Afro-Latinos in Black Communities

By Antonia Johnson, Elijah Small, Michael Bell, Daniela Dally, Domonique Henderson

Problem and Solution

ProblemAfro-Latinos in some black populated neighborhoods struggle with discrimination due to the cultural

differences and language barriers between themselves and their community.

SolutionWe propose that nationwide, communities with heavy populations of Black and Latin@ people host a week

long solidarity festival in which people of the community will participate in various cultural activities. Each day of the week will be dedicated to a specific genre.

Solidarity Week FestivalTuesday- Traditional Food and

Ethnic Cuisine

Wednesday- Art Convention

Thursday- Fashion Show / Pop up Shops

Friday- Multi-Genre Concert - open to the community

Saturday- Lawn Party

Justification: Language Barrier

● Struggle to communicate ○ Complex backgrounds

■ Raised speaking different languages

■ Judged by their physical appearance

● “People often assume I am black, and then ask me why I know Spanish” (Pitts)

● “They didn’t accept me because I wasn’t a fluent Spanish speaker and too brown” (Moreno)

● Solution: Music during the festival will expose African Americans to the Spanish Language & dialect.

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Justification: Cultural Differences● Respecting a person and their traditions becomes a conflict if there is no understanding of their culture.● Where the feud comes from and why● “There was a point in time where any type of Mexican could not come into our neighborhood (one of the

neighborhoods in Compton, California) because there were too many of them and they are dirty. If they walked through here, they would always get into some type of altercation, especially physical; then they would be chased out of our neighborhood.”

● From a Afro-Latin@ standpoint, “Blacks are lazy and have always been ghetto, that is what i was taught and my family feels the same way. (Garcia)”

● If Black people were taught the culture of Afro-Latin@s= understanding● If Afro-Latin@s were taught the culture of Black people= understanding● if we understand one another and see how we are similar, there will be no respect● Solution

Justification: Celebration● You cannot force citizens to respect one another● The purpose is to bring these two cultures together and

encourage them to bond● In New York, this solution unites people of different

backgrounds ● The Puerto Rican day parade has been a main attraction since

1958● It has become one of the city’s largest annual celebrations. ● With a high population of Puerto-Ricans, Afro-Dominicans, and

African Americans, the Puerto-Rican Day parade serves as an essential event to bring these different communities together.

● Some citizens may believe parades, such as The Puerto-Rican day parade, are solely focused on celebrating one ethnicity, which is partially true, however, it is also about exposing the city to a culture that is not widely recognized and inviting others to fully understand it.

● These festivities encourage natives and other ethnic groups to get along, encounter new people, and enjoy another culture. If other states implement this solution, it will be a smoother transition for the two ethnicities to come together.

Conclusion

● In America Afro-Latinos continue to grow in population

● Find difficulty in being accepted by Black communities

● Multiple reasons for their struggles; community dispositions, cultural issues etc

● Our solution to the problem will in return help citizens and youth of different cultures and races learn to accept other communities and their cultures as well.

Work-CitedGarcia, Yasmine. Telephone Interview. April 11, 2014.

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Moreno, Carolina. "This Is What It Means To Be Afro-Latino." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

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NBCNews.com, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

Zimmerman, Tracy. Telephone Interview. April 10, 2014.

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