I. Individual Activity
Pick and discuss One of the seven reflections by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (Pages 447-8). Do you agree with his arguments? Do you disagree? What ideas would you add?
1. For those new to the United States racial boat, be prepared. In the “mean streets” of US America, you are not likely to be recognized as a “Latin@.” Instead, you are more likely to be viewed and treated as a negr@ (a Black person). This will have monumental implications for your life, and you had better learn this lesson quickly.
2. Afro-Latin@s must resist the temptation to participate in the game of racial innocence that their families play. That is, we must learn our histories and not repeat the nonsense we hear in our communities, such as the idea that racism is just a United States problem and that we do not have racial problems “back home.”
3. We must understand that our Latin@ communities are also internally fractured by race and that, therefore, the “enemy” for us here is not just White gringos. Watch out for friends and families telling you about the “morenos” or the “molletos” (two terms Latin@s use to refer to African Americans). Today they talk about them, but tomorrow they will talk about you. And the lessons about plural orders and the experiences I’ve narrated about my life in Puerto Rico may happen to you here with Latin@s, so watch out for blanquit@s in your communities.
4. Although I believe that Afro-Latin@s must develop solidarity with African Americans, I also know that African Americans can treat us as “lesser” Blacks. Thus, we must also work hard to educate Black folks here. We must let them know that we, Blacks from the Americas, have a longer presence and history in the “New World.” We must also remind them that “Blackness” is a construction and, as such, many of the folks they count as Black came from the Caribbean and Latin America. And this historical trend will continue, so it is in their best interest to be more pluralistic and understanding of us, Afro-Latin@s. Coalition politics go both ways!
5. Afro-Latin@s will notice that Whites treat some Latin@s better than them. They may also notice that some Latin@s are liked by Whites and that many Whites mingle with Latin@s of a certain look (those who look White). They will further notice how these Latin@s are more likely to experience success and occupational mobility (how many Afro-Latin@ professors do we have in colleges and universities?). And some Afro-Latin@s will wonder and ponder. I say, wonder, and ponder no more. Latin@s come in all shades and the lighter Latin@s, much like light-skinned African Americans, are more likely to be liked by White folks.
6. Latin@s in power in the political, social, cultural, and economic fields are likely to be the light-skinned ones. Afro-Latin@s must begin the struggle to get admitted to colleges, to be represented in Tv (Univision, for example, seems to believe all Latin@s are light-skinned), to assure that the few affirmative-action-inspired jobs and positions for Latin@s also go to them and not only to the usual suspects (White Latin@s). This strategy will be called “divisive” by some, but we must stand strong and firm. The demand for full representation of all Latin@s cannot be sacrificed at the altar of “unity.”
7. Those who, like me, have a Latin@ “accent” will experience the double whammy of racial and ethnic discrimination.
II. Group Reflection
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva proposes that soon the racial landscape and racial practices in the United States will change and those changes will have important implications for Afro- Latin@s. The traditional bi-racial order of the country (White versus non- White) is slowly morphing into a Latin America–like order.
What do you see as the future of Afro-Latines? How Afro-Latines can achieve racial justice?
Closing with Music
Ibeyi is a French-Cuban musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish, and Yoruba. In Yoruba, Ibeyi means “twins.”
Ibeyi- “Away, Away”
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
Time is running
Though I’m young
Through my window I see the day falling
Will the promise be held?
For at dawn I see the unfolding
I don’t give up
I don’t give up, baby
I feel the pain, feel the pain
But I’m alive, I’m alive
Why should I be racing?
Why should I be racing?
My fate of flames, my fate of flames
Why should I be racing?
Should I be racing?
My fate of flames, my fate of flames
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
Aina wayeke, aina wayeke (the female spirit)
Aina wayeke, aina wayeke
Ogoroiña agayu chola, aina wayeke (guide us)
Aina wayeke, aina wayeke
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
Away, away, ay-ay-ay, ay, ay-ay-ay
