But I think ppl should identify as black, and if not black then what? What I think is funny is that black latinos who come to the U.S. who don’t want to be identified as black would be called black in their own country, sure you have the option of being dillusional by calling yoursef Indian, mulato, or white, eventhough you may be none of that. Just because you had a ancestor somewhere down the line that wasn’t black doesn’t make you
mixed. The world would be crazy if everyone did this! I have some European & Indian ancestry on both sides (see Black Latinos & Black Americans have even more in common) but I don’t stress that. My reality is that of a Black woman, it would be wrong of me to call myself anything other than Black, or African (I would identify by my ethnic origins in Africa, but sadly that was stolen from me). I could never sell my family out. It saddens me so much to see pictures of the holocaust. We don’t have pictures of the African holocaust (well some from recent wars) but imagine a black face, then try & deny those ppl who worked their fingers to the bone for hundreds of years without pay! It’s unimagineable! It’s disgusting as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t think Black Latinos should have to adhere to racist U.S. racial categories, but yet you must realize that Black Americans are the most advanced when it comes to economic and social gains in their society. If they (Black Latinos) were smart they would try to emulate this model. I don’t necessarily agree with putting all mixed ppl who have a drop of blackness in the black category, which is done in the U.S., but we (Black Americans) are stronger and more united because of this. You can call yourself brown, tan, mulato, indian, white, red, yellow, black, or whatever, just don’t forget that ppl that look like you are OVERWHELMINGLY DISPROPORTIONATELY DISADVANTGED especially in Latin America, but also the rest of the world. So what are you really trying to accomplish by using these terms. It doesn’t matter what you call yourself, that doesn’t make your social or economic reality any different. A black in Brazil who calls themselves white (even if they aren’t mixed), will be treated the same as a black who identifies as such.

What these ppl really are trying to do is separate themselves from Black Americans because of the negative image of them in the U.S. The problem is that these ppl (me) look just like the Black Americans so it doesn’t matter.

It’s a shame some countries in Latin America which are predominately Black are not even ruled by blacks. In fact Blacks in govt. in Latin America are scarce to none. ppl are so concerned with these racial title they can’t see what’s really going on. It’s like if someone was dangling a ball of yarn in front of a kitten. Don’t let ppl take you for a fool. Whites in Latin America want blacks, & indians to list white on the census, so they can have larger numbers, and have an actual reason for ruling instead of “just because”. But thse ppl won’t be treated as any different. When you don’t identify as black, then you don’t want to be represented in govt. or the media, and you don’t want advancement for your people.

In the US, there’s been Jim Crow, de facto segregation (north and west), areas where there are hardly any African-Americans, and generally AAs are a numerical minority.

Compare that to Haiti - where people of African descent are impoverished but make up the majority of the population.

Compare that to Puerto Rico or other Spanish-speaking (or Portugeuse) nations, where the color lines were blurred (although still some economic disparity).

Compare that to South Africa and apartheid, with a different set of color lines and earlier migration from Southeast Asia (than typical of the US).

I disagree it’s more complicated then that.And who said they wanted special treatment in the first place?Let’s not assume anyone who does not identify as a black american at least culturally is a “sellout”.

I know bullsh*t when I smell it. I can guarantee if they are stopped by the cops they will not get special treatment just because they have a Spanish accent.

At http://www.mulatto.org we have several latino members who proudly identify as mulatto, rather than monoracially as either black or white.

Whither prejudice? Whither discrimination? Whither the fragile structure of our entire society?!