Hi Meltingpot Readers,
No time to write, but I stumbled upon this interview on NPR about a Dominican teen who finally realized that she was Black after she stopped straightening her hair. Basically she realized that being Black and being Latina were not mutually exclusive. Score one for the Afro-Latinas!
Enjoy!
Comments
7 responses to “A Latina Teen “Comes Out” as Black”
Thanks for the link. This is the first I have heard of the Afro-Bolivians. I have heard of many other Afro -Latino cultures.
On a seperate note, but related to the hair discussion, I finished “Americanah” and I am now reading “Purple Hibiscus”. The hair theme is present, but I think the target audiences are quite different.
Cyretha,
What did you think of Americanah?
Most of the same food not all. Ijs
So annoyed
The dominican and haitian hate is too much to bear. I mean ive had guys darker and more african then me say they arent black bc they are domincian. My hair is almost bone straight but 40% of the ppl in my fam are blue black color so what is the deal with the hateration with domincians and africans if im clearly black and look half white what in the world do you think you are. I dont eat mofongo Much segregation when they eat the same food as nigerians. Give me a break
A,
I hear your frustration. It is all so ridiculous based on years of historical racism.
Again, I’m surprised (although I shouldn’t be) about how it all comes down to hair. I know I’ve written it before, but after after being in Colombia and hearing how children with lighter color skin than my daughter’s were classified as black due to hair texture, I’ve been obsessed with this topic! Since then I’ve learned about the South African Pencil test, etc.
Wendy,
It doesn’t matter how much you know because this topic is just so unbelievable. It’s always shocking.