Comments

1. Shannon wrote:

   Some of the comments on other websites that I read were so full of ignorance regarding her statement that it reiterates the need for education on this subject. People in the US tend to only view things in a black and white context, forgetting that there are other ethnicities and cultures that people can identify with.

   Lala is absolutely right in what she is saying. She is an afro latina and there is nothing incorrect in identifying herself as that. I have always said that Hollywood’s depiction of latinos needs to be expanded. Latinos come in varying colors and shades and to always show them as the fair skinned Salma Hayek types is a disservice to the latino community. Some people are saying that Lala is trying to remove herself from the black community in this article but I don’t perceive her as trying to do that. Why should she have to choose between being latina or black? She is both so people should not assume she is trying to disassociate with blacks because she embraces her latina roots.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:41 pm ¶

2. drea wrote:

   why is she famous?

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:43 pm ¶

3. Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:

   the same goes for Arab/Middle Eastern, too. A lot of ignorant people think that all Arabs are brown and dark skinned, when that ain’t the case.

   Most Arab and Middle Eastern Muslims at my local mosque, are in fact WHITE and have pale skin. There aren’t that many brown skinned Arab Muslims in my area, but there’s some and of course there are also Black-skinned Arabs, too.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:45 pm ¶

4. Adrienne wrote:

   I feel La La on this one. Just by people’s responses to her of shock and not believing here, they indicate they don’t know shit about her family and by extension, her.

   Cultural ignorance still abounds amongst some Black people when it comes to ethnic differences.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:49 pm ¶

5. VEe wrote:

   Many people are really clueless about the history, the people and culture of Puerto Rico INCLUDING, sad but true, many Puerto Ricans.

   In my old jumble Brooklyn nieghborhood, many black kids didn’t understand why Tito Trinidad carried the PR flag when he’s supposed to be from Trinidad. I know it sounds ignorant but stuff like this often. Now many Puerto Ricans that I knew claim that Tito wasn’t a real f_____ Puerto Rican, he looks mf______ Dominican. I also heard the same sentiments about Celia Cruz but after attempting to explain that she was definitely not Puerto Rican . . . I just gave up. After all, she looked black.

   I won’t get into the thoughts I heard when I told some folks singer, Maxwell is of Puerto Rican and Haitian descent.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:53 pm ¶

6. Tamara wrote:

   As I start to get my feet wet in Hollywood, I already know that there are certain parts I won’t even be considered for.

   She’s an actress, too? I’d no idea. Thought she was just an MTV-veejay. Good luck to her. Persons of color are persons of various hues, midtones, half-lights, bright-whites, etc. But Hollyweird will continue to lump us together as one; they see what ‘they’ want to see. And they depict whom/what they want to depict. She is Latina/Puertorriquena but dollars to donuts she’ll be cast as Black; she’s right about that.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 1:55 pm ¶

7. yolanda wrote:

   excellent essay.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:02 pm ¶

8. Emmeaki wrote:

   Lala VASQUEZ. How in the world do people not know she’s Latina?

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:09 pm ¶

9. Val wrote:

   I think where people live or grow up has a lot to do with how they would perceive Lala ethnically. I grew up in NYC so Lala being a Boricua is not strange to me.

   If you are from a place where most of the people are either White or Black Americans then I suppose you might be a little confused by Lala’s ethnicity.

   Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:11 pm ¶

10. 9jah wrote:

    My problem with posts like these (and responses) is it becomes an indictment on “black people.”

    Let’s put that in check. You will find the same level of ignorance displayed among Latina’s (or others as the case may be_. It is very simply a matter of cultural enlightenment, exposure etc. and not a “black thing.” There is also the problem that race and “black identity” is nuanced and the concept is undergoing a fundamental transformation in this generation. This is a problem of education and awareness, and to a lesser extent re-defining the boundaries of “black identity”, not merely a “some black people” problem.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:20 pm ¶

11. Jamerican Muslimah wrote:

    Sad, sad, sad. My grad professor once said “race has different meanings in different spaces and in different places.” His concept has been lost on many Americans wh0 view the world in terms of “Black”, “White” and sometimes “Asian” and “Hispanic/Latino”. (And even then, people can’t seem to fathom the thought of there being diversity within groups- especically in terms of skin complexion).

    I can relate to Lala. Aside from my “Muslimness” people can’t seem to wrap their minds around the idea that I am Jamaican because “you don’t LOOK Jamaican” (which means dark-skinned.) When I explain my Jamaican Indian heritage then comes the “you’re-trying-to-separate-yourself-from-being-Black comments.” I give up! Racial identity outside the U.S. can mean different things- esp. in the Caribbean. I wish people would understand that.

    @DIMA, where I live there is the opposite problem. People think Arabs are White-skinned and try to deny darker-skinned Arabs their identity.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:33 pm ¶

12. Lady Di wrote:

    This not a Black people problem. This is a American problem on people not accepting the different looks of Latino people. They range in different shades as well. However, this does not stop at Afro-Latinos though. This is also at Whiter looking Latinos like Cameron Diaz. They don’t consider her latina despite her last name lol. She plays alot of White women roles and has never been casted Latina. So yeah Lala is telling the truth that America only cast what they think a latina person looks like. Which is someone more meztiso or mullata looking.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:37 pm ¶

13. Celeste wrote:

    @Adrienne: Are there any other specific races of people that you’d like to call out for cultural ignorance of this issue besides black people?

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 2:57 pm ¶

14. Mickey wrote:

    I second what Lady Di said. Actress Sofia Vergara is actually a natural blonde and has to dye her hair to make her look “more Latina” for roles. And I also remember Cameronn Diaz mentioning once that whenever she tells white people about her Latin roots, they look at her with disbelief.

    Rosie Perez also once said that at the beginning of her career she was rejected for Puerto Rican roles because, according to the producers, she wasn’t “Puerto Rican-looking enough.” Really sad.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 3:28 pm ¶

15. Just A Thought wrote:

    I can understand where she is coming from, because I was very ignorant of the presence of Afro Latinas. I grew up in the Midwest, in a MSA that was large but very segregated. And, if you say someone who looked like Lala, or even someone with a lighter skin color and/or curlier hair, they were almost always “regular” black. It wasn’t until a trip to NYC that I realized Latinas came in the same tone range that American black occupy.

    Strangely enough, since I moved to Florida, i’ve had the opposite problem. More often than not, I get read as Dominican, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, etc. When i inform them that I am black, as in all black progenitors for five or six generations, I am not believed. Limited views on race and what constitues the “appropriate” look for a certain race, ethnicity, nationality, etc. are a much wider problem. It seems that everywhere there was oppression enacted by and beneficial to whites, there are these color issues that try to exclude blackness from claiming a particular identity.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 3:36 pm ¶

16. Monica Roberts wrote:

    I was clued in to the fact that not all Latino/a peeps were pale skinned when I was watching the 1972 Munich Olympics and the great boxer Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba.

    Dad just simply said a deadpan manner, ‘ slave ships stopped in Cuba, Brazil, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, too’.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 3:41 pm ¶

17. Nadra wrote:

    I’d like to second what 9jah said. For two years, I lived in El Paso, Texas, which is overwhelmingly Mexican and Mexican American. A prominent woman in the community was a black Panamanian, and I remember my Chicano coworker being amazed that she spoke Spanish so well. I was like, “Why shouldn’t she speak Spanish well? She grew up in Panama.” Apparently, he had a hard time realizing that she could be black and Latina.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 3:44 pm ¶

18. Nadra wrote:

    Also, a college of classmate of mine is Puerto Rican but looks (or is read as) Ethiopian. Shegrew up in a predominantly Chicano neighborhood in So. Cal. and always got the side eye from Chicanos when she spoke Spanish to her pale-skinned Boricua mom. She was actually the only one in her immediate family who looked “black.” Her father was dark but had straight hair that could have made him pass for Asian Indian. Her mom and brother looked like the “typical” mestizo Latinos.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 3:51 pm ¶

19. Kandeezie wrote:

    @Emmeaki EXACTLY! I had to laugh when I read this…seriously, they couldn’t figure it out?

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 4:03 pm ¶

20. beatrice2000 wrote:

    Emmeaki, Lala as an MTV VJ normally went by her first name professionally, and wasn’t always identified by her full name. I didn’t know she was Latina either.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 4:21 pm ¶

21. Shannon wrote:

    I agree with Val.

    I was born and raised in the midwest in a city that is overwhelmingly black and white. There isn’t a large latino population, so I’ve heard some of the most naive ideas as to what being latino in america consists of. That’s why college was such a great experience for me because in school was where I became friends with people of different ethnicities, nationalities, etc. Smaller cities tend to have smaller mindsets regarding people of color.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 4:45 pm ¶

22. LadyGüera wrote:

    @Mickey
    It one of my pet peeves when people say “you’re Latino! but you are White/black/ Asian!?” Or “But wait you Jewish/ Muslim, I thought all Latinos were Catholics?
    Carlos Alazraqui was joking how people were shocked to find out he was Latino and joked how his father was when to school in England and his mother was like Charo( parents are Argentinean) Recently, I was lurking around some goth forum and read a thread about Latino goths and someone commented how all Latino cultures were the same.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 4:46 pm ¶

23. Solange wrote:

    I thought latina was an ethnicity not a race meaning that any race could be that. I actually find that many Latinas try to disown darker latinas.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 4:52 pm ¶

24. Moni wrote:

    Shannon: Same thing with me. As a college freshman from Detroit attending a predominantly white institution ( PWI), I could not understand why this “white girl” resident assistant kept following my parents and me around, trying to be friendly, instead of chatting up all the other white girls. It was only when I got to know her better, through my biracial (black/ white) future best friend, did I find out that she was reaching out to me as another woman of color! I learned a lot about Latino identity from her and the Latina multicultural aide that lived in the suite next to mine. I was ignorant to the complexities of Latina identity until I took the time out to develop a relationship with Latina women. These relationships are not easily developed in highly segregated communities such as the one I grew up in.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:15 pm ¶

25. Jade wrote:

    This is not just an “American” problem.

    Those spanish-speaking telenovelas don’t exactly help afro-latinos either.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:21 pm ¶

26. A.D. Nix wrote:

    Go, Lala. More Lalas and Zoe Saldanas, please.

    @ Val
    I grew up in California in a large city that’s about 24% Latin@ and both black and white latin@s seemed to “confuse” plenty of people. Including other latin@s.

    I also have a friend who is Puerto Rican, coffee-colored and grew up in the Bronx and said people would frequently talk about her in Spanish assuming she wouldn’t understand, because they did not read her as Latina. And then eyes would widen when she would jump into the convo.

    Even when one is well aware of all of the possibilities, resetting to certain phenotypical expectations happens. Often.

    @ Nadra
    Same thing happened when a black Panamanian kid transferred to my high school and became the star of the basketball team. People would literally walk up to him and ask him to say something in Spanish. As in “prove it.”

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:25 pm ¶

27. Kat wrote:

    Any one remember that Bush & Brazil quote?
    I got asked several times “Are there any Black people in Europe?” when I still lived in the States.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:31 pm ¶

28. laromana wrote:

    I share the experiences and sentiments of many Afrolatinos on/off this post.

    I grew up in a racist Midwestern area and experienced discriminatory treatment from some Whites, Blacks, and Latinos. It is important that EVERYONE, regardless of race, educate themselved about OTHER cultures and ethnicities.

    As far as how Latinos are classified, nothing ANNOYS me more than to see Latinos of MIXED Spanish/Native (”mestizo”) ancestry/culture be ACCEPTED as “real” Latinos by Americans while Latinos of MIXED Spanish/African (”mulatto”) ancestry/culture have their identity QUESTIONED.

    I hope to see this IGNORANT/WARPED mindset change as more people EDUCATE themselves about Latino peoples/cultures.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:41 pm ¶

29. Mickey wrote:

    @ LadyGüera,

    It’s a shame really that people often assume people are all one homogeneous group without doing research.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 5:55 pm ¶

30. Cassie wrote:

    I’m Jamaican and Indian, (I generally identify as black) but constantly thought to be Puerto Rican and sometimes Brazilian.

    Interesting that we have the same – yet opposite problem!

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 6:06 pm ¶

31. B. Durbin wrote:

    It’s worse than not being considered for Latina roles; she won’t get considered for “generic” roles either because in casting directors’ minds, those are white girls.

    I don’t know what else to say, except that I’m glad that my part of the country has so many “hybrids” that this sort of mandatory identification with one group or another is seen as somewhat gauche. Though I will admit I’m not shy about asking somebody what their heritage is, because when somebody is Filipino/black it’s not immediately apparent.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 6:29 pm ¶

32. shemari wrote:

    I understand where LaLa is coming from. It seems that if you appear racially Black and you claim something other than African-American or African only, you’re labeled as denying being Black. On some sites I’ve seen some of the most hateful comments directed towards her, Zoe Saldana, and Carmelo Anthony because they identify themselves as Latina/o. It’s as if racially Black people can only come from America or Africa.

    It’s one thing if one is ignorant of things such as the fact that racially Black people can be Brazilian and speak Portuguese. I was for a long time. However, I don’t get the audacity of some folk who accuse someone who identifies with an ethnicity besides African-American as “denying being Black.”

    On that note, I’m confused as hell as to who can identify as Black or African-American. Obama was accused of not being Black enough because his African ancestors weren’t enslaved (who really knows that for sure?). I’ve also heard that people from the Caribbean couldn’t identify as African-American because they didn’t go through the struggles of slavery. I guess Pat Robertson is the only American that knows that slavery existed in the Caribbean.

    Finally, people are confusing race, ethnicity, and nationality. That’s contributing a lot to the misunderstanding.

    p.s. I wonder if Cameron Diaz is vilified or hated by Whites when she says that she’s a Latina?

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 6:47 pm ¶

33. Moni wrote:

    at Kat: I live in Brazil currently and have had a number of Brazilians look at me wide eyed when I tell them I’m American. There are some who then ask where my parents are from, assuming that I must be first generation American. They keep prodding, trying to figure out if I’m African. I just tell them I am American and smile, but I can tell that they are not satisfied with that answer. I would assume with the popularity of American culture here that folks would realize that there are multi-generations of blacks in the U.S. but, maybe not…I can’t say anyone that anyone has acted shocked at my nationality since Obama got elected though….folks here love Barack and Michelle…

    Basically, we should not make it seem as though it is just Americans or just black folk who don’t know much about people outside their own racial/ethnic identity group….ignorance abounds, but with a little exposure people can (possibly) become more aware.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 7:11 pm ¶

34. Val wrote:

    @A.D. Nix

    I get what you are saying. My point was simply that someone who grows up in a diverse environment is more likely to accept many different variations within a particular ethnic group.

    For instance I know, by growing up in NYC, that many people from Jamaica are of Chinese decent as well there are many of South Asian decent. A person who grows up lets say in the Mid-West may think of Jamaicans as only being Black.

    The person who spoke Spanish around your friend may have grown up in a very homogeneous environment and therefore are less willing or able to accept differences.

    Also, using the anecdote about your friend, was the person/ people speaking to your friend in Spanish of Mexican , Honduran or Cuban or Dominican heritage? It makes a difference as there are a few but not too many Afro-Mexicans/ Hondurans and many among Cubans and Dominicans.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 7:38 pm ¶

35. A.D. Nix wrote:

    @ Val
    The first person she mentioned doing this was her neighbor who actually grew up in the same town in Puerto Rico in which she was born. As far as I know, this has only happened to her in NYC.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 8:11 pm ¶

36. Iamme wrote:

    Color shouldn’t define ethnicity. Cultural upbringing and who a person identifies themselves with does. More people should understand that.

    Posted 22 Jan 2010 at 8:23 pm ¶

37. DomiX wrote:

    I was waiting for you guys to pick up on this. The comments on the site I first read this on were really, really disgusting. Seriously. She is not denying her blackness in favor of her Puerto Rican heritage. She’s embracing both of them. Puerto Rican is her nationality, Latina is her ethnicity and black is her race. Why is that so hard for people to understand? There is more than just black and white.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 1:14 am ¶

38. DomiX wrote:

    And if any of that is incorrect, I apologize.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 1:15 am ¶

39. Kimisme wrote:

    I get what Lala is saying. I grew up in Southern California with numerous ethnic groups so I learned early on that Latinos could be of any race. I went to grade school with a lot of black Panamanians and Afro-Asians.

    Interestingly a lot of my Latina friends have issues when it comes to racial and ethnic classification of themselves and other Latinos.

    There’s a large number of people who seem to be unable to differentiate between race, ethnicity, and nationality. A lot of this is due to our culture (here in the states). People simply categorize you according to looks/ skin color. I’ve been mistaken for Dominican, Trinidadian, and Samoan, when I’m simply a black American. I don’t see how anyone can mistake me for anything but black but it happens.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 2:46 am ¶

40. Educate Yourself wrote:

    She is Puerto Rican American of the black race.
    Her nationality is American. She was born and raised in New York not Puerto Rico.
    Her heritage is Puerto Rican.
    Her race is Black.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 5:09 am ¶

41. luckyfatima wrote:

    Nadra said: “I’d like to second what 9jah said. For two years, I lived in El Paso, Texas, which is overwhelmingly Mexican and Mexican American. A prominent woman in the community was a black Panamanian, and I remember my Chicano coworker being amazed that she spoke Spanish so well. I was like, “Why shouldn’t she speak Spanish well? She grew up in Panama.” Apparently, he had a hard time realizing that she could be black and Latina.”

    What you describe is the same with a lot of groups. There are Arabs of African heritage. There are 3rd generation Chinese people in Pakistan. There are also Pakistanis of African heritage, especially in Balochistan—black Pakistanis. My father’s best friend is also a Black Puerto Rican American living in central Texas where there are many Mexicans and Mexican Americans. He is “read” as a black man and gets the same surpised responses from Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and blacks and whites as well when they come to know his full name and that he is fluent in Spanish. There are people of African heritage in Mexico, too. Black Mexicans. People should be more open minded, but I think being “read” as part of a group is very powerful because of lack of awareness about diversity.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 6:01 am ¶

42. Medusa wrote:

    @ Emmeaki- Having a Spanish last name doesn’t necessarily make you Latina…

    I’m glad she is speaking out about this. Is this an issue of the American education system? I only ask because seriously, people seem SO SHOCKED to hear about blacks coming from Latin America, when those countries populations are largely comprised of immigrant populations much like North America. This is similar to people expressing surprise that there can be Chinese Jamaicans, as though the black population is indigenous when it’s so obviously not… They are both immigrant groups so why the shock?

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 8:15 am ¶

43. Aiyo wrote:

    There is this documentary called the Neo African Americans and it talks about Africans/Afro Latinos/ Afro Carribeans in America and Black Identity

    http://www.ireport.com/people/Kobi1

    Roeland Roebuck is Afro Puerto Rican man talking about people being shocked
    http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-303024

    And there is another documentary exploring Afro Latinos from differnet countries in South America
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny0M6QOVTIg

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 8:22 am ¶

44. Oyan wrote:

    Thank you “9jah” for post number 10. I notice members of the bi-racial community also blame “blacks” for group inclusion. What I do’nt get is while they are eager to proudly claim their non-black cultural and ethnic differences, from “black”, which they are right to do so, than it would stand to reason that they will avoid those Hollywood rolls calling for the “black” actor/actress, or those scholarships designated for black Americans. Right? Oh, only when it is convenient.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 9:11 am ¶

45. multikultiMe wrote:

    accurately articulated. This not only applies to the particularities of being ‘afro-latina’ and is not exclusive to happening in the US. I am an Asian-American, speaking 4-5 languages fluently (with the appropriate accents, depending on the language, not to mention diction), and travel between Europe and the US and am still (very often) confronted with this same predicament of the ‘Other’s’ inability to fit me into their preconceived box.
    It’s frustrating to always have the infinite patience and better upbringing to put up with a (dominant) culture’s dismissive ignorance. Yes, sometimes it’s just curiosity, but there are days that I get tired of that, too.
    I have a dream, that one day, this multikulti globale Community will be the norm and that comfortable with each other.
    thanks for the clarity in how you expressed the matter.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 12:40 pm ¶

46. n wrote:

    @9jah

    “My problem with posts like these (and responses) is it becomes an indictment on “black people.”

    I agree it should not be an indictement of African Americans, as if they are the only people who are ignorant of the range of Latino peoples.

    But I think many times AfroLatinas address the issue with a focus on African Americans because they are and consider themselves to be part of “the black community” and within that community they have to deal with either lack of acceptance – “you aren’t one of us” or intolerance “you are one of us, stop trying to play the ‘latina” card as if that makes you better or other”.

    Whether it should be that way or not, people tend to expect acceptance and understanding from their people and not expect it from others. So sometimes the issue of white and other Americans not being aware of their heritage is insignificant compared to the issue of finding acceptance with both Latin and Black people.
    I don’t care as much as random strangers not inviting me to parties as I would if my friends and family did, so while they are all “guilty”, the ones I want to address are the ones I expect to invite me- so to speak.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 3:46 pm ¶

47. BSK wrote:

    I was thinking about this post while watching “24″ (I know, I know…). It struck me that someone like Lala Vasquez, who is Latina, cannot get cast in Latina roles because she doesn’t “look Latina” but then a show like “24″ (and many, many others) hire actors to play roles outside of their own ethnicity/race. They often have actors of Southeast Asian descent playing actors of Southwest Asian descent, because they have the right “look” (even though I think they’re largely playing off people who think all Asian, or brown people, look the same anyway).

    Now, I don’t think it’s inherently wrong for an actor to play outside his race/ethnicity, as a discussion earlier on Racialicious talked about. But, to have such double-standards is just ridiculous.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 4:56 pm ¶

48. umm....what wrote:

    As has been pointed out in numerous posts above, Lala is catching a lot of flack from black folks about claiming her Latin@ heritage and I think one thing is worth unpacking in that. She’s hitting what I call the third-rail of black identity, the legacy of passing. This is not a matter of simple ignorance but rather the result of ignorance combined with a social and historical knowledge of the “boundaries” of black identity in this country.

    Black Americans, for years, put a premium on light skin, European facial features, and straight hair because of the ability to pass for white. This of course goes back to slavery, but it stuck around a lot longer. It was like a get out of hell free card throughout much of the 20th century. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. passed as white for several years of his life until his cover was blown. It’s worth noting that passing was an aggressive activity. The person passing was always in danger of being discovered and having to go back to being black, so it was in their best interests to alienate themselves from family/friends/communities that knew their “secret”.

    For people who didn’t have a phenotype that couldn’t be taken as white, there was still a social incentive to claim some other form of ancestry because blackness was so stigmatized. Spurious claims of indigenous blood abounded for example (there WERE many blacks who did have indigenous ancestry [I am one of them], but there were many more who didn’t who still claimed it anyway. Somehow, claiming white ancestry didn’t seem to be so popular, but that’s for another post/article).

    As black American folks came to be more proud of their identity, I think there was a bit of a backlash against lighter skin and the idea of claiming some other ancestry to pass. I think that our community is still profoundly damaged from the days in which people willingly and aggressively passed. It wasn’t about mere vanity but about trying to actually have a better life, and that’s something that is getting read into Lala’s narrative. In her celebrating her Latina identity, I think some people see a black person trying to pass for something else and trying to have a better life; a life with more options. They tend to lump this type of thing in with the case of someone like Tiger Woods, who in many ways has aggressively distanced himself from blacks. Lala came to fame in Hip Hop media and has more recently been branching out into acting. Many (cynical jackasses) might see her assertion of Latin@ identity as a way to get some more options in terms of roles. Maybe they feel like she’s trying to leave black people behind (which is absurd considering the legacy of Latin@s in Hip Hop).

    What’s also worth noting is that Afro-Latin@s in the entertainment industry are in a strange position with black Americans because they often “pass for black” to unwitting black audiences by depicting black Americans on film. I’m thinking specifically of Alfonso Ribiero from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Jeremy Suarez of the Bernie Mac show, and Lala. A lot of people who don’t know much about Latin@s are surprised to find out that these people aren’t black Americans because they “pass” as black American so easily (whatever that means). When they assert their identities, they are often met with shock and hostility. That’s a dynamic that it also relevant to this.

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 5:01 pm ¶

49. Adrienne wrote:

    Celeste,

    The people who have condemned LaLa as “denying her Blackness” have been…rim shot…fellow Black folks.

    As a fellow Black folk, I can say that the majority of comments I have heard of denial of some Black people’s ethnic identity as Latina have been from Black folks.

    I don’t care to spread my statement around with a disclaimer of “I know that White people/*insert race here* people also confuse Latina and Black Latinas all the time”because the majority of negative commentary about LaLa and how she identifies has been on websites of magazines that are geared towards Black people.

    Matter of fact, Carmelo Anthony is also Puerto Rican as well..and many comments I read were of the “oh I didn’t know he’s Puerto Rican” ilk after an article about her relationship with Carmelo and the stuff they share in common.

    But comments about LaLa on the same issue were accusatory and negative. She was assumed to have negative feelings about being Black and of not associating with Black people. There even were a lot of venom aimed her way.

    There are different expectations of Black women vs Black men when it comes to regular peoples’ online commentary about who they believe they are and what they believe their intentions and actions are.

    I read more “I didn’t know Carmelo is Puerto Rican” statements than “How dare he try not to be Black” yet the majority of comments made about Lala were of the “she doesn’t want to be Black. She doesn’t want to associate with Black people” ilk.

    Besides I can talk about my people in the context of what I have observed being said…hence I stand behind my “some Black people” statement.

    To White people auditioning roles for Latina women, she is Black, but to the Black people who don’t understand that Puerto Ricans can be Black, she is refusing to be Black, doesn’t like Black people et cetera as that rumor spun outta control and logical sense.

    One is an assumption and another is an negative acussation that grew out of a rumor that was passed along in the comments section of popular online media geared towards Black people…the rumor lasted so long and built so much venom that I wouldn’t be surprised if LaLa felt she had to speak publically on it to enlighten people (and stop the negative gossip on how she identifies as it does impact her career in the entertainment media.)

    Posted 23 Jan 2010 at 8:30 pm ¶

50. Lauren wrote:

    I really think this issue stems from a lack of knowledge about the Caribbean in addition to race in the United States still being read through a black-white binary (although this is changing in some – but definitely not ALL areas). Most people do not realize that the Caribbean’s history has endowed it with a diverse mix of people. I mean let’s think – most U.S.-Americans do not even know that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States and that Puerto Ricans have U.S. citizenship complete with passports. So let’s not paint this as just a black or African-American issue.

    I am glad to hear LaLa – and people are right, her last name rarely came up while she was a VJ, she was just LaLa – vocally identify as black and Latina.

    Also, I think its important to mention that while LaLa may identify as Afro-Latina many Afro-Latin@ do not. They eschew the Afro for a solely Latin identity. This impacts the relations between African Americans and Afro-Latins and can explain some reactions she gets. In the U.S. plenty of Latinos with African ancestry have done everything they can to “escape” it – they will not i.d. as both black and Latino. This was historically a problem in the 50s, 60s, and 70s where many used their Spanish speaking abilities to circumvent Jim Crow and its vestiges. I mean in some ways I don’t blame them because who wants to be Jim Crowed? On the flip side, at times Afro-Latinos would identify as black in order to gain black benefits – like affirmative action, attending HBCUs, and membership in prominent black organizations. Many African Americans were and remain sensitive to this. While identity is an individual choice, I believe some African Americans remain sensitive to some Afro-Latinos selecting certain aspects of their identity to gain benefits that otherwise might benefit African Americans.

    Moreover, as some have hinted at, some Afro-Latin@s do not get accepted as Latino. I know an Afro-Cuban who moved to the U.S. and his Mexican and Mexican-American neighbors REFUSE to speak Spanish with him. He tries and tries but all he gets is answers in English and stony faces.

    Of course Afro-Latin@s can i.d. any way they want – but sometimes they will meet a lack of knowledge, other times sensitives based on U.S. racial history, and still other times just plain racism/ethnicism …

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 2:06 am ¶

51. Britt R. wrote:

    Carmelo Anthony has a Puerto Rican father and an African American mother. Lala Vazquez has 2 Puerto Rican parents. Maybe the fact that Carmelo is “mixed” with Puerto Rican as opposed to being a Black Puerto Rican is easier for some people to understand?

    My children are close to Carmelo Anthony’s background and people seemed more open to the idea that my kids were mixed with Puerto Rican (White-Tan) while still dismissing Black Puerto Ricans as covert Dominicans.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 2:10 am ¶

52. ashlynn wrote:

    @Adrienne,

    No denial here that there many of those negative comments come from Black people. But what that leads to is making a generalization. What is happening both in and out of this post is that commenters are taking a group of black people who made derogatory criticisms and deciding that they speak for ALL Black people, and that ALL Black people have a problem with people “denying their Blackness”. Which is so far from the truth.

    Often, when that issue comes up, it is often born of the feeling that those who identify as Black and another race or ethnicity are able to “pass”, and don’t have to deal with certain prejudices that phenotypically Black people face (a truth, but not a universal one). Being black is not something that’s exactly applauded by society, so any appearance of trying to distance oneself from being Black- even if that isn’t the case at all- stings. It’s like, “wow, one more person that I actually like just cannot bear to be Black, you gotta be something else too.” Mind you, this is a feeling that isn’t fair to anyone. That said, because many Black people do express that sentiment(granted, in a terrible way), it becomes easier to place the blame on all Black people so no other group has to bear responsibility for similar statements.

    However, plenty of other groups will say them same thing about Lala, or anyone who does not fit their racial conventions/perceptions. Spanish television is a great example- though not vocalizing it or putting into words, by largely featuring only lighter-skinned women with more acceptable racial features, they clearly express their opinions on Black Latin people. It spans across all ethnicities and races, because it is a matter of cultural enlightenment (as someone said earlier up in the post).

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 3:21 am ¶

53. ourname wrote:

    @Val

    Actually there are quite a few Afro-Hondurans. They’re mostly from the northern coast and the islands. The Garifuna culture of Belize extends downwards into Honduras as well.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 4:02 am ¶

54. Celeste wrote:

    @ Adrienne: I know that you’re black. I just don’t think it’s fair, accurate, or helpful to leave this problem at the doorstep of black people as if we’re the originators and enforcers or this problem. As Ashlynn said, many other groups would disregard her ethnicity . However, instead of it coming from a sense of ignorance/betrayal it would be coming from ignorance/ good ol’ white supremacy. I don’t see how that makes the condemnation from black people sites (which I haven’t seen myself) *so* much more egregious than everyone else’s.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 12:16 pm ¶

55. ladydai wrote:

    Someone mentioned being “mixed” with Puerto Rican as if it were a race unto itself. Puerto Ricans are mixed: Indian, Spanish, Black. For some reason, when someone says, “I’m Puerto Rican and Black, or better yet, “I’m half Jamaican, it’s annoying.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 1:31 pm ¶

56. Moionfire wrote:

    I agree with those above who say thhis isn’t an american thing.

    Many people in South America, asia, and even Europe are shocked there are americans who are asian and even black!!!

    This is quite shocking considering Martin Luther king, Will Smith, and Michael Jackson are well known around the world !!! So they have no excuse.

    The truth is that the media in Spanish speaking countries rarely show blacks or even indian people. And if they do they are not distibuted to the USA….

    I have seen only one black person on one of the spanish speaking channels in the USA.

    People like to pretend only americans can be clueless…. It is just a way to feel smug to people in the USA.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 1:39 pm ¶

57. Lauren wrote:

    Ourname is right. Plenty of Central American countries have significant African-descended populations along their Atlantic coasts – including Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. Nicaragua actually has a fairly sharp divide with the 1/3rd of the country closest to the Atlantic being of African-descent and the other 2/3rds being largely ladino/mestizo.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 4:45 pm ¶

58. laromana wrote:

    Britt R says,
    My children are close to Carmelo Anthony’s background and people seemed more open to the idea that my kids were mixed with Puerto Rican (White-Tan) while still dismissing Black Puerto Ricans as covert Dominicans.

    laromana says,
    As an American woman of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, I find it IGNORANT/STUPID when SOME Puerto Ricans PRETEND that they are “whiter” than Dominicans given the FACT that they derive from the SAME RACIAL MIXTURE (African/Spanish/Indigenous-Native) as Dominicans.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 7:34 pm ¶

59. laromana wrote:

    Latinos of Spanish/Native-Indigenous ancestry are MIXED RACE “mestizos” and, even though MANY of them INCORRECTLY classify themselves as “White”, they are MIXED RACE (NEITHER ALL “White” or ALL “Native”.
    Latinos of MIXED Spanish/African/Native-Indigenous ancestry are MIXED RACE “mulattos” and, even though MOST classify them as “Black” Latinos or “Afro” Latinos, they are MIXED RACE (NEITHER ALL “Black”/”White”/or Native-Indigenous).

    We will FINALLY have made REAL PROGRESS when human beings are allowed to identify themselves according to their ACTUAL, GENETIC identity as opposed to artificial “White” or “Black” designations.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 8:48 pm ¶

60. Adrienne wrote:

    Ashlynn,

    I said SOME Black people.

    How people chose to interpret interpret my statement outside of its meaning is on them, as I didn’t say all Black people, and I also said that that “some Black people”’s comments about Lala are what I believe motivated her response.

    I acknowlege that it stings when it happens, and because it stings, she spoke up after the sting came from a small group of folks who made the most negative statements about her.

    Posted 24 Jan 2010 at 8:50 pm ¶

61. DreaD wrote:

    I have to second the posters who are articulating that this conversations (and so many of these conversations) make Black folk seem homogenously jealous of any Black person not identifying as Black. I have appreciated these types of conversations on Racialicious (along with threads on bi/multi-racialism. But it does seem that the conversations always seem to have this undertone. It would be great to see posts that highlight a similar phenomenon/struggle in non-Black communities of color. I just can’t believe that the Black community is the only one that struggles with this issue.

    Additionally, I think it’s really important to acknowledge that Black folks who express disdain or anger about non-African American Blacks or bi/multi-racial Blacks “distancing themselves from Blackness” are acting out some internalized racism dating back to the implementing of the racial labels of “Black” and “White” by White culture. I understand that this “de-Blacking” is harmful and painful to say the least. But on a site that – on a certain level – ideologically values reflection on shared experiences of racism by variously hued and diverse POCs, I hope to see less tolerance of some of the remarks that have a particularly anti-”just Black” feel to them.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 12:08 am ¶

62. EMB wrote:

    Standing ovation to Lala for setting the record straight. Imagine if everyone who lives in the Southern United States was called by a single term. “Latino” is just about geography: we trace our origins to a (large) region. So you have the descendants of slaves and the descendants of slave owners ticking the same Census box– in fact, Ladino was the term for people of “pure” Spanish origin around the time of the conquest. And plenty of their great-great-great grandkids are considered “Latinos” today.

    Some Latin countries are more indigenous, some more African, some more European, but most are a mix of all three (just like most Latinos are mixed, except for the tiny pale elites that rule our countries). Of course, this cultural texture is never represented on blue-eyed Univision. Personally, I’m a light-skinded Latina, and in contrast with @Moni’s friend, I don’t consider myself a woman of color. That’s because despite my heritage (mestizo) I have white privilege.

    RE: Cameron Diaz; @Shemari– many Cubans who fled that country for the U.S.’s open arms can trace their heritage straight back to Spain. They were the elite, and they fled because Castro took their riches back (many more AfroCubans on the island than here). So Cameron Diaz could be just as white as the avergage American WASP. Lala Vasquez is Afrolatina, and Diaz is blancalatina.

    My motto: just because you have a Spanish last name doesn’t mean you’re down.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 1:09 am ¶

63. Sí, se puede. wrote:

    I would encourage people who are quick to assume the intentions of any Latin@ to take a look at the history of solidarity that exists between Latin@s of even light complexion and non-Latin@ people of dark complexion.

    For example, thousands of fugitive slaves out of Texas found a safe haven in Mexico, where– despite great tension and possible violent reaction– the government repeatedly blocked attempts to extradite them. Che Guevara fought with Congolese rebels for their sovereignty, and Fidel cultivated a relationship with Malcolm, Langston, and black Harlem. Today, Cuba reserves spots for black Americans to receive extensive medical training, free of charge, at their ELAM school. There are many signs of mutual respect and cooperation– they are just not in textbooks or on television. (And why would they be? This relationship does not serve the interests of the publishers or producers.)

    I have only recently been learning these things, and I think the knowledge has been good for my spirit. Black Americans have to know that while some Latin@ individuals may fall into the trap of white supremacy, there are those who have been willing to even lay down their life to fight that system with us. That is action I find worthy of respect and reciprocation.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 4:56 am ¶

64. Britt R. wrote:

    @ laromana

    I agree with you. It is extremely prevalent that Puerto Rican is considered something that Black folks are “mixed with”, not something that Black folks actually ARE, because of the pervasive idea that PR is white, light, or tan. It isn’t right, and I don’t plan to let my kids add to the confusion.

    Note on Honduras:
    Add to the AfroHonduran population Caracoles, English Speaking, Protestant West Indian descendants that inhabit the coastal portions of Honduras. The Miskitos are also of African descent in addition to being Native American. Honduran is the other portion of my children’s Latin American background, but it is neither ladino nor AfroHonduran. It is Arab (Palestinian / Jordanian). Try explaining that your kids are of Arab Honduran descent and watch the emotions on someone’s face. It is like people think that Lat. Am. is a place that people immigrate from, not to.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 4:59 am ¶

65. Britt R. wrote:

    @EMB: “My motto: just because you have a Spanish last name doesn’t mean you’re down.”

    I laughed so hard I cried. I did question calling someone a person of color because of their ethnicity rather than their actually racial background or skin tone (I call White Latinos White Latinos, and not POC). I also agree with Latino being more about geography than even ethnicity or language, because I know Latin Americans of non-mainstream ethnicities who are lumped a certain way strictly because of where they came from and not because of their linguistic background, previous ethnic origins, or the ethnic group they belonged to before the US. I usually try to refer to my kids’ actual descent instead of simply stating Latino, because that could mean anything from a Jamaican descended Panamanian to a Native American Guatemalan to a German Argentine or a Chinese Cuban.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 5:20 am ¶

66. Just A Thought wrote:

    @ laromana:

    If people were allowed to identitfy as what they are, there would be waaaaaayyyy more mixed race people. Especially in the US, where almost no one is strictly black or white.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 9:25 am ¶

67. Mickey wrote:

    @ Just a Thought,

    That’s very true, but then the problem would be how mixed does one have to be to be considered mixed, which is another discussion entirely.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 11:58 am ¶

68. lunanoire wrote:

    @ laromama:

    If your point is that people should be able to self-identify, then ok. But genetic IDs can present risks- people denied health insurance because they are likely to get certain illnesses.
    Also, eliminating racial group names would not eliminate racism. See: worldwide colorism. The racial hierarchy would change to a similar color hierarchy.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 12:44 pm ¶

69. Alex wrote:

    @ Britt R.

    I thought your comment was really interesting, especially that you differentiate between White Latinos and POC. I’m a light-skinned Latina and never was assigned the term “person of color” before I moved from Miami (where we have Latinos of all races, religions, economic classes, etc. and simply being Latin American is the norm) to New York.

    I identify as Latina and Hispanic (because my great-grandparents come from Spain), but not as a POC because, as I understand it, we haven’t shared a common experience. If anything, my experience is tied specifically to that of other Latinos, regardless of their race. I identified with Lala’s essay because I’ve also been asked to “prove” my Latinosity™ by strangers and have had people tell me I can’t be Latina because I’m (arguably) white.

    But the fact remains that my whiteness is constantly in flux. It’s not a constant, it varies according to region and setting. In New York and specifically in academic settings, it’s been made clear to me that I’m not white. When I hang out with Anglo friends, the cultural divide is apparent. Their cultural “whiteness” is foreign to me. Then again, back home, I’m white simply because I’m not black and I’m not descended from Asia or from Indigenous groups.

    And when people assume (and try to convince me, oddly enough) that I’m Irish, I’m aware that even this group was not considered to be “white” in the U.S. when they first emigrated.

    So I guess I both agree and disagree with your assessment on how whiteness relates to the label “POC.”

    And that’s without even attempting to venture off-topic into the issue of “being down.” I know better than to attend parties I wasn’t invited to.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 1:50 pm ¶

70. A.D.M. wrote:

    Lalal Vasquez is on the money. People, especially black U.S. citizens, need to stop putting so much emphasis on the word Latino and realize it’s just a geographic term.

    Fifteen million Africans were victims of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Ninety-five percent of them were taken to the West Indies and South and Central America. Five percent were taken to North America. In short, people of African ancestry are all over the Western Hemisphere. Only difference is some were enslaved and raped Spanish. Others, by the French, British, Portuguese, etc. Some countries are more indigenous Native American (Mexico), some are more African (Dominican Republic), and some are more European (Argentina).

    Not all whites from those countries are of Spanish descent. Some are Irish, German, French, Italian, Polish, etc.

    People, especially African-Americans, need to learn about the African diaspora. African descendants are all over the Americas and the world. There are people of African descent in Arab countries like Iraq.

    Bottom line: Latino is NOT a race. It applies to geography
    
    Mod Note – Why are you singling out African-Americans in your comment? – LDP

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 2:37 pm ¶

71. kenda wrote:

    @ laromana:

    People should be allowed to identify however they want, but I’d argue that there is no such thing as an “actual, genetic identity”.

    I agree with lunanoire. Getting rid of race won’t get rid of racism. In fact, for the time being, I think racial categories are a necessary evil.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 2:53 pm ¶

72. Cacy wrote:

    What this essay demonstrates is the fact that Americans of all types are clueless about the world and people in it.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 2:59 pm ¶

73. A.D.M. wrote:

    To the moderator, I singled out African-Americans because they are racially the same as African descendants in other parts of the world and they should know better. But I understand your point. Many people are ignorant of this subject.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 3:47 pm ¶

74. laromana wrote:

    Just A Thought wrote:
    Just a thought says,
    @ laromana:

    If people were allowed to identitfy as what they are, there would be waaaaaayyyy more mixed race people. Especially in the US, where almost no one is strictly black or white.

    laromana says,
    Just a thought,
    You’ve articulated the main point I was trying to make in my comment.
    Because MANY people in the U.S. ARE NOT strictly black or white (eg. people classified as “black” who “PASSED” for “white”) but MIXED RACE, it’s clear that so called “racial designations” are INVENTED to promote white supremacy/privilege NOT to ACCURATELY represent any given persons ACTUAL (genetic) racial identity.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 5:07 pm ¶

75. 9jah wrote:

    @ n – I agree. Note that I didn’t reference white ppls’ confusion of these issues but rather noted the same ignorance exists in the latin community as well. In these type of discussions, bi-cultural/bi-ethnic/bi-racial black folks seem to explore with greater detail their dissatisfaction with the AfAm community, choosing to speak to only one side of an issue.

    Even speaking to one’s community as you suggest can be harmful if not communicated appropriately (particularly on an online medium). Others can form the wrong opinion that something is uniquely reflective of AfAm folks. In this case, LaLa’s article originally appeared in Latina.com not a black website.

    The greater point I want to make is that there is no intersectionality between black folks (or latin folks) and ignorance. if white/latin/asian/whomever folks can be equally ignorant on a particular point then the racial qualifier is pointless and only muddies the discussion. Folks (AfAm folks included) have a tendency to racialize everything involving AfAm folks, which I believe leads to a lot of needless anxiety, insecurity and negative self fulfilling prophecy.

    @ umm….what

    - for what it’s worth Alfonso Riebeiro is not Afro-Latino (Dominican) as popularly believed, his family is from Trinidad.

    @ Laromana

    - I assume when you say “ACTUAL, GENETIC” identity, you allude to the fact that there is no actual genetic racial identity. Because if we must utilize the concept, we need to understand that race contemplates culture, phenotype, geographical heritage and blood etc. The labels “black” latino, “Afro” latino or “African” American thus categorize experiences that reflect some/all of these things.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 6:26 pm ¶

76. Westerly wrote:

    I agree with loromana. These categories are socio-political and also class bound – they’re not supposed to be representative – if anything they elide identity which I think is the point of these groupings anyway.

    As for some of the comments – singling African-Americans out (especially African-Americans etc.) for the racial ignorance of an entire nation? I’m not even surprised anymore.

    Posted 25 Jan 2010 at 8:33 pm ¶

77. Digital Coyote wrote:

    @Westerly: Co-sign on the comment about singling.

    “A.D.M. wrote:

    To the moderator, I singled out African-Americans because they are racially the same as African descendants in other parts of the world and they should know better.”

    I don’t even know where to start with that.

    That just blows my mind. What, exactly, does “racially the same” even mean? Like, “all look same” so we must have some instinctual knowledge about people some folks have never seen/met/been exposed to/learned about? Does our skintone make us a global hive mind? That’s some borderline Borg collective ish right there, I tell you what.

    Trekkie flights of fancy aside, the tone of the comment strikes me on that same level as the assumption that black Americans automatically understand and support the struggles of [insert group here] because of the Civil Rights Era.

    Posted 26 Jan 2010 at 2:18 am ¶

78. La Boite de Pandore wrote:

    I have no idea who La La is but I’m not suprised that she has to deal with the suprised and ignorant reactions from people. La La is Latina, Puerto Rican, Black, and a U.S. citizen.

    Most Americans do not understand nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, and social class. They are words that are used without being properly defined and in the wrong context. The department of education is partially to blame for this.
    The public education system in the United States is lacking when it comes to instructing about history, geography, and culture [social studies in elementary school]. The department of Education is unable to teach these subjects because the people in charge don’t understand it themselves. The rest of it starts at home with the parents. I would like to blame the media but I can’t because I have had low expectations for it since I was a child and it isn’t the media’s job to teach. So I will blame it on the lack of education in this country and ignorant parents instead.

    Posted 26 Jan 2010 at 3:49 am ¶

79. fridaholic wrote:

    another experiential essay about afro-latinas? yes, they exist. if people really don’t know by now, i mean, damn…

    Posted 26 Jan 2010 at 9:02 am ¶

80. Emmeaki wrote:

    All the Puerto Ricans I know, whether they are white, black, or mixed, refer to themselves as Puerto Rican. Even the ones who weren’t even born on the island or have never been.

    I’m sick of the race police that want to force anyone with any amount of African ancestry to call themselves black.

    “Black” in and of itself doesn’t even mean anything. I’m black and I’m American and my experience is different from a black person from England or France, or wherever.

    Lala’s cultural experience as a Puerto Rican woman is different from the cultural experience of African-American women including food, language, etc.

    Slave owners created this “one drop rule” so they could own more “property”. Why do we hold on to this rule as if it was mandated by god?
    Even if we wanted to take the biological route, Lala is a mixed-race person.

    How can we move towards a future without racism if we constantly pick apart everyone’s identity and try to force them into narrow boxes? Race, culture, and ethnicity are all intertwined and not mutually exclusive.

    Posted 27 Jan 2010 at 11:28 am ¶

81. laromana wrote:

    Emmeaki says,
    “Black” in and of itself doesn’t even mean anything. I’m black and I’m American and my experience is different from a black person from England or France, or wherever.

    Lala’s cultural experience as a Puerto Rican woman is different from the cultural experience of African-American women including food, language, etc.

    Slave owners created this “one drop rule” so they could own more “property”. Why do we hold on to this rule as if it was mandated by god?
    Even if we wanted to take the biological route, Lala is a mixed-race person.

    How can we move towards a future without racism if we constantly pick apart everyone’s identity and try to force them into narrow boxes?

    laromana says,
    Emmeaki says,
    “Race, culture, and ethnicity are all intertwined and not mutually exclusive.”

    I agree with EVERYTHING you’ve stated in your post above, especially your comment above. Race, culture and ethnicity TOGETHER are the MOST ACCURATE indicators of a person’s identity (rather than the “one drop rule”, racial stereotypes, or “what a person looks like/is perceived to look like” to OTHERS) .

    Posted 27 Jan 2010 at 4:16 pm ¶

82. Tania wrote:

    I appreciated Lala’s take on the matter. A lof of my afro-latin friends have said the same (that when the topic comes up, people expect them to choose one or the other as if both were impossible). That part was great.

    The comments are killing me. People really played themselves in their comments. I had to go back and read it again and I was correct; not ONCE did LaLa say what race the person who was surprised to find out that she was Latina was. Not ONCE. She repeatedly said “a person”. So folks are really projecting some issues with this “black people” this and “black people” that responses. She then goes on to say that Hollywood generally goes for fairer latinas like Jlo vs afro-latinas like herself. Hmmm… that doesn’t say “black people” to me either.

    I feel like some posters read an entirely different article from the one I read.

    Posted 28 Jan 2010 at 1:25 am ¶

83. A.D.M. wrote:

    I’d like to apologize for my earlier comments. I shouldn’t have singled out black in the U.S. That was stupid. Laromana, Emmeaki, you have to realize racism, bigotry, prejudice, etc., etc. will always exist no matter what you do or say. It’s not going anywhere. Were not post-racial. Lala Vasquez is obviously Afro-Latina because she’s black or of African descent (African slaves were transported to Spanish colonies, too) and she was in a Latin-language speaking nation, Puerto Rico. There are black Puerto Ricans, after all.

    Posted 28 Jan 2010 at 2:37 pm ¶