I really enjoyed this week’s readings for class. The discourse pertaining to identity politics is one that’s very interesting and usually discussed on social media like Twitter and Instagram. This week’s text, “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina” written by Aleichia Williams is a great example of being at odds with what you identify with. They write, “When the violence broke out in middle school between the African-American gangs and the Hispanic gangs and the students spoke among themselves on who was best I could remember screaming “I don’t know who to side with!”’ This is a great example of how confused and “stuck” someone might feel when confronted with what they identify with. The author explains how they felt they were “too black to be Latin” and therefore was put in the box of listening to the music associated with the Black culture when they actually listened to Spanish music that they had grown up with their entire lives. It’s important to understand that a meshing of cultures is inevitable living in the United States, especially areas like New York City where the author grew up, and taking that to a more conservative and undiversified place like North Carolina will certainly bring judgmental gazes when their preconceived ideas of what a seemingly “black” person or seemingly “white” person should act like. 

Isabelle’s snapshot perfectly encapsulated the struggle many black women in the Latinx community suffer from, and just like her posts read, it’s one thing to experience racism from white people, it’s in some ways even worse when it’s coming from their own community. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, I saw colorism plague the minds of so many people. Being darker skinned meant being made fun of or given backhanded nicknames, such as “Prieta”, or “Negra”, both meaning black. While some people think these nicknames are endearing, I personally don’t. How bizarre would it be if we normalized calling people by their skin color in English? Other hurdles that darker-skinned individuals in my country would face would be outright racism and prejudice. Having darker skin would make someone less “desirable” in the eyes of some men. Even the coarseness of their hair would be judged and most women who can afford to relax their hair to achieve a straighter appearance would do so. Eurocentric features were incredibly sought after and anything that didn’t resemble that was deemed as less pleasing. I find it disgusting how judged these women are, simply for the color of their skin or Afrocentric features, something that we cannot control.