Growing up in Brooklyn, my peers were extremely diverse. While there was diversity, everyone still gravitated to people who looked like them. I had a few friends who spoke Spanish, but never essentially had the “look” like they did. I never thought much about it, but Williams’ Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina article, really opened my eyes to what that experience may have been for them.
I think many of us who have dual nationalities, struggle with which identity to conform to. Especially when neither race is willingly open to accepting you. I think about my Spanish friends like Melinda and Sofia, who were easily mistaken for black girls. I recall many situations where they had to call out other classmates in their native language, addressing derogatory comments that none of them else would’ve understood. I never considered how hurtful it could be to have your identity called out on the line. Being black and simultaneously Spanish at the same time is a battle when you live in a country that considers both a minority.
Williams mentions “Even now as an adult I find people are constantly trying to restrict me into a specific mold and identity. My home language is Spanish so this must mean I eat tacos. I have kinky hair so this must mean I bang to Meek Mill.” People are constantly trying to push you into a box, and confirm an idea or identity that is easier for them to swallow. However, a person can be anything that is written in the DNA stars for them. Spanish and Black, German and French, the list goes on. A person’s identity is not bounded by the limitations of another individual’s idea.
Even Alicia Garaz touches on this notion in The Power of Identity Politics. “Controlling the story of who we are and what makes us who we are is an exercise of power…” Allowing people to control the narrative of who we are, is releasing the power to them. Forcing a person to identify with one race, when they are multiracial, is a crime. Forcing them based on the outside identity is even worst. As the old saying goes “You cant judge a book by it’s cover”, which also applies to identities. Moving forward, especially as society becomes more blended, we need to adjust our mindset to accepting people as they choose to identify themselves. Out appearance is only a fraction of what a person is, and there is so much to unwrap for person. We shouldn’t be forcing people to confirm to our ideas, but instead conform to theirs.