Latin America is a textbook case in how the whole “let’s just all have mixed, ambiguous babies to end racism teehee” is absolutely wrong.
It doesn’t end white supremacy. In some ways, it strengthens it.
It doesn’t end white supremacy. In some ways, it strengthens it.
Well what are those ways? Glad you asked:
- By purporting to be racially mixed without addressing beliefs in white superiority, a hierarchy based on skin color emerged in Latin America, with darker skinned Latin Americans still on the bottom socioeconomically
- By purporting to be racially mixed without addressing beliefs in white superiority, a hierarchy based on skin color emerged in Latin America, with darker skinned Latin Americans still on the bottom socioeconomically
- While the simple classifications of white or Black were minimized, it just created even more classifications! So you'll have categories based on skin color/features, instead of "race"
- The white supremacy that still existed meant darker skinned people with greater African ancestry were less inclined to embrace a cohesive political ideology/power to challenge policies that actively discriminated against "Black" Latinos
To this day, because Latin America deliberately subjugated Blackness to promote its mestizo/mixed identity, there are Afro-Latinos who are still fighting to just have an Afro-Latino category on the census (see Arica, Chile)
With so many Latinos invisiblizing its Black populations, from government historically to popular culture presently, there is less cohesion and political power to make political demands to fight the extreme discrimination Black Latinos face in Latin America.
And these are all crude summaries. Half my family is Afro-Latino, I've seen this personally and studied it academically. Basically read anything by Tanya K Hernandez. I think this book will probably capture most of it: sites.google.com/site/racismlat…
Thought I was done. But the issue with In the Heights is deeper than “we just want more dark skinned people represented.”
It’s moreso that the erasure is reflective of historic, centuries-long violence and policy to uplift those with closer proximity to whiteness.
It’s moreso that the erasure is reflective of historic, centuries-long violence and policy to uplift those with closer proximity to whiteness.
I studied the census issue in particular in grad school in a class on Cuban policy, and discussed some of that here. : 
Hi y’all, I’m not saying Latin Am race-mixing intended to end racism. It was meant to subjugate & minimize indigenous/Black populations through immigration, mass violence, etc.
My point is this US take is dumb bc the mere existence of mixed race populations doesn’t cure racism
My point is this US take is dumb bc the mere existence of mixed race populations doesn’t cure racism
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