I really enjoyed this week’s readings. The power of identity politics really helped me clear up any confusion I had with accurately defining identity politics. The example of the blonde woman disregarding the bigger picture of her opinion was spot on. Her opinion stems from the lack of knowledge white people have when it comes down to “I don’t see color” – one statement which I have definitely heard before. Power plays a huge role in defining identity politics, how it differs from feeling empowered, and how the blond chose to blatantly ignore power in that situation. Garza also included how identity politics first appeared in The Combahee River Collective Statement. As we read last week, the Collective’s statement helps us understand why identities play a big role in forming safe spaces for those who experience power differently from white people.
The blog post, Too Latina to be Black, Too Black to be Latina also relates to the discussion of identity politics where Williams is unsure of where she fits in in terms of her race. Of course, she didn’t think twice about this problem before it was brought to her attention in school. It doesn’t surprise me that the identity dynamic is so different outside of New York. Lots of people are never taught to understand these politics, and how the power surrounding us is the reason why people are treated unfairly.

I really loved this week’s readings. They were enlightening and enjoyable, and really opened my eyes to just how far identity politics run in our society and how they operate and determine how we live.

There can be a lot of pressure in our society to fit into specific molds — the white, cisgender, heterosexual molds that we are forced to fit into since birth. By choosing to follow what we think is best and what makes us most comfortable, we are rejecting this mold, and therefore rejecting our oppressors’ attempts to keep us compliant. I think that Garza referring to identity as America’s elephant in the room is a great way to put it. That line really struck me personally. White people often love to suggest that race only divides us further, but they’re the ones who created the very concept of race and allowed for it to divide us in the first place. Pretending as if we’re all the same “human race” completely disregards the struggles that marginalized groups have had to face in our society, and it avoids taking accountability and prevents any real change. In order to successfully dismantle our system, we need to work hard to get to the root of the problem instead of ignoring historical patterns and issues caused by white supremacy and overall bigotry. Taking accountability is very important.

This week’s reading hit home for me. Especially Aleichia Williams’s article. The title alone, “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina,” struck me because that exact statement has been an internal struggle of mine, or a “race crisis” as she puts it, for a long time. This is an issue that I don’t think many people are aware of because it is not openly discussed often. Like the reoccurring concept we discuss in this class, most people aren’t aware of or care about an issue unless it effects themselves. I enjoyed reading this article, I could relate to Williams’s struggle with identity. Feeling excluded form communities, you should be embraced by and being put into a box by society. This reading reminded me of identity representation in the media, movies like West Side Story and In The Heights being celebrated for representation but only represent Hispanic people stereotypically. I didn’t look like not one of the characters shown in either of those movies and it was discouraging. And this kind of representation feeds into the boxed/restricted idea many people have of Latin people. While a movie like Disney’s Encanto showed Hispanic people of all colors with different hair types, even the family members each looking different from one another. Seeing this kind of representation in a move made me emotional, finally having a depiction of a Hispanic family that resembles my own. Seeing Encanto made me hopeful that people seeing this kind of representation will eliminate “race crisis” because of unacceptance or being denied from communities because you ware “too Black or Too Latin.”

This week’s readings, both “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina” and Alicia Garza’s “The Power of Identity Politics” call attention to the way race and identity intertwine. Oftentimes, people try to separate race and identity and ethnicity without realizing how much identity truly impacts race. One cannot be discussed without the other. The separation of race, identity and ethnicity is what causes “race crisis” because it categorizes race with guidelines (“if you’re Hispanic you look and act like this, if you’re Black your supposed to look and act like that”). It is not a simple, white and black topic and these readings highlight that. 

I found Alicia Garza’s chapter to be super helpful in beginning to understand identity politics with more clarity. In reading, I realized just how confused I was with the term since last week’s content. “The “identity” in identity politics is a way of describing what it means to live outside what has been defined as the norm in the United States” (Garza, 187) and I grasp now that this means that this norm is essentially white identity politics. There were so many moments Garza just hit the spot with her explanations and again had me wrestling with my thoughts about the world we live in like when Garza mentions “In other words, if white people had not created false classifications for people based on skin color or genitalia or class status in order to maintain power and privilege over others, would we even be having this conversation?” (191). By the time I got to where she describes identity as the elephant in America’s room, I felt really fueled by my understanding of this extremity because I was angered by how the conservative movement has prevailed in keeping us all in the brainwashed darkness that we consider society. Aleichia Williams’ piece “Too Latina to be Black, Too Black to be Latina” was also a good read for me. Ultimately through this course, I feel that I am learning so much enlightening information but what is really also getting me is the comprehension of the magnitude of importance to actually KNOW this stuff that so many still have no idea about which is a result of the subliminal conditioning we’ve experienced by the systems in power.

I found both of these readings very entertaining because I agree with most of what the two writers said. When it came to Williams’ article, I related a lot because I’ve witnessed a lot of racial stereotyping and discrimination because of the way I look. Growing up in an environment that didn’t like people of color and you being one of the darkest ones didn’t correlate as much. I used to have internalized racism due to the number of times I’ve gone through those moments when I used to think being white was prettier than being black. I wanted to be white. As I grew older and met more people like me, I thank God every day because I am so proud of how I look and who I am. So, like Williams said, “I’ve learned though, that just because I don’t fit into one specific mold or the other doesn’t mean I’m any less of who I am.” I’ve learned to grow and accept myself as who I am, and I will forever be proud and try to help others be proud of who they are as well. Concerning Garza’s reading and explaining identity politics, I grasp it but still find it a bit difficult to explain. “Identity is the elephant in America’s room” (Garza). When it comes to someone representing themselves, society tries to shut it down because most times, they don’t want someone to identify themself and then go against the system. We define ourselves and we are fighting to define the system.

In “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina,” Aleichia Williams writes about her experience as a Black Latina in a world where fitting into one single mold is the norm. She expresses how difficult it was to attend school in a place like North Carolina, where the diversity is nowhere near the way it is in New York City. She felt she couldn’t fit in with other Latinas because their skin tones were lighter, and she felt she couldn’t fit in with the Black students because of her Latin culture and language. This reading has reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in such a diverse location like Queens, NY. There are all different kinds of cultures here, which definitely brings me comfort. In “The Power of Identity Politics,” Alicia Garza writes about Identity politics and what it’s like to live in a country where everything is structured and created around white culture. She explains that in order to really understand identity politics, one must first understand the power and what it actually means to have power. She defines power as being able to make decisions that affect one’s own life and have the freedom to shape and determine our own stories/lives. The “identity” part of the term means living outside of the mold/norm, such as being white. “if white people had not created false classifications for people based on skin color or genitalia or class status in order to maintain power and privilege over others, would we even be having this conversation?…Identity is the elephant in America’s room.”

In matters of identity politics, circumstances of people not being aware of their default in cases like that of the blond lady is indirectly common. It is a bit a similar to instances where people or specifically white people stating that they are unaware of privileges only made favorably to them. The blond is proclaiming her views about how we should avoid bringing the identity of personalities into issues, whereas it is undoubtedly visible, and that society treats people differently based on those identities. Our identities are what determines are roles in society whether we want it that way or not.  Its by which some individuals are treated as very important people and others treated as nuisance.  

“Too black to be Latina” explores many instances where black people are being doubted if they state they are Hispanic or Latina. They are asked very insensitive questions and, in some situations, make reprimands which puts them in very uncomfortable situations. Also vice versa, when a Hispanic or Latina says they are black, it comes off as a shock to so many. To some it may come of as genuine curiosity and to others they just pass off offensive comments in states of not understanding how and why it is possible or so. It is heartbreaking to see people go through the emphasis and frustrations of constant negligence relating to incidences like this. Ordinary people and celebrities all encounter people who have no sense of dignity, such people sometimes even come up with scenarios to justify the things they say.