African Influence en la Comunidad
In November 2021, I attended the Teaching Black History with the New York Public Library’s Treasures workshop hosted by the NYPL School Outreach division. The professional learning workshop was curated especially for educators to learn how to integrate archive-based curriculum resources and research collections to enrich our teaching of Black History. We were guided through an exclusive exhibition tour, heard expert lectures, and participated in an interactive historical map exercise. I learned a wealth of information and connected with a handful of inspiring classroom educators. One, in particular, was a woman teaching predominately Latinx students in the Bronx. This dedicated educator wanted to know how she could incorporate more culturally relevant Black History lessons into her classroom. I shared with her that I earned my bachelor's degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Rutgers University and created an independent study track focused on the African influence in Spanish-speaking countries. I promised her that I would share some resources that she could use to develop age-appropriate lesson plans to teach more Afro-Latino history to her students. This blog serves as the culmination of those resources.
Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana • Santo Domingo • DR •
Feb 28 2013
The Artist in the Struggle for Sovereignty • Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance
How it Started
My family was a part of the 1940s wave of African-Americans that moved in the Great Migration from the South to the North. My father's side of the family were pioneers and one of the first black families to move to Amityville, Long Island in the 1950s. My mother relocated to Long Island from her roots in rural Georgia in 1983, not long after I was born. I loved growing up in New York during the early hip-hop era; I grew up exposed to cultures from across the globe. My mom worked hard to pay my tuition to predominately white Catholic schools from third grade to my senior year in high school. I naturally gravitated to my fellow BIPOC students, most were first-generation Americans, and their parents were from the Caribbean. I was actually in the minority as an African American but enthralled by all cultures surrounding me. I loved that my Puerto Rican bestie, Haydee Lynn, was named after her mom. I had never met a female “junior” before her, and now that I write this, I realize I haven't met once since. Haydee’s was the first Quinceañera that I ever attended, and of course, I had so much fun! In 6th grade, I was ecstatic to be taking my first Spanish class with Señora Gonzalez from Argentina. I was so excited that I wrote a letter to my Colombian friend Jennifer that spoke Spanish with her family at home.
Sept 13, 1994: It’s 11:25 and we just took our first Spanish class it was so cool (as white folks would say). I have to write Jennifer or call her and tell her all about it. Juan the new kid, from behind, looks just like C.J. He can also speak fluidly Spanish, except he can’t say colors. Señora Gonzales speaks very little English, but is so sweet.
Fast-forward to my high school friends, Jeff and Stephen, two beautiful black skin boys whose parents were from Costa Rica and Panama, respectively. We didn't use the language "Afro-Latino" back then; in my mind, there was something fascinating about them. I was in awe when I met these dark skin brothers and learned they spoke Spanish fluently. and came from a completely different culture than what I knew. I continued to excel in my Spanish Language learning in high school. I was in the Spanish National Honors Society and a member of the Spanish Cultural Club. In our extracurricular group, we learned Salsa and Merengue (Jeff was my dance partner) and performed for the whole school on Spanish Night—an annual event celebrating the culture, food, language, music, and dances of Spanish speaking countries. Our school offered collegiate level courses in partnership with St. John's University, and by senior year I was enrolled in Spanish Level II and Intermediate Spanish Conversation. That same year my mom sacrificed to send me on our senior trip to Spain and Italy; we visited Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. I thought I would be a translator or a Spanish teacher—like so many of the amazing ones I had through the years that fueled my love for language learning.
Spanish Night Oct 30, 2000 • L to R: Professora Ingram (one of my fav Spanish teachers & Spain trip chaperone • Me and my besties Belinda & Sophia.
When I enrolled at Rutgers University, I knew right away that I wanted to major in Spanish Language and Literature. I had the flexibility to create an independent course of study and definitively decided I wanted to learn more about the history of the African influence in Spanish-speaking countries. My coursework included: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in Latin America, the Latin American Woman, Latin American Cinema, Caribbean Cinema, Spain in Africa, and Africa in Spain. I also studied the Literature and Culture of the Hispanic Caribbean, Spanish America, and Spain. For the majority of my classes, I was the only native English speaker. It was at times overwhelming to be fully immersed in the language and read advanced literature for full semesters at a time. That challenge allowed me to learn more about intersectionality and identity layers through the lens of Latinos ' lived experiences.
By my junior year at university, I had worked retail side jobs for six years and I was curious to see beyond the sales floor. I decided to change my career course to the corporate fashion industry. I fantasized that maybe I could work for a brand like Zara whose headquarters are in Spain. I completed my Bachelor's at Rutgers and then an accelerated Associate's degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology to break into the industry. While I was studying at FIT, I worked at Head Start in Amityville, NY. By that time the demographics of Amityville had shifted from when my great-grandmother and her daughters first moved there in the 1950s. We had a higher percentage of Spanish speaking population, and I got to flex my skills as the only Spanish-speaking person working in the front office at Head Start. I met with all our Spanish-speaking parents and completed intakes forms for their children. I also translated all of our menus, announcements, and correspondences. I am very grateful for the opportunities to use both of my degrees immediately after graduating, which I know is super rare for college graduates in America. I went on to have a 12-year career in the corporate fashion industry before changing course again to start my own wellness business. In a way, I did become a translator and educator like I had planned twenty years ago when I was 18 years old.
How it’s Going
I now create bilingual wellness content and teach yoga and meditation classes in Spanish and English. I consider myself a global citizen and have traveled to multiple cities in Mexico, and Puerto Rico. When I traveled to the Dominican Republic, we stayed in Santo Domingo, and drove through el campo to visit Las Terrenas on the northern coast. We hoped to find Samaná an area where enslaved Africans from America were invited to rebuild a life free from captivity. I was surprised to see so many dark-skinned Dominicans in the country's capital and learned they celebrate their independence from Haiti and not Spain. I visited Belize in August 2021, I connected with all the Spanish-speaking migrant workers that I came across. I was interested in learning their relocation stories and the motives behind their search for a better life. Their journeys reminded me of my great-grandparents' migration through America. I am constantly looking for ways to connect across cultures. Even my therapist is an Afro-Latina, she's been invaluable in helping me unpack my experience as a business-savvy brilliant bilingual Black woman in America. I continuously defy the division created by colonialism, capitalism, and plantation patriarchy. There's so much unique richness in our cultures and so many innate similarities that we share from our African ancestors. Below is a list of a few of my favorite Afro-Latino inspirations and resources that have enriched my life and understanding of my beautiful black and brown-skinned brothers and sisters.
“I LOVE this and don’t worry we really appreciate all your effort and support!💜”
BOOKS & BLOGS
Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas – a coming of age autobiographical story of a Puerto Rican morenito growing up in Spanish Harlem
Race and Politics in the Dominican Republic by Ernesto Sagás. The title says it all.
These three collections of essays and short stories are some of my favs. Not all are written by Afro-Latino authors, but all are insightful and engaging. Images and Identities: The Puerto Rican in Two World Contexts edited by Asela Rodríguez de Laguna. Short Stories by Latin American Women: The Magic and The Real edited by Celia Correas De Zapata. Reclaiming Medusa: Short Stories by Contemporary Puerto Rican Women edited and translated by Diana L. Vélez.
I'm not sure that any of these writers self-identify as part of the Afro-Latinx community; their works are notable nonetheless. Critically acclaimed Latina authors, Esmeralda Santiago (When I Was Puerto Rican) y la Chicana, Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street). I also learned a lot from Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America written by Juan Gonzalez and In Nueva York by Nicholasa Mohr.
Some short story snippets and poems that resonated with me were Mujer Negra prose about Black Women's resilience written by Cubana Nancy Morejón. A pair of Puerto Rican poems: Julia De Burgos’ Ay ay ay de la grifa negra and Luis Palés Matos’ Danza Negra is sung in African call and response rhythm. Dominican writer Manuel del Cabral also penned the pain of the African diaspora in Negro Sin Nada en Tu Casa
In Spring 2021, I attended two Spanish Language continuing education courses at Hudson County Community College. Once again, I was blessed with an amazing teacher who gave me the freedom to create in her class. I used my homework assignments to write three bilingual Be Well Blogs on language discrimination and other Workplace Woes, Mantas Mexicanas y Mindfulness, and Hugs Help Heal o en español Toque Terapéutico
A bit about Brazil. I low-key became obsessed with Brazil when I learned the country was home to the second-largest population of African descendants. Since college, it's been my dream to visit Bahia to witness the Afro-Brazilian Boa Morte Festival. While I'm still waiting to make my first trip to South America, I have enjoyed Henry Louis Gates, Jr's project Black in Latin America, and the famous “fable about following your dreams”, The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho.
Feb 28 2013
Santo Domingo • Dominica Republic
MINI DOCS & MOVIES
There was a special screening in our student center of an Afro Cubano documentary, and for the life of me, I cannot recall the name. They Are We is another dope documentary about Sierra Leone descendants that still reside in Cuba to this day. Another offering is AFRO CUBA LIBRE: A Mini-Documentary on Race in Cuba.
Plantanos y Collard Greens is technically a play, but it still made the movies lists. The first performance of this play was in June 2003. It's a story about romance and relationships between African American and Latino college students. I had the pleasure of seeing it live during my junior year during its original run.
Aida Rodriguez released an HBO Max comedy special and infused documentary footage to highlight Afro-Latino culture in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Another Brazilian bonus is Orfeu Negro (translation: Black Orpheus). It’s a 1959 retelling of the tragic Greek myth set during a Carnival in Rio. Cathy Brennan called it problematic because "this film exoticizes its Black cast through a European gaze." I didn't pick up on that when I first saw the film 20+ years ago. I personally enjoyed the colors, costumes, and music.
Honorable mention is the new movie Encanto, available on Disney Plus. I haven’t seen it yet, but the internet is buzzing. It sounds like a beautiful representation of Latino family dynamics, and many Hispanic hues are represented in the animated feature film.
Aug 1995 • El Yunque National Forest Puerto Rico
My cousin Lamont, Me, and My Mom.
PODCASTS & PROJECTS
Season 1 of the Yoga Wit the Ohmies Podcast I had the opportunity to interview self-identifying Afro Latina, Mildred Velez, founding owner of the Fibromyalgia Care Society of America, and Javier Cruz shares his story of moving from a machismo mindset to meditation.
Four Questions is an electrifying mash-up between Dr. Cornel West and Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. W.E.B. Du Bois' words were the inspiration for this project . The companion piece is 13 Answers - A conversation with Arturo O'Farrill & Dr. Cornel West.
LUGARES LATINOS
Puerto Rican archivist and activist Arturo Alfonso Schomburg’s namesake cultural center, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is my second home in Harlem.
Equally, I love El Museo Del Barrio, located on Manhattan’s Museum Mile.
Young Jewell lived for poetry slams and spoken word at the Nuyorican Poets Café.
Mexico gets a special shoutout thanks to the Google algorithm. As soon as I started to compile links to write this blog, all kinds of resources popped up, like this YouTube video about Mexico’s African History, the Blackest town in Mexico, and this article about the Negros Mascogos (Black Seminoles) that celebrate Juneteenth in northern Mexico.
