Are Puerto Ricans considered "white" in New Jersey, socially? (college, gated)
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I had a friend from Puerto Rico, his dad was from Spain and mom was born in Cuba... I have darker skin than he did but he considered himself Hispanic/non-white. (BTW I am a white guy)
Another friend was of Domincan descent and very dark skinned. She considered herself Hispanic/non-black
its all a matter of context, experience and culture. There are many more mixed race people here in the US than most people expect. There are stories about black people who were able to "pass" as white. And their decendants many times are suprised to find that they had a black great-great grandparent etc.
There is not as much as a stigma now for mixed race people,( thank God) much more common than it used to be even 20 years ago.
And to quote Depsche Mode... People are People We should not get hung up on categoriztions that only divide us.
The Dominican thing does not surprise me at all. In many ways they're the most African of all Caribbean Latinos, and the least likely to embrace that heritage. Dominican culture is filled with self-hatred.
Second, Puerto Ricans are born American citizens so they are inherently part of American culture and it is bizarre to me to talk about their assimilation. Isn't Hawaiian culture an American culture ?
The Dominican thing does not surprise me at all. In many ways they're the most African of all Caribbean Latinos, and the least likely to embrace that heritage. Dominican culture is filled with self-hatred.
I don't want to open up a can of worms, but isn't it because they identify with Western Culture instead of African culture?
I don't want to open up a can of worms, but isn't it because they identify with Western Culture instead of African culture?
Dominican culture IS Western Culture in that it is a culture where a European language is spoken and where European culture is a major component. But - Dominican culture is also a Western culture of mixed African and European and Native background. The problem I have with many Dominicans is that the people are predominantly of African origin but regard a major part of their culture - the African - as something to deny and be ashamed of. They aspire to be Spanish, romanticize the Native, and reject the African.
Dominicans are not Europeans, but they aspire to whiteness in a white supremacist cultural framework. And that is what I have a problem with.
People in Guadeloupe and Martinique have a mixed culture - indeed, they are citizens of France. But they do not openly deny their African roots. People in Cuba have a culture much like that of the Dominican Republic. But they - even those who appear substantially European - do not deny their African roots.
It's not about identifying with one or the other - it's about not being ashamed of a major part of who you are.
I love Dominican culture, and Dominican people. I just wish they weren't so down on their own blackness.
The Dominican thing does not surprise me at all. In many ways they're the most African of all Caribbean Latinos, and the least likely to embrace that heritage. Dominican culture is filled with self-hatred.
I've witnessed this as well. They'll be the first ones to tell you, "I'm not Black!"
Dominican culture IS Western Culture in that it is a culture where a European language is spoken and where European culture is a major component. But - Dominican culture is also a Western culture of mixed African and European and Native background. The problem I have with many Dominicans is that the people are predominantly of African origin but regard a major part of their culture - the African - as something to deny and be ashamed of. They aspire to be Spanish, romanticize the Native, and reject the African.
Dominicans are not Europeans, but they aspire to whiteness in a white supremacist cultural framework. And that is what I have a problem with.
People in Guadeloupe and Martinique have a mixed culture - indeed, they are citizens of France. But they do not openly deny their African roots. People in Cuba have a culture much like that of the Dominican Republic. But they - even those who appear substantially European - do not deny their African roots.
It's not about identifying with one or the other - it's about not being ashamed of a major part of who you are.
I love Dominican culture, and Dominican people. I just wish they weren't so down on their own blackness.
Are you saying that they're denying that they have African ancestors or just don't want to have any identification/association with African culture? A group's perception/understanding of their own identity might be outside of the paradigms of what Americans(white or black) think they are. I'm an Indian Hindu, and I know that myself and most other Indian Americans don't like being confused with or thought of as Arabs/Muslims/Middle Easterners by "Americans" (especially post 9/11 lol...) because they might think we're all the same "people" based on their own subjective visual perception and understanding of identity. I hope that made sense
Are you saying that they're denying that they have African ancestors or just don't want to have any identification/association with African culture?
Both. And it's not "African culture" as if it's some type of abstraction........it's THEIR culture.
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A group's perception/understanding of their own identity might be outside of the paradigms of what Americans(white or black) think they are.
I don't doubt that. I am seeing it as an African American AND an African Latino. Doesn't change one bit what I think. I'm not telling these people to try to be or "act like" African Americans, whatever that means. I'm saying embrace your own culture, which also stems from the history of slavery and the Middle Passage.
Quote:
I'm an Indian Hindu, and I know that myself and most other Indian Americans don't like being confused with or thought of as Arabs/Muslims/Middle Easterners by "Americans" (especially post 9/11 lol...) because they might think we're all the same "people" based on their own subjective visual perception and understanding of identity. I hope that made sense
It did, but there is a big difference. If you are a Hindu from New Delhi, say, or an Indian American with roots there, you are NOT an Arab or Muslim or Mideasterner. But if you are a Dominican of obvious African ancestry, you are of obvious African ancestry, no matter whether you like it or not. Feel me?
Uhm, what? My husband, daughter, and inlaws are all Hawaiian (to varying degrees) and even though they are not fans of the status quo back home, they certain self identify as American in terms of nationality if not culture or ethnicity.
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