Latinos descend from more than 20 different countries, speak different languages, hold different political affiliations, and are of different races. Yet they are categorized by the same few terms.This group of people is complex and nuanced, but like many other ethnic and cultural demographics, it is often flattened into one mold. "All Latinas don't look like JLo," Angel Jones, an Afro-Latina assistant professor of education at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, said."Afro-Latinos and indigenous Latinos are left out of the celebration. We are not seen. We are not heard. Our identities are not valued or even considered and that absolutely needs to change." <keyword id="12102946" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hispanic-heritage-month" source="Orion">Hispanic Heritage Month</keyword> is designated as an all-encompassing celebration of Latinos and their cultures. Yet, many say it falls short of that endeavor. Instead of celebrating Latino cultures, it commodifies them, all the while promulgating a one-dimensional portrait of who Latinos are. This "fetishization" of Latinos during such a narrow period is why some are calling for the month to be reimagined. "I'm proud and grateful for any opportunity I get to share the stories of our people, to highlight the beauty that is our community," Jones told Insider."But it's as if we don't exist September 14 and as if we cease to exist October 16." Related Article Module: Spanish is a language barrier for some <keyword id="12102948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinx" source="Orion">Latinx</keyword> families. With my great-grandmother, love was never lost in translationPresident Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill establishing Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968. Twenty years after President Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon expanded the acknowledgment a month that would cover several Latin American countries' independence days, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Chile. In acknowledging that Latinos are a culturally diverse, vibrant, and growing community, <keyword id="11893844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="voices-of-color" source="Orion">Voices of Color</keyword> presents 'Mi Gente' - a series that speaks to the intricacies of having Latin American roots. From personal essays about reclaiming Spanish language, exploring how the Puerto Rican diaspora's views towards the island's political status, to the role Hispanic-owned banks serve in making finances more accessible in underserved communities, among others, you'll find that Latino identity is far from one-dimensional. With labels like Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx, come joy, pride, pain, and historical baggage. It's only by leaning into and committing to these complexities, that Hispanic Heritage Month can be the impactful period of visibility it's designed to be, experts say. So who are the Latinos living in the US? <h2>From country-of-origin to Spanish skills, Latino identity is complex</h2>Mexicans compose the biggest share of the Latino population, with more than 60% of Census respondents identifying as members of this ethnic group. But the number of Latinos listing El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala as their families' countries of origin has grown in recent years <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/12/07/rise-in-u-s-immigrants-from-el-salvador-guatemala-and-honduras-outpaces-growth-from-elsewhere/">as migration patterns shifted.</a> Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians are also among the top 10 groups with Latin American roots in the US. As Hispanic Heritage Month is underway, Latino communities are continuously evolving, staking a greater claim in politics, Hollywood, and other industries and re-conceptualizing the way they identify. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/09/key-facts-about-u-s-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/ft_21-09-09_keyfactslatinos_map/"><div type="image" title="BI Global Image 1466855" height="450" width="600" msid="86240140" hostid="261"></div></a>According to Census data, 26.7 million Hispanics identified as white in 2010 compared to 12.6 million in 2020. Hispanics are now the largest ethnic and racial group in California and three states - Florida, Texas, and California - saw their Latino populations grow by more than one million in the last 10 years. Perhaps more notable, North Dakota and South Dakota have seen the fastest Latino population growth since 2010, according to the Pew Research Center. Because these communities are so vast, celebrating their nuances during Hispanic Heritage Month becomes difficult, said Ed Morales, author of the book "Latinx: The New Force in Politics and <keyword id="11899151" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="culture" source="Orion">Culture</keyword>." "Outside of people who are involved with Latino advocacy and education and political organizations, the month itself does not seem to be observed by individual Latinos," Morales said. "It's more likely that Latinos celebrate holidays and traditions that are specific to their culture." He cited the Puerto Rican Day parade, an annual event that takes place in New York City, as one Puerto Ricans are more likely to celebrate than Hispanic Heritage Month. The name Hispanic Heritage Month itself might be deterring some people from acknowledging it, he added. The longstanding debate about whether to label people with Latin American roots as Latino, Hispanic, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/more-democratic-lawmakers-are-using-term-latinx-n1237884">Latinx</a>, Latine, or by the country their family is descended from <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/love-it-hate-it-latinx-points-future-writes-author-ed-n912581?icid=related">has erupted in recent years</a>.Given that nearly 15 million Latinos recorded only speaking English, per 2019 American Community Survey data, some argue that Hispanic does not feel like the appropriate moniker. Others don't like the label because they think it elevates their cultures' colonization as Spain colonized most of <keyword id="11962841" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latin-america" source="Orion">Latin America</keyword>. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/09/key-facts-about-u-s-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/ft_2021-09-09_keyfactslatinos_08/"><div type="image" title="BI Global Image 1466858" height="450" width="600" msid="86240143" hostid="261"></div></a>In the early 1900s, the US government labeled all Spanish-speaking people and those with Latin American roots as Mexican, even if their family did not descend from Mexico, per the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2010/03/03/census-history-counting-hispanics-2/">Pew Research Center</a>. On the 1970 Census, Latino identity was expanded to include Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, and "other Spanish." Ten years later, Hispanic became part of the public lexicon when the category was used on the 1980 Census. The categorization came about in large part because Mexican-American activists lobbied the Census Bureau to change the way Latinos were counted. While the label marked progress in helping Latinos gain political clout, some say it contributes to their erasure. "Growing up, I despised being labeled Hispanic," wrote journalist Araceli Cruz in an essay for <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/problematic-history-of-hispanic-word">Teen Vogue</a>. "It made me feel as if my <a href="https://www.brit.co/latinx-ancestry-dna-indigenous/">Mexican and indigenous side</a> was being wiped out." Yet the term Latinx doesn't make everyone happy either. While many argue it's inclusive of people who do not adhere to the gender binary, others say the term is elitist. <h2>Can moving on from 'Hispanic' make a difference? </h2>Some haven't even heard of it. Per the Pew Research Center, more than 75% of Latino adults have not heard the term Latinx and of those adults who have, only 3% use it themselves. Given that people with cultural connections to Latin America hold divergent thoughts about how to identify themselves, would changing the name of Hispanic Heritage Month be productive? Laura Gómez, author of the book "Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism" and a professor of law at University of California, Los Angeles, said she thinks so. Changing the name from Hispanic Heritage Month to Latino History Month, in her view, would help crystallize what the month is about: honoring Latinos and drawing attention to the historical and cultural narratives about Latino communities that have often been effaced. "Not only would it be consistent with Black History Month, but heritage means a lot of different things to different people," Gómez said. "We do have a common Latino history that we can talk about and look at, given our various countries have been colonized.""Colonialism and US imperialism are much more concrete than heritage," she added. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">It's as if we don't exist September 14 and as if we cease to exist October 16.</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">Angel Jones, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville</cite></blockquote>But whether changing the name of the month would be more "symbolic" than revolutionary remains a question, particularly if there's no meaningful commitment to elevating those who've traditionally been omitted from the celebration. "For schools and corporations celebrating, this is not a time to perpetuate stereotypes about <keyword id="12102947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinidad" source="Orion">Latinidad</keyword>," Jones said, mentioning the commodification of Cinco De Mayo as a poor example of engaging with Latino culture. "I think they really need to be mindful about what it is they're doing and why they're doing it." <h2>Re-envisioning a more inclusive celebration</h2><div type="image" title="puerto rico flag waving" height="1402" width="1870" msid="86240145" hostid="261"></div>Just as the Hispanic Heritage Month can serve as a way to highlight Latinos, it can also be rife with half-baked attempts at inclusion, said Jones cautioned. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/10/so-what-is-hispandering/">Hispandering</a> - which refers to trying to convince Latino voters or consumers for buy-in with often ineffective and offensive marketing - also takes place during this month. "While Latinos should be consulted in this kind of educational work, they must be effectively compensated for their intellectual and emotional labor," Jones said. Though Hispanic Heritage Month is imperfect, many say the holiday still serves an important purpose not only in allowing Latinos to appreciate their culture amid the pressure to assimilate, but by increasing visibility of Latino communities. "When I was growing up in Albuquerque in the 1970s, I never learned anything about Mexicans or Latinos," Gómez said. "I ask my students if they have learned this history and only a few of them have … There's a real need to right the wrongs of this exclusion." That's why Gómez is a proponent of educational initiatives throughout the month that attempt to fill the gap in inferior historical education about Latinos and other minoritized groups. As the month is underway, Voices of Color will continue to spotlight Latino communities and all their invaluable contributions with narratives celebrating the agency of people to define themselves, tell their own stories and shape their own future.

Latinos are reimagining Hispanic Heritage Month to highlight diversity

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many young <keyword id="12102948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinx" source="Orion">Latinx</keyword> struggle with not being able to speak <keyword id="72608" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Spanish" source="Orion">Spanish</keyword> fluently to family or friends.</li><li>The number of Latinx people who spoke Spanish at home decreased from 78 to 73% in 2015.</li><li>Mendez is still not fluent and says he missed out on a lot of familial relationships because of it.</li></ul>My great-grandmother passed away in early June. She was the matriarch of the family and why her 13 children were able to come to the United States from the <keyword id="16608" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dominican-Republic" source="Orion">Dominican Republic</keyword>.The family expanded, and soon she had 37 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren, with two more to be born. At her funeral, at least 300 people cycled in and out of the funeral home as they paid their respect to a woman who had such an impact on her community. I went and comforted my family as they cried, and as people approached the casket, I tried to remember memories I had.I couldn't think of any.Before her passing, the family matriarch endured a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and had two strokes. This left her bed-ridden for most of my life. When I was a teenager, she spoke but very infrequently. As I grew older, she became less and less vocal before not speaking at all.Growing up in New York, I spoke English, and my parents tried to teach me Spanish by talking to me in the <keyword id="25898" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="language" source="Orion">language</keyword>, but it never stuck. However, I grew up somewhat understanding it and even went on to take Spanish at an intermediate level in high school and college.But I was never fluent enough to hold conversations long enough to connect with a large portion of my family members - my great-grandmother being one of them. That doesn't mean I love or respect them any less; it's an observation I've made the older I've gotten, and it became hard to ignore at my great-grandmother's funeral.My feelings about missing out on familial relationships because I don't speak Spanish well are common among many people within the Latinx community and people who speak a different language from the rest of their families. According to a study conducted by the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/31/use-of-spanish-declines-among-latinos-in-major-u-s-metros/">Pew Research Center in 2015</a>, the number of Latinx people who speak Spanish at home sat at 73% percent, a decrease from the 78% percent reported in 2006.This, compounded with constantly being asked when I'm going to learn Spanish, along with not feeling "Latinx" enough.Before a shower one night, I decided to listen to an episode of NPR's podcast, "Code Switch" that featured The Kid Mero, one-half of the comedy collective on Showtime's "Desus &amp; Mero," who spoke about being Dominican-American, and so much of what he said resonated with me.In a story about speaking to his kids in Spanish at home, Mero spoke about how he laughed at his German-American, non-Spanish-speaking wife attempting to teach their kids Spanish and how it might have turned her off from speaking Spanish.It resonated with me because he spoke about how Dominican people speak Spanish - very fast and in a particular dialect - and how he felt formal Spanish might not give him the tools to communicate with family members.I related to both sides of this story - Mero and his wife.<h2>Many young Latinx struggle with not being fluent in Spanish</h2>One reason I don't speak Spanish is because of trauma - for lack of a better word. Being made fun of for speaking bad Spanish sticks with you, and the anxiety of talking to native speakers is crippling. I don't want to pronounce things wrong, I don't know what to say, and my brain goes into overdrive and completely shuts off.While it might not be the same, <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1169793795153641472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1169793795153641472&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fremezcla.com%2Flists%2Fculture%2Falexandria-ocasio-cortez-on-struggling-with-spanish%2Fh%2F">Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also spoke</a> about not being fluent in Spanish and needing "public practice" to improve after a 2019 interview with the Spanish-language network Univision. It was heartening to see her openly admit struggles with her Spanish, something that I also sought validation for not speaking well.I took Spanish for many years and have learned to read and write it without much difficulty. I've tried brushing up on it with apps like Duolingo, but it's not much of a challenge since I know most of what they're teaching on the app. It also doesn't have a setting for "Dominican Spanish," making it feel useless to learn this way.I'm slowly coming to terms with my stance on learning the language as being, 'I'll teach myself Spanish when I'm ready, but if I don't, that's okay too.'In <a href="https://hiplatina.com/non-spanish-speaking-latina/">an essay for HipLatina, Journalist Samantha Leal wrote</a> that her lack of fluency in Spanish doesn't mean she lacks any <keyword id="12102947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinidad" source="Orion">Latinidad</keyword>. "Spanish is an inherent part of the Latino identity. As it should be," Leal wrote. "You can identify with your ancestors and your family, you can eat your tia's tamales, and dance and sing to the song that reminds you of home even if you know what two-thirds of the words mean."She continued, "You can be proud of your cultura and what that means to you. It doesn't make you any less than."<h2>English or Spanish, language isn't a barrier to Latinx family love</h2><img src="https://i.insider.com/60df559b7cd04c001a227b6c?format=jpeg" alt="Mendez DR family" height="480" width="960" />More than 100 people gathered at my great-grandmother's gravesite for her burial. She rests next to her sister on a hill overlooking a busy main road. Before the priest began the service, a funeral attendant began passing out flowers in various colors to be placed on the casket.My great-grandmother's favorite color was purple. She wore it in many of the pictures I saw of her throughout the years and it's a color that always reminds me of her.As the flowers were being passed out, I turned my head to the left and the right of me, taking short glances at the red faces of my family around me, overcome with emotion. I knew if I looked at them cry, I would become a sobbing mess. It was our final goodbye.I began to rack my brain, trying to think of a fond memory I've had with her. As I struggled to think, I began to feel selfish for having these emotions of grief for a person I barely spoke to.The lump in my throat grew larger, and tears began to flow as I tried to hold back my tears. A voice in my head kept telling me not to cry as I watched my family members sniffle and weep. "You didn't get to know her that well. It's not your place to cry," I kept telling myself.I held my mom's hand and squeezed it tight as I watched my younger cousins try and hold it together. I wondered what our connection with her would have been like if we had gotten the opportunity to connect when I was older. I told myself that I felt she might have tried her best to connect with me and all of her great-grandchildren who don't speak Spanish. Although there is a language barrier that I see today with many of my aunts and uncles, I remembered that many of my family members still get excited to see me and try their best to connect and chat as much as they can.At that moment, the attendant handed me a purple flower. It was a small, seemingly insignificant, yet comforting gesture. It was a simple reminder that love transcends language.I took it as a sign from my great-grandmother as if she was saying, "Don't worry, we might not have understood each other, but I love you."

For Latinx families, love isn't lost in translation even if Spanish is the language barrier

<div type="image" title="Black Lives Matter Protests Mexico City" height="2667" width="3556" msid="76653799" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>While non-Black <keyword id="7429751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinx">Latinx</keyword> are impacted by white supremacy, we can still perpetuate <keyword id="9357669" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anti-blackness">anti-Blackness</keyword>.</li><li>Understanding and combating anti-Blackness within ourselves and our communities is our duty, and it starts at home.</li><li>Pushing back against colorism and the "good immigrant" narrative, as well as uplifting Black voices, are all important starting points.</li></ul>The fight against <keyword id="44060" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Racism">racism</keyword> in the United States is often framed as a battle between two sides. White and non-white. Oppressor and oppressed. It's a myth I bought into for much of my life. As a non-Black Peruvian who grew up in a predominantly white and non-Black Latinx suburb of Southern California, I believed that white people were the only ones who could be racist, while people of color stood united in our oppression. But when 17-year-old <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/florida-teen-trayvon-martin-is-shot-and-killed">Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in 2012</a>, my understanding of this false alliance crumbled. Trayvon Martin's killer, <a href="https://afropunk.com/2017/06/george-zimmerman-jeronimo-yanez-highlight-need-unpack-anti-blackness-latinx-communities/">George Zimmerman, is a non-Black Latino of Peruvian descent</a>. He is joined by Philando Castile's killer, Jeronimo Yanez, <a href="https://afropunk.com/2017/06/george-zimmerman-jeronimo-yanez-highlight-need-unpack-anti-blackness-latinx-communities/">a non-Black Latino of Mexican descent.</a> Before Sandra Bland died in her jail cell in 2015, she was <a href="https://projectpulso.org/2020/06/02/anti-racism-protests-erupt-as-latinos-stand-in-solidarity/">handcuffed by a non-black Latina police officer.</a> These people are not simply bad apples, nor are they anomalies. They sit at the far end of the spectrum of anti-Blackness in many Latinx communities. They are connected to the anti-Black statements made by our abuelas and tíos, of the images <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV_10CdkvSI">we see in telenovelas</a> and Spanish-language <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>, and of <a href="https://nativeheritageproject.com/2013/06/15/las-castas-spanish-racial-classifications/">the racial caste system Latin American countries were built on.</a>Now, non-Black Americans are reckoning with our anti-Blackness yet again due to the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died as a <a href="https://www.insider.com/new-video-three-minneapolis-police-officers-keeling-george-floyd-2020-5">Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.</a>As the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/us/white-americans-minority-population.html">US becomes less white</a> and expands into infinite hues of brown, <a href="https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/our-role-as-non-black-people-of-color-in-disrupting-racism">non-Black people of color must understand our role in upholding white supremacy</a> and anti-Blackness. As <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/08/u-s-hispanic-population-reached-new-high-in-2018-but-growth-has-slowed/">the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US,</a> Latinx people in particular must acknowledge the legacy of anti-Blackness in our communities.The first place we need to start undoing this white supremacy is at home.<h2>Colorism and anti-Blackness have a long history in Latin America</h2><div type="image" title="Afro-Peruvian dancers" height="768" width="1024" msid="76653801" hostid="261"></div>Much like the US, Latin American countries were built on a system of white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and anti-Indigeniety. Four million Africans taken hostage and enslaved during the Transatlantic Slave Trade were brought to Brazil, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/23/brazil-struggle-ethnic-racial-identity">10 times the number of people human trafficked to the United States</a> — an important distinction when thinking about how Latinx people are rarely portrayed as Black in popular media. Unlike the US, however, rather than building a clear "one drop rule" system of white supremacy that discouraged racial mixing, Latin American colonizers embarked on a mission of <a href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/mestizaje-definition-history.html">mestizaje</a>, or forced mixing between Spanish colonizers and indigenous and Black people. This created a complicated racial "casta" system that placed white Spaniards and light-skinned mestizos on the top and indigenous and Black people on the bottom. This racial caste system isn't relegated to the past. It seeps into our media, our literature, and the comments of our family members. My abuela would oftentimes make comments when I was a child that I failed to understand as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZsY1kYHT8A">colorist</a> — preferring light skin over dark skin, even within the same racial or ethnic group — and anti-Black. While lighter-skinned nietos — myself included — were praised for our appearance, my darker cousins and friends would oftentimes be met with silence or more intense scrutiny. Now, when I hear comments from my tías praising my little cousin's ojos claros (light eyes) or pelo rubio (blonde hair), I make it a point to ask questions about why that's considered more desirable. Conflict can be difficult, but it's important for us as non-Black Latinx to check our families on colorist comments about pelo malo (bad or curly hair) or dark skin, and open a dialogue with our families about anti-Blackness. Otherwise, we contribute to violent words and actions against Black people. Sometimes, language barriers can make it even more difficult to explain anti-Blackness to our families. Here is a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAwRZ60gXC5/?igshid=1wk301513erwa">list of useful terms in Spanish</a> for those conversations made by Melba Martínez, who uses they/she pronouns. <h2>Part of the work that needs to be done involves dismantling "the good immigrant" narrative </h2>Oftentimes, Latinx families come to the US in hopes of building a better life through hard work and perseverance — at least that's how the old "American Dream" myth goes. Trabaja duro and grit are mantras my tíos, tías, Papa, Mamá, Abuela, and every other miscellaneous extended family member told me growing up. If you work hard enough, you will succeed. As a child, I didn't think critically about what the flip side of this narrative implies. If hard work is all you need to succeed in the US, what does that mean for a group of people who have been generationally impoverished and incarcerated? While I know my family is well-intentioned in this advice — and buying into a narrative fed to them out of survival in an overwhelmingly white new country — their words are anti-Black. The "good immigrant" narrative suggests that the problems Black communities face are their own fault, whether it's mass incarceration or generational poverty. If they'd worked harder, they wouldn't be in this position, the thinking goes. My family has a relatively "successful immigrant" story, and they tend to buy into the "American Dream" — so I make it a point to push back. None of my older relatives were born in the US, so their understanding of racial history here is skewed. I've found it helpful to talk to them about slavery and indigenous genocide, and what it did to advance systemic white supremacy.Media can be an accessible way to show your family what anti-Blackness in the US looks like, rather than make them feel like you're talking at them. If your family is into movies, you could <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741">watch Ava DuVernay's "13th" on Netflix</a> with them and answer any questions they may have afterward. (Spanish subtitles and audio are available for those who need them.) Follow it up with <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/when-they-see-us-central-park-five-now.html">"When They See Us,"</a> the Netflix series on the wrongful conviction of five teenage boys in 1990.<h2>We may face similar struggles, but that doesn't give non-Black Latinx ownership over Black culture or Black stories</h2><div type="image" title="gina rodriguez january 2020" height="1340" width="1786" msid="76653803" hostid="261"></div>While colorist and anti-Black beliefs are embedded in the foundation of Latin America, many of our families rarely talk about <keyword id="15024" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Race">race</keyword>.Growing up, my family never had conversations about race. When I would ask, I was typically met with comments like, no importa que color somos (it doesn't matter what color we are). But my family's colorblindness didn't mean racism was absent from my life.When white kids would make comments about "going back to Mexico," or ask me to not speak Spanish around them because "it made them uncomfortable," I knew even if my family "didn't see race," my classmates did. So I took solace in Black media, and like many non-Black Latinx, engaged in what I thought was a fair cultural exchange between Black Americans and Latinx (read: non-Black Latinx) people. Black artists, writers, and musicians told stories that resonated with me because they openly discussed what it meant to be other in a white-dominated society. But just because we face similar struggles, doesn't mean they're the same, nor does it give non-Black Latinx any ownership over Black culture or Black stories. When celebrities like <a href="https://www.insider.com/gina-rodriguez-n-word-backlash-apology-instagram-video-2019-10">Gina Rodriguez</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/opinion/gina-rodriguez-n-word-latinx.html">Fat Joe</a>, and <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/jennifer-lopez-once-sparked-a-protest-for-using-the-n-word.html/">Jennifer Lopez</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/opinion/gina-rodriguez-n-word-latinx.html">say the n-word</a><a href="https://hiplatina.com/latinx-community-and-the-n-word/">,</a> non-Black Latinx <a href="https://wearemitu.com/entertainment/how-do-mexicans-talk-trending-on-twitter-after-becky-g-is-accused-of-appropriating-a-caribbean-blaccent-in-chicken-noodle-soup/">are complicit in a system that benefits us</a> at the expense of Black people. When we hear comments like "I can say it because I'm a person of color" or "we're all Black and indigenous anyways," it's important to take the time to ask friends and family members to think about how harmful these statements are. Dissuade your prima from getting braids if she isn't Black, talk to your tío about how he raps the n-word in songs, and don't support non-Black Reggaeton stars who don't actively give back to Black people or communities <a href="https://pagesix.com/2020/06/02/karol-g-apologizes-for-using-her-dog-to-promote-black-lives-matter/">but make money off appropriating Black culture</a> like <a href="https://twitter.com/MaPiaMe/status/1267550468135366658">Karol G</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/iambeckyg/status/653779257064161280">Becky G. </a><a href="https://twitter.com/bad_dominicana">Zahira Kelly-Cabrera</a>, an <a href="http://zahira.co/about">AfroDominicana writer,</a> scholar, and artist, has spoken extensively about cultural appropriation by white and non-Black Latinx of Black Latinx cultures, with attention to music in particular. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—esta cuerpa tropical (@bad_dominicana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1154374448839122945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>Following AfroLatinx scholars, artists, creators who are already doing this work, and paying them for all of the labor they've done and continue to do is the first of many steps non-Black Latinx people need to take. Next time you go to <a href="https://twitter.com/botasfuego/status/1267593735371620355">stream J Balvin,</a> consider <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5deYJLWFplc">playing Amara La Negra instead. </a><h2>Support and uplift Afro-Latinx voices on and offline rather than centering non-Black, non-Indigenous Latinx voices </h2><div type="image" title="Amara La Negra" height="683" width="910" msid="76653805" hostid="261"></div>Afro-Latinx people are oftentimes entirely cut out of Latin American history and erased in discussions about "<keyword id="9471490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latinidad">Latinidad</keyword>."Afro-Latinx people have existed since Latin America came to be and have created a majority of the "Latinx culture" we love to consume today. <a href="http://discovercolombia.com/cumbia-the-rhythm-of-colombia/">Cumbia,</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/reggaeton-artists-are-boycotting-the-latin-grammys-for-whitewashing-2019-10">Reggaeton</a>, Urbano music, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=oLdkCugOAOcC&amp;pg=PA135&amp;lpg=PA135&amp;dq=bachata+is+black&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=X5peu-mcn-&amp;sig=ACfU3U1RshqtBHEdW6HZK2SQ5WLAkpnSUg&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjNqZyL1vTpAhWWSTABHSzsCNYQ6AEwFHoECBMQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=bachata%20is%20black&amp;f=falseepage&amp;q=bachata%20is%20black&amp;f=false">Bachata,</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwBhy6wBZDs">Samba,</a> and more all stem from Black communities within Latin America. Yet many modern reggaeton stars are white Latinx or even Spaniards, and little to no recognition is given to the Afro-Latinx communities these genres belong to. This erasure goes beyond culture. It seeps into the political sphere and into social justice spaces. While Black undocumented immigrants only make up <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/the-double-punishment-for-black-immigrants/549425/">7% of people living without legal citizenship in the United States, they make up 20% of those facing deportation on criminal grounds — many of whom are Afro-Latinx.</a><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Andrew Viñales (@fogoav) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1269391380368982021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2020</a></blockquote><a href="https://twitter.com/MigrantScribble">Alán Pelaez Lopez,</a> an Afrozapotec writer, poet, and artist, has spoken extensively about their experience being questioned about being born in Mexico by non-Black Latinx because of the constant and violent erasure of AfroLatinx people. Their books <a href="http://www.theoperatingsystem.org/product/intergalactic-travels-poems-from-a-fugitive-alien/">"Intergalactic Travels: poems from a fugitive alien"</a> and <a href="https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781734437720/to-love-and-mourn-in-the-age-of-displacement.aspx">"to love and mourn in the age of displacement"</a> can be bought here. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Alán ACAB (@MigrantScribble) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1275981628599201793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2020</a></blockquote>When we as non-Black Latinx center the conversation and narrative about Latinidad on ourselves, we make it impossible to address the intersecting oppressions faced by Afro-Latinx people and erase Black Latinx life and experience. While posting an Instagram graphic or holding a protest sign that says "Latinx for Black Lives" may be well-intentioned, it implies Afro-Latinx people don't exist and contributes to the erasure of Black Latinx people. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—esta cuerpa tropical (@bad_dominicana) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1274025162002903040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote><h2>Undoing white supremacy and anti-Blackness within ourselves and communities is a lifelong, ongoing, and non-linear process </h2><div type="image" title="Black Lives Matter" height="683" width="911" msid="76653807" hostid="261"></div>There is no final step in undoing anti-Blackness. Internalized white supremacy, anti-Blackness, and anti-indigeneity lives in all non-Black Latinx. These are systems of oppression we have to undo within ourselves for the rest of our lives. Business Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/linette-lopez">Linette Lopez</a> put it best: "For an America that preserves democracy and the rule of law, it is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/it-is-not-enough-to-not-be-racist-in-america-you-must-be-anti-racist-2020-6">not enough for Americans to simply not be racist.</a> We must be actively anti-racist, and build anti-racist institutions."Read More: <a href="https://www.insider.com/therapist-break-up-didnt-understand-race-2020-5">I'm black and genderfluid, and I had to break up with my white therapist because she didn't understand race</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/afro-latino-boyfriend-police-talk-america-george-floyd-police-brutality-2020-6">I gave my Afro-Latino boyfriend the 'police talk' before visiting the US. After George Floyd's killing, I watched his baptism into American life.</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/black-photographers-community-stories-george-floyd-white-media-2020-6">Non-Black photographers need to step aside and let Black people tell their own stories. It's the most helpful thing they can do.</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/theres-no-room-for-minnesota-nice-in-conversations-about-racism-2020-6">I'm a Black man who lived near the spot George Floyd was killed. There's no more room for 'Minnesota nice' in conversations about racism.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-treating-coronavirus-patients-racism-greater-threat-than-virus-2020-6">I'm a doctor in Minneapolis treating coronavirus patients. Until racism is abolished, it will always be a greater threat to justice than this virus.</a>

It's time for non-Black Latinx people to talk about anti-Blackness in our own communities — and the conversation starts at home

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Colombian rapper <keyword id="12412584" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="j-balvin" source="Orion">J Balvin</keyword> apologized after widespread backlash over his "Perra" <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword> video.</li><li>The music video, which showed two Black women being led around on leashes, was derided as racist. </li></ul>Colombian rapper J Balvin recently apologized after widespread backlash over his "Perra" music video, which has been heavily criticized for its racist depiction of Black women. The music video showed two Black women being led around on leashes, as well as Black actors wearing prosthetics to make them look like dogs.The video also features Tokischa, a Dominican rapper, in a cage while singing about being a "b---- in heat." Criticism of the video blew up on social media, causing "J Balvin racist" to trend on Twitter. Even Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez weighed in, citing the video as an example of one of two recent incidents that "violate women's rights and their dignity" in an <a href="https://www.eltiempo.com/uploads/files/2021/10/12/2021-10-11_Carta%20abierta%20OKsobre%20violencia%20contra%20la%20mujer%20Medellin%20y%20JBalvin%20V3%20-1-.pdf">open letter. </a>In his apology, Balvin said he removed <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/9650245/j-balvin-perra-video-apology">the full music video from YouTube on Oct. 17</a> in response to the feedback. Despite the rapper's apology and the removal of the video, Afro-Latinos say the video is emblematic of larger issues embedded in the <keyword id="11899151" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="culture" source="Orion">culture</keyword>. <h2>Afro-Latinos say "Perra" video is a 'painful reminder' of rejection</h2>Instead of treating the incident as an isolated or unique situation, Afro-<keyword id="12111192" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="latino" source="Orion">Latino</keyword>s are calling for white Latinos to conduct broader conversations and take action to address pervasive <keyword id="12412586" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anti-blackness" source="Orion">anti-Blackness</keyword> and misogynoir in Latino communities. "We always think of Latinidad as this beautiful rainbow where we're all living happily together and there's no hatred," said Guesnerth Josue Perea, director of Afrolatin@ Forum, an organization that supports Latinos of African descent in the US. He told Insider, however, that J. Balvin's "music video shows that there is still this continued lack of acknowledgement among white Latinos that they benefit from white privilege." For Afro-Latinas specifically, the video has been a painful reminder of rejection and violence they experience even within their own community. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">For me, as an Afro-Latina, it is especially painful when it's happening within what's supposed to be my own community</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">Angel Jones</cite></blockquote>"I was disgusted, but not surprised by the way Black women are disrespected in the video," Angel Jones, an Afro-Latina assistant professor of education at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, said. "I always think of Malcolm X's quote where he talked about how Black women are the most disrespected, neglected, and unprotected people in this country and that continues to be demonstrated by the lack of respect we receive." "For me, as an Afro-Latina, it is especially painful when it's happening within what's supposed to be my own community," Jones added. "If I'm disrespected in the broader community, I should be able to go home to my community and feel the opposite and that is absolutely not the case." <h2>Some critics say this is not a story of cancel culture </h2>For some, the incident has caused them to reevaluate whether they still identify as J. Balvin fans. "I'm very upset that he would depict Black women in a way I find very appalling," Anajia Owens, a musician, told Insider. "The representation that he chose to go with is inexcusable, especially when all the information is right there at your fingertips." "I can't stand by him or support him," Owens, who is a Black woman, said. She added that both her and her girlfriend, who is Afro-Dominican, feel as though the incident created a "huge loss" for both Black and Black Latino communities. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">Afro-Colombian artists have to confront injustice and <keyword id="11893536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="racism" source="Orion">racism</keyword> in different ways that J. Balvin hasn't had to think about as a white Latino</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">Guesnerth Josue Perea</cite></blockquote>However, she and others stress that this is not a story about cancel culture. To her, and so many others, this is a story about accountability and treating Black women with the respect and dignity they deserve. "It doesn't all fall on him," Katelina Eccleston, a <keyword id="12412585" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="reggaeton" source="Orion">reggaeton</keyword> historian who <a href="https://www.papermag.com/j-balvin-jose-2655280932.html">recently interviewed Balvin for Paper Magazine</a>, told Insider, adding that the video and its concept were approved by several other people before its release. "This is much bigger than one video." <h2>Reggeaton and the music industry reproduce anti-Blackness </h2><div type="image" title="Performers, including singer J Balvin, pose in from of a sign saying Reggaeton." height="2675" width="3567" msid="87348494" hostid="261"></div>Eccleston said that anti-Blackness is ubiquitous not only in reggaeton, but in the music industry at large."His mistake speaks to larger issues of the industry," Eccleston said. "As a Black woman in the space, there's a gatekeeping that occurs to keep me in my place."Eccleston spoke of the "othering of Black issues as non-Latino issues," saying that this process contributes to a cycle where Black issues are viewed as "something foreign to Latinidad."Both she and Perea noted that non-Black Latinos rely on the idea of 'mestizaje,' a term used to describe people of mixed race, as a pass to not acknowledge the ways in which they further marginalize Black Latinos. They say the industry fosters this dynamic. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-alfred (@dr_agp) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1452469588705218560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2021</a></blockquote>Eccleston cited Jennifer Lopez as an example of the music industry "browning white Latinos." Lopez came under fire last year for referring to herself as "negrita" in a song even though she's not Black.There's a sense that the music industry tends to view white Latinos as more authentically Latino than Black Latino musicians, said Perea. Perea compared Balvin's mainstream success to that of ChocQuibTown, a Black Colombian hip-hop group. Though the group has been nominated for and awarded several Latin Grammys, it has arguably not seen a similar level of success as Balvin, who has had collaborations with Beyoncé and Bad Bunny. "Afro-Colombian artists have to confront injustice and racism in different ways that J. Balvin hasn't had to think about as a white Latino," Perea said. <h2>Afro-Latinos urge accountability and attention given to the dehumanization of Black women </h2>Balvin's collaborator, Tokischa, and the director of the video, Raymi Paulus, have since responded to criticisms of the video.Tokischa told Rolling Stone that she was <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/j-balvin-tokischa-perra-video-1247217/amp/">sorry</a> for the way the video had been interpreted, while Paulus told the magazine that the video was meant as a "satirical representation" of the "many contexts of the word 'perra.'"But many say that they do not want this moment to pass without greater attention to the mistreatment of Afro-Latinos and the dehumanization of Black women in music and beyond. "We need to center Black Latinos," Perea said. "As we're engaging in these conversations about anti-Black racism and white Latinidad, we really have to discuss why this identity of mestizaje is a problematic identity that otherizes Black people." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Shamara Valdez Rubio (@ShamaraValdez) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1453417360157655042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2021</a></blockquote>Jones agreed, referencing the numerous signs that read "Latinos for Black Lives" during the height of the 2020 racial justice protests as further evidence that white Latinos can fail to recognize the ways they erase Black members of their communities. "Anti-Blackness isn't going to go away if we don't admit it exists and keep ignoring these problems," Jones said. "Black women matter and Black women should be respected and protected," she added. "We should not be used for sales and <keyword id="11896019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">entertainment</keyword>. We deserve better than that."

What J Balvin's 'Perra' music video reveals about anti-Blackness and misogynoir in Latino communities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>41 million people speak <keyword id="12314138" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spanish" source="Orion">Spanish</keyword> in the US. But the share of Latinos who use it at home is declining.</li><li>Linguistic assimilation has caused Spanish to slowly succumb in some families.</li></ul>For Latinos in the US, the question of identity is complex and, for some, the answer is substantially tied to whether a person is a Spanish-speaking person or not. Moises Mendez II, a Dominican-American journalist, has asked himself that question. But for him, when it comes to family, <a href="https://www.insider.com/spanish-language-isnt-a-barrier-to-latinx-family-love-2021-7">love isn't lost in translation even if Spanish is the language barrier</a>. "I'm slowly coming to terms with my stance on learning the language as being, 'I'll teach myself Spanish when I'm ready, but if I don't, that's okay too,'" he wrote.For others like him, Spanish isn't intrinsic to Latino identity, either. Already, most Latino adults say that while Spanish is an important part of Latino <keyword id="11899151" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="culture" source="Orion">culture</keyword>, it <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/19/is-speaking-spanish-necessary-to-be-hispanic-most-hispanics-say-no/">isn't necessary to speak Spanish to be considered Latino.</a> How a person self-identifies, actually, goes beyond how they relate to a language. Here's why.<h2>The use of Spanish among Latinos is changing</h2>About<a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=spanish%20speaking&amp;tid=ACSST1Y2019.S16011601"> 41 million people speak Spanish in the US</a>, making it the second most spoken language in the country. And while that number continues to grow,<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/12/20/hispanic-identity-fades-across-generations-as-immigrant-connections-fall-away/"> the amount of self-identified Latinos who speak it at home is declining</a> as English dominance rises through generations, according to the Pew Research Center. Only 7% of foreign-born, self-identified Hispanics say they mostly use English at home. The share increases to 75% for third-and-higher-generation Americans.And experts note the experience of being Latino isn't the same for everyone.Latinos are often seen as an homogeneous group of people, all represented in the same way. But the assumption that there's a common, singular identity among Latinos is a misrepresentation of the category as a whole. Related Article Module: For Latinx families, love isn't lost in translation even if Spanish is the language barrier"The notion of Latino isn't homogenous, it is very heterogeneous. There are country of origin differences, there are ethnic differences, and there are regional differences that produce a lot of different types of subjectivities within the category of Latino," Dr. Phillip Carter, a sociolinguistics scholar, told Insider.Being Latino is not a one-size-fits-all, but the Latino narrative was constructed to assume just that.In her book, "Making Hispanics: How Activists, Bureaucrats, and Media Constructed a New American," sociologist G. Cristina Mora, explains the development of the "Hispanic" identity and how groups from different regions and different political perspectives were all united under this term.And although panethnic words like "Latino" and "Hispanic" are largely used to describe one's identity, different Latino subgroups have their own personal experiences of what it is to be Latino, as they relate to culture, race, beliefs, gender, and even socio-political status, not just language. What would Latinidad or "Latino-ness," then, look like to indigenous communities that <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/latinidad-spanish-exclusionary/">don't traditionally speak Spanish?</a>Overall, language isn't the only way to articulate one's identity. <blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">Embracing your culture, having pride in your ancestry, and sharing that with your communities is how we, Latinos that don't speak Spanish, can make the most impact.</q></blockquote><h2>People speak different languages because of different reasons</h2>Language ideologies-how language is used in the social world-are politically loaded. There is a social structure to the use of a language or the absence of it. Carter explains that the political conceptualization of language in the United States and elsewhere suggests that languages, nations, and populations line up congruently.Assumptions are often that if someone's in France they speak French, if they're in the United States they speak English, or if they're Hispanic then they speak Spanish. But it's not always that simple."In reality, people speak different languages depending on their experiences in the world that relate to their ethnicity, and also political notions of country, but are not determined by those notions," he said.In other words, someone can be a Latino in the United States and be a Spanish monolingual, an English monolingual, or anything in between.These different language outcomes, for the most part, exist because of how a person, or generations before them, perceived the language. For most people, having seen or experienced some sort of linguistic discrimination made them loathe Spanish.For immigrants who've integrated into American society, being subjected to anti-immigrant rhetoric has discouraged them from using their native language as a primary form of communication. As a result, their cultural linguistic roots have been severed and their native language dismissed. This linguistic assimilation causes Spanish to slowly succumb in some families.More than <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/02/most-hispanic-parents-speak-spanish-to-their-children-but-this-is-less-the-case-in-later-immigrant-generations/">50% of third generation parents even choose not to speak Spanish to their children</a>, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center report."In my grandparents' time, in my mom's time, Spanish was looked down upon," Julian Castro, former secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, <a href="https://remezcla.com/culture/julian-castro-fluent-spanish/?amp">told MSNBC.</a> "People, I think, internalized this oppression about it, and basically wanted their kids to first be able to speak English," he added.Today, "English-only" workplace policies, anti-Latino sentiments, hate speech, or general hostility towards the language, are just some forms of discrimination Latinos face. About four-in-ten Latinos (38%) have experienced discrimination, according to Pew. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/22/before-covid-19-many-latinos-worried-about-their-place-in-america-and-had-experienced-discrimination/ft_2020-07-22_hispanicdiscrimination_02/"><div type="image" title="BI Global Image 2537599" height="450" width="600" msid="87188964" hostid="261"></div></a>Others who dwell within the category of Latino who might, for instance, be undocumented, vulnerable to the state, or are under constant threat of feeling like they are going to be deported, might see the "Latino-as-threat" discourse and choose not to speak Spanish in public.But this linguicism isn't exclusive to new immigration. Anti-Latino prejudice dates back to the 1840s, where school segregation, illegal deportation, and even lynchings of Spanish-speaking US citizens mirrored the Civil Rights violations African American faced.<h2>There's more to Latino identity than just speaking Spanish</h2>Prejudice against Spanish continued well into the late 80s, and its long-lasting effects brought up entire generations who don't speak it and are left not feeling "Latino enough."But constructing a larger sense of Latino identity is about finding ways to connect with one's heritage, whether it's through Spanish or not. Related Article Module: The Latino electorate is growing. What does that mean for the future of American politics?It's about the richness of the Latino culture and the diversity across the Latin diaspora."​​Not knowing Spanish isn't something to be looked down upon," Manuel Rocha, a Mexican-American, said in his Podcast <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/latinos-that-dont-speak-spanish/id1455805232">Latinos that don't speak Spanish.</a>He added "embracing your culture, having pride in your ancestry, and sharing that with your communities is how we, Latinos that don't speak Spanish, can make the most impact."

Being Latino is about much more than just speaking "perfect Spanish"

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nearly 40 states introduced bills or actions that restrict classroom discussions of race since last January. </li><li>Teachers have left or been fired from their positions over book bans and anti-critical race theory laws.</li></ul>Just as she had done in years past, Abigail Henry started this <keyword id="11900653" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="school" source="Orion">school</keyword> year by introducing her 9th grade class to a sankofa bird. The West African birds are brightly colored and often looked upon as a symbol of long lives and freedom. "They embody the idea that in order to move forward, you have to know your past," said Henry. "By the end of the school year this bird becomes a representation of positive racial history." In her 10-year career, Henry, who teaches at a majority Black school in Philadelphia, has seen firsthand how teaching racial history empowers students. This is in part why Henry is so frustrated with current conversations about culturally competent and appropriate curriculum: they often omit the positive effect such curriculum can have on students — particularly students of color. "That's one of my biggest frustrations [with the anti-critical race theory movement] because the conversation tends to focus on the curriculum forcing white students to learn about their privilege, instead of how teaching about race helps students of color learn what amazing contributions they've made to the US and how they've made the US better," Henry told Insider. "What's wrong with discussing that Black people made the US better?" <div type="image" title="A picture of a student drawing of a yellow bird." height="3024" width="4032" msid="89389884" hostid="261"></div>With the rise of <a href="https://www.insider.com/texas-parent-targets-book-about-michelle-obama-string-book-bans-2022-2">book bans</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/conservatives-won-elections-with-critical-race-theory-propaganda-2021-11">passage of laws banning critical race theory</a> in classrooms across the country, teachers have been placed in what some describe as an "impossible" situation. While many educators have been discouraged from and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/12/06/tennessee-teacher-fired-critical-race-theory/">even fired</a> for teaching about race, others are doubling down on their efforts to teach students what they call the "real history" of America, especially during <keyword id="13081857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-history-month" source="Orion">Black History Month</keyword>, which began Tuesday. "I'm not teaching that white people are evil. I never have and never will teach my students that lie," Khalil Suaray, a Maryland-based educator, said. "We have open and honest conversations about racism and how people have harmful mindsets towards other people who don't look like them.""This is not out of hatred or disrespect for people who are not Black," he added. "The criticism comes from people who completely misinterpret [teaching about race], because the point is not to make others feel bad." <h2>How did the US go from introducing Black History Month to anti-critical race theory laws? </h2>Teaching <keyword id="12004885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="critical-race-theory" source="Orion">critical race theory</keyword> and teaching culturally competent curriculum about race are not the same thing, many teachers say. Such teachers feel this is an important distinction to make as the attack on critical race theory, a legal framework that looks at how racism has shaped public policy, has led to limitations on simply mentioning race in the classroom. "Teachers aren't teaching critical race theory, but do teachers teach history? Yes." Henry said. "If you're an English teacher teaching To Kill a Mockingbird or Toni Morrsion, then you're going to have to discuss the cultural context of the books, which includes race." Henry herself teaches excerpts from the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, which examines the role of slavery in America's historical narrative. The current anti-critical race theory movement emerged in part as backlash to the influential project and spiked after the Trump Administration introduced the 1776 Commission, an advisory committee to counter The 1619 Project and bolster what former President Donald Trump called "patriotic <keyword id="11897808" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="education" source="Orion">education</keyword>." A report released by the commission days before Trump left office was criticized for failing to include the perspectives of any historians, lack of citations, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/arts/1776-commission-claims-trump.html">"blatant contradictions."</a> Yet backlash against The 1619 Project — which has become synonymous with CRT with many prominent political figures on the right — has led to wider efforts to ban teaching about race. As was seen in the November elections, conservatives ran and <a href="https://www.insider.com/conservatives-won-elections-with-critical-race-theory-propaganda-2021-11">won on platforms decrying critical race theory.</a> <div type="image" title="A picture of a student essay about building trust in the medical industry among Black people." height="3024" width="4032" msid="89389886" hostid="261"></div>Most notably, Gov. Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe in Virginia's high-profile gubernatorial race — going so far as vowing to ban critical race theory's use in classrooms. Last week, the governor launched a tip line, encouraging parents to report their children's teachers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-youngkin-launches-tipline-report-teachers-2022-1">if they bring CRT or other "divisive subjects" into the classroom. </a>Youngkin's announcement of the tipline came days before he made a speech for Black History Month in which he called on Virginians to "celebrate our rich history," noted Taisha Steele, director of human and civil rights at the Virginia Education Association. "Youngkin gave a proclamation for Black History Month in which he spoke about how Virginia is home to distinguished Black American leaders and to celebrate the rich and diverse hopes and dreams of all Virginians," Steele told Insider. "We get a statement like that, but then outside of Black History Month there's all this rhetoric." Steele added that the discrepancy between Youngkin's Black History Month speech and his efforts to limit teaching about race in classrooms "proves the point that Black History Month and conversations around it should not be limited to a proclamation." While among the most visible instances of CRT limitations, Virginia is not the only state where CRT has been used as a wedge issue. According to an <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06">Education Week analysis</a>, 37 states have introduced legislation or "taken other actions" that restricts teaching critical race theory and/or limits discussions of sexism and racism in the classroom since January 2021. <h2>Teachers are doubling down on teaching history during Black History Month and beyond </h2>The widespread laws banning critical race theory are having a tangible effect on classrooms. Not only do they directly affect what students learn, but <a href="https://www.insider.com/why-black-teachers-leaving-profession-burnout-microaggressions-pandemic-2022-1">they are contributing to the mass exodus of teachers, particularly teachers of color. </a>Some educators have even reported <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06">receiving death threats</a> and <a href="https://www.axios.com/teachers-harassment-fines-critical-race-theory-f0e6e7b2-d7cd-44f3-a30a-14f3acce5175.html">fines</a> over their curriculum, causing them to leave the classroom. "The racial stress on educators is a real thing," Henry said. "Some schools are barely functioning and a lot of teachers have quit this year. We need a lot more love and support right now, instead of this added stress." While the coordinated attacks on teaching critical race theory from school boards and political figures are undoubtedly limiting discussions of race in the classroom, educators who are in a position to do so are determined to give students a comprehensive look at US history and to discuss the historical context behind inequalities that persist today. These teachers say although their efforts to do so are year-round, they take on a particular salience during Black History Month, which was designated as a national holiday in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. In his speech recognizing Black History Month, Ford spoke of the importance of seizing "the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of <keyword id="12020461" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-americans" source="Orion">Black Americans</keyword> in every area of endeavor throughout our history." "Brown and Black students need education for different reasons," Tim Hernández, a Colorado-based high school teacher whose classes are mostly Latino students, told Insider. "White students need education to participate in social systems that work for them, but Black and Brown students need education to feel affirmed enough to participate in these social systems and to make decisions complementary to the lives they want to live." <div type="image" title="A picture of a Black History Month classroom display of colored birds." height="3024" width="4032" msid="89389887" hostid="261"></div>In order to provide an education that empowers and enlightens his students, Hernández plans lessons on Afro-Latinidad and prominent Black figures like Malcolm X and Angela Davis. He connects the history with current events by inviting community leaders and activists into the classroom to speak with students. "I'm a teacher of color teaching three blocks where I grew up in a very gentrified area," Hernández said. "These racial systems are very real and my job is to teach my students how to navigate them." <h2>While trauma is part of the story, educators say Black History Month needs to highlight joy and triumphs </h2>Several educators, including Brian Harris, say that Black History month also provides an opportunity to ensure that the triumphs of communities of color are taught, instead of just exploring their trauma. "Black history is so much more than enslavement," Harris, a Virginia-based teacher and author of the children's book I Am My History, said. "It's more than offering a list of facts and dates. Black history is also about celebrating trailblazers, your family, and the people around you in your community and amplifying Black joy." Throughout the month, Henry's school will make morning announcements sharing Black History facts and stories, and every "Melanin Monday," students and staff are encouraged to wear dashikis, African skirts, or other cultural fashion. By the last day of February, students in Henry's class will have answered the affirmation, "I am Black and Beautiful because…" and decorated their own sankofa bird as a reminder to forge ahead while remembering the past.

Book bans and anti-critical race theory laws won't stop these educators from teaching Black History Month

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="76399" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Zoe-Saldana">Zoe Saldana</keyword>, who identifies as Afro-Latina, has apologized for playing African-American singer and civil rights activist <keyword id="915964" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nina-Simone">Nina Simone</keyword> in the 2016 biopic "Nina."</li><li>In an August 3 interview with "Pose" creator Steven Canals on Bese's Instagram account, Saldana said: "I should have never played Nina," and vowed to never make the same mistake again.</li><li>Saldana continued: "I should have tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play an exceptionally perfect Black woman."</li><li>For the role, Saldana wore a prosthetic nose and had her skin darkened, and many voiced their displeasure with her casting including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/movies/should-zoe-saldana-play-nina-simone-some-say-no.html">Simone's daughter Lisa Simone Kelly</a>: "Appearance-wise this is not the best choice."</li></ul>Zoe Saldana has formally apologized for playing African-American singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist Nina Simone in the 2016 biopic "Nina."Saldana, who identifies as Afro-Latina, was speaking to "Pose" creator Steven Canals in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CDcwF-3AgdV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">an August 3 interview posted to the Instagram account of Bese</a>, a media platform founded by Saldana herself that focuses on topics around <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> and identity.During the 56-minute long chat, Canals asked Saldana about the controversy arose around Saldana's decision to play Simone. Canals said: "There were a lot of questions around blackface, and darkening skin, and prosthetics. And I wonder, what is your relationship with that choice now?"Saldana was upfront with her answer, and told Canals: "I should have never played Nina. I should have done everything in my power, with the leverage that I had 10 years ago, which was a different leverage but it was leverage nonetheless — I should have tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play an exceptionally perfect Black woman."<div type="image" title="Zoe Saldana Nine Simone movie" height="900" width="1600" msid="77392423" hostid="261"></div>Saldana continued: "I thought back then that I had the permission because I was a Black woman. And I am. But it was Nina Simone. And Nina had a life and she had a journey that should have been, and should be, honored to the most specific detail."Saldana praised Simone as a "specifically detailed individual" and said the activist was "honest" about everything in her life, from her voice and views to her music and art. Saldana said that Simone "deserved better," and apologized for playing the role.Saldana continued: "I know better today, and I'm never going to do that again. Never. I'm learning. I'm still processing it. I've been processing it for 10 years, and I think it's a conversation that I wanna have. I'm not gonna allow people to violate me, to make me feel less than. But I am going to be open to this conversation, so we can grow from it, and we can give back to ourselves and to each other our identity. For f---'s sake, it's about time."Watch the interview below:<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CDcwF-3AgdV" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana) sits down with "Pose" (@poseonfx) creator and executive producer Steven Canals (@stevencanals) to chat about Afro-Latinidad, colorism in the Latinx community, Nina Simone, and more. #AfroLatinx #AfroLatinidad #BESE #ZoeSaldana #StevenCanals #Pose #PoseFX #AfroLatinos #Dominican #PuertoRican</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by BESE (@bese) on Aug 3, 2020 at 6:54pm PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-08-04T01:54:20+00:00">Aug 3, 2020 at 6:54pm PDT</time></div></blockquote>For the role, Saldana wore a prosthetic nose and had her skin darkened, which angered many at the time including Simone's own daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly. Kelly told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/movies/should-zoe-saldana-play-nina-simone-some-say-no.html">The New York Times</a> in 2012 when news of Saldana's casting was first breaking: "My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice."Also, India Arie, who had previously played Simone in a 2003 episode of NBC's "American Dreams," told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-arie-on-zoe-saldana-casting-in-nina-2016-3?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">The Hollywood Reporter in 2016</a> that "the best way to say it is that they casted her against type and went too far to make her fit."Arie said: "It made me sad. The way she looked in the movie was ugly. Whether or not Nina Simone was beautiful in your eyes, I thought she was beautiful. But in this movie, she just looked weird. Her skin looked weird, and her nose looked weird."Saldana had previously defended playing Simone in a 2017 <a href="https://www.insider.com/zoe-saldana-defends-portrayal-of-nina-simone-2016-6">interview with Allure</a>, in which she told the publication: "There's no one way to be Black."At the time, Saldana said: "The script probably would still be lying around, going from office to office, agency to agency, and nobody would have done it. Female stories aren't relevant enough, especially a Black female story […] I made a choice. Do I continue passing on the script and hope that the 'right' Black person will do it, or do I say, 'You know what? Whatever consequences this may bring about, my casting is nothing in comparison to the fact that this story must be told.'"Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/dr-hibbert-actor-harry-shearer-questions-the-simpsons-casting-rules-2020-8">The actor who plays Dr Hibbert in 'The Simpsons' questions the show's decision to stop casting white actors as characters of color</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-downey-jr-defends-blackface-tropic-thunder-video-2020-1">Robert Downey Jr. defended his Oscar-nominated blackface role in 'Tropic Thunder': 'I knew where my heart was'</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/marvel-avengers-actors-starred-together-in-movies-outside-of-mcu-2019-7">32 times 'Avengers' stars have costarred outside of the Marvel Universe</a>

You Searched For "latinidad" and got 7 results

Latinos are reimagining Hispanic Heritage Month to highlight diversity

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It's time for non-Black Latinx people to talk about anti-Blackness in our own communities — and the conversation starts at home

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What J Balvin's 'Perra' music video reveals about anti-Blackness and misogynoir in Latino communities

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Being Latino is about much more than just speaking "perfect Spanish"

Nicole Forero

Book bans and anti-critical race theory laws won't stop these educators from teaching Black History Month

Gwen Aviles

Zoe Saldana apologized for playing Nina Simone in the 2016 biopic: 'I should never have played Nina'

Jacob Sarkisian