes against me, Anavlis, Black, brown, female, Latin-American, latina, Minority, neglected, nontraditional entity, NY, poor, private university, projects, Syracuse, USA

Anavlis,
Syracuse, NY.

I am a brown woman from Latin-America, meaning I am a black Latina. I also live in the projects, meaning I am also about as a poor as they come (from a private univesity point of view). I was born with a surprising 4 strikes against me, a quadruple minority who is placed at the neglected, almost inexistent end, of the spectrum that encompasses the composition of private university college students. I am a naturalized US Citizen who never fails to be reminded of her nontraditional entity while at SU.

Join the Newsletter

Info

Join our community