Quote:
Originally Posted by lil_caine
Ok, lemme start out. My momz is dominican and my pops is blond hair-blue eyes dutch. My moms looks like a mulatta, mocha skin, kinky course hair that gets super curly when its wet.
All my siblings have really lite skin, not white skin, but theyr really lite skinned. They all have course curly/kinky hair though, and they got kind of a mix of black and white features. One of em could pass for white or maybe italian, one looks just like nelly but white skinned. Me on the other hand, my skin didnt mix so its just like my moms, almost a lil darker it seems. I have completely straigt hair that gets curly on the sides but thats about it. But my features are pretty much like any other mulatto. Standard fat lips, big nose, etc.
So whenever my hair is long, i look pretty much like a regular south american. But if i ever wear a hat, shave my head, get my hair in cornrows, etc., i look black. I like to call myself black instead of latin, because I know im closer to a african american than a mexican who are mostly native american, and when most people hear latin they think mexican instantly. People accept me as black because i always wear corn rows. But my mom tells me I'm crazy for "pretending" to be black, and totally denies shes black at all even though its clear. "Pura espanola" is what she claims, her excuse for dark skin bein that some spaniards are have tan skin (but theyre the gitanos who arent even from spain).
So here's my question. Am I wrong in calling myself black instead of latin?
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Dear Lil_caine,
There is absolutley nothing with you identifying as black. The fact that we in the DR are a tripartite people, African,Native American, and Spanish gives us the right to identify with one, two or all three of our heritages.
At my place of business I met a couple once who were brother and sister. The young man looked white but had dred locks, while his sister looked black and had a typical brooklyn Italian accent. When they got around to explaining their unique mix, I was informed that their father was African-American while their mother was Italian. However the young man had grown up with his father (after a divorce) in Georgia, while the young girl grew up with her mother in brooklyn.
The young man identified with his African roots, while his sister identified with her Italian roots. In essence, two identities in one family. While this may seem odd to some, it is actually very natural for us to choose one over the other and it is not neccessarily racist nor denial of one over the other. It is simply a matter of prediliction.
So by all means be proud of all that is in you, but be as African as you feel, for this is truly a blood line that flows through you.
All the best
Baracutei