According
to an article in Latina “The
frustrating ironies of being Afro-Latina hit Yuly Marshall with stunning
regularity: At work at a Miami hospital, Hispanic patients of the Cuban-born
radiology technician usually assume she’s African American, asking her, ‘Where
did you learn to speak Spanish like that?’ and expressing shock—even skepticism—that
she’s really Latina. Other times, fellow Latinos will disparage African
Americans in front of her with phrases like, ‘What can you expect from Negros?’
and then turn around and tell her, as if paying her a compliment, ‘But you’re
not like that. You’re one of us.’” Ms. Marshall’s own friends would completely
disregard her Black heritage while speaking to her as if she were only Latino.
It’s not right for someone else to determine your culture when you are clearly
one of both. The fact that they assumed calling her different and “one of us”
was a compliment is disrespectful to her African American side and therefore disrespectful
to her. On top of that when she speaks Spanish she is looked at by some as a
strange entity. This is because, in the minds of some people, someone who looks
black like her shouldn’t be speaking Spanish so fluently. Perhaps is this
society learned to accept and learn about Afro-Latinos as a race of their own,
these types of discrimination wouldn’t happen. This type of ignorance happens even with celebrities. The video bellow is an interview of Afro-Latino celebrities who went through the same misunderstanding with people who wouldn't accept them as both Black and Latino
I agree with your comments in the blog. It is completely unfair to recognize one heritage and disregard the other. Too many people in the world are concerned with being one race or ethnicity when in reality neither of the two really matter.
ReplyDeleteYou chose a very good situation to explain the hardships of an Afro-Latino, especially one who looks like they are of a majority African American descent. It is unbelievable the things people can say to one another about another race, as if it is acceptable. I agree with you when you say "in the minds of some people, someone who looks black like her shouldn’t be speaking Spanish so fluently". This is because of the way we are raised, to believe that someone can only be of one race. I believe that, if put into effect immediately, the next generation can be more understanding of the multiracial people who live in our world.
ReplyDeleteI actually read the article you are writing about. It was not apparent to me how excluding African Americans could also be until the article opened my eyes about the issue. I personally think it is even harder for celebrities, who have to be what the fans want them to be. I had always expected Christina Milian to be mixed with some kind of Latin Ancestry, but I had not finalized my thoughts because the music industry made me believe that she was simple African American, failing to expose her true dual identity.
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