Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights
On The Root, Dr. Henry Louis Gates profiles the black experience throughout Latin America. Underscoring black life in places, such as Peru and Brazil, Dr. Gates focuses his lens on Dominicans on the island of Hispaniola.
On the video, Dr. Gates talks with anthropologist and Director of Cultural Diversity Juan Rodriguez to find out why in the Dominican Republic, those of African descent , who are at least 90 percent of the population, call themselves everything but "black."
Watch what Rodriguez says here:
Watch the full episode. See more Black in Latin America.
The experience of black folks in Latin America burst on to the American scene when baseball star Sammy Sosa appeared at the Latin Grammy Awards several shades lighter than his natural color.
Initially, Sosa tried to deny that he had altered his complexion at all, but after much probing by the media, Sosa finally admitted that he was lightening his skin with a bleaching cream that he used each night before he went to bed. Sosa even went as far as saying that he intended to become a spokesperson for the cream, but then seemed to back pedal after many in the public -- and some of his own countrymen -- criticized Sosa for his actions.
But there is a history here that has subjected generations of African people of the diaspora to inequities and disenfranchisement in order to keep the global white power structure in place. If you continue watching Dr. Gates' "Black in America" series above, you will see how blacks throughout Latin America have been marginalized and abused.
Is it really any wonder that black Dominicans would go to great pains to detach themselves from Haiti and call themselves "indio" or any other term that doesn't denote them as black?
What I' m interested in is finding out what can be done to fix the inequities that blacks throughout Latin America face. I'd also like to know who is going to lead the effort to start a solid "black is beautiful" campaign in order to reprogram blacks to appreciate and love themselves.
Peru made an unprecedented step to righting the wrongs of slavery in their country by officially releasing a formal apology to the black people of Peru. They apologized for the bad treatment and marginalization that Afro-Peruvians have faced. I salute Peru for that action, because even in the storied United States of America, an acknowledgment, apology and reparation has not been made to those who suffered as descendants of slaves.
Since many of us are aware of the problems attached to living a historically limited and socialized existence, it is time for scholars, activists and lay people everywhere to take an active role in reshaping our sense of value and purpose in this world.
It's imperative.