Opinion | Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: A centering of Afro-Latinidad
Marie Nubia-Feliciano, Attallah College of Educational Studies professor
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually in the United States from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. It gives us time as a nation to stop and acknowledge the cultures and contributions of Americans that come from across the hemisphere. It was established as a month-long event in 1988 by then-President Ronald Reagan. During this important commemoration, we acknowledge the independence from colonial rule of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
On Sept. 9 I was invited to be part of a kick-off event commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month at Chapman. The organizers decided to reframe this commemoration to center around the experiences of Afro-Latinxs, or Latinx individuals of African descent. It was in response to the national movements for racial equity, and to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It was refreshing to see this, as the Black community is often ignored or not acknowledged as being part of the Latinx community. Some of us have experienced anti-Blackness among those Latinx who can pass for white. The phrase “mejorar la raza” (improve the race) is a common saying in the Latinx community to discourage our community from marrying or having children with those who are dark-skinned or of African descent. There is racism within the Latinx community, so seeing the Chapman Latinx community fully embrace the Afro-Latinidad of our community was a good sign.
I am one of those who identifies as an Afro-Latina. Born in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and raised in Culebra, Puerto Rico, and then in Carson, California, I have a distinct Puerto Rican identity that frames my lived experiences. But that is my internal world. My external world is experienced as a Black person. The cultural diversity within the Black community in the United States is filled with the richness of Latinx cultures like Panama, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Brazil, Haiti and yes, African Americans. That said, in the mind of the U.S. public, we are all African American, a term often used to mean Black.
The racism experienced by African Americans is often experienced by Latinxs of African descent. We are all Black in the eyes of the U.S. public, and therefore our Afro-Latinidad identity does not protect us from housing or job discrimination. It does not protect us from having to work twice as hard to be seen half as good. It does not protect us from having to “fix” ourselves to be more “presentable” because our very curly hair, rich dark skin or full lips can be interpreted as “unprofessional.” It does not protect us from experiencing substandard and underfunded educational opportunities because we often live within or adjacent to African American communities in the urban cities.
What few people realize is that within the Hispanic heritage is a cultural and racial thread connecting to the African community. According to the Pew Research Center, 24% of Afro-Latinidads identify at least one of their races as Hispanic. Being seen as Black, and not also part of the Latinx community, erases a part of our identity that informs who we are and our connection to our cultural history.
Within the Latinx community, we often do not distinguish racial differences as we tend to have an identity informed by a nation with distinct cultural ideals. It was only in 2015 that Mexico provided a racial category for people of African descent on their census. It is no wonder that so few people know that being Hispanic or Latinx may also mean being Black.
During this important month-long commemoration, Afro-Latinidad needs to be embraced fully for us to truly have a celebration of the Latinx heritage. What the Latinx community at Chapman did by centering Afro-Latinidad is an important first step.