Afro-Latinos face many challenges when it comes identity, particularly when people refuse to believe that being Black AND Latino aren’t mutually exclusive experiences.
The Latino identity denotes an ethnicity, which means that Latinos exist in every color and race imaginable – and explaining the difference between race and ethnicity can be quite a cumbersome task to take on on a daily basis. And yet, many Afro-Latinos are often forced to do so after being told they’re not “Latino enough” or being asked to choose between being Black and Latino.
Afro-latin@s struggle with being ignored by the media because for some reason people don’t believe you can be both Latino and Black. This is why there’s so much controversy when it comes to race and ethnicity. People try to paint Latin@s as this light brown or even white skinned when there are many dark skinned Latin@s. They are in all parts of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, & in North America (Mexico). Unfortunately, these folks aren’t represented in the media much and we have portrayed Latin@s in a certain way that has shaped the thoughts of others when they hear that word.
^ Say that. There’s the blatant erasure by the media, as well as the fellow Latinxs who shun blackness. Then there’s the serious lack of knowledge by people who still don’t understand the clear difference between race and ethnicity, and assume Black means “African American” (which it does not), so as a result they question your identity. Race does not denote one’s ethnicity/ethnicities. Latinxs do not have a specific look or skin color. There are sooooooo many brown skin Latinxs out here.
Black and Cuban at the same damn time.
Black and Puerto Rican at the same damn time.
Black and Colombian at the same damn time.
Black and Dominican at the same damn time.
Black and Mexican at the same damn time.
Black and Honduran at the same damn time.
Black and Ecuadorian at the same damn time.
Black and Nicaraguan at the same damn time.
Black and Panamanian at the same damn time.
Black and Peruvian at the same damn time.
Black and Uruguayan at the same damn time.
Black and Venezuelan at the same damn time.
There’s way more to be listed, but I think y’all get it now…hopefully.
K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.
K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.
K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.
K. Evan Coles 