Racism and Colorism in My Latino Upbringing

The frustration of the infighting, beauty standards, and denial.

Would you think these men were Latino? Photo by Ban Yido on Unsplash

I once went on a date with a Black Dominican man who insisted he was not Afro-Latino. In fact, he was racist…and proud of it.

I could practically smell the self-loathing in this man. He learned along the way that being dark, being Black, is undesirable.

He went so far as to hate features he himself had.

And he’s not alone.

For many Americans, I’ve noticed, Blacks and Latinos are sort of lumped together.

But if you examine closely, you’ll see a lot of colorism even within these communities. And, as I mentioned before, a lot of self-loathing Afro-Latinos…someone who clearly has Black ancestry but who will deny it and act insulted if it’s ever brought up.

The Costa Rican side of my family would dislike it if I dated someone Black, sure, but also if I dated someone Nicaraguan. There’s prejudice against even certain nationalities.

They would be happier if I dated someone from Argentina or Cuba…who was light-skinned, of course.

I once went on a date with a light-skinned Latino who, upon going through my Instagram, found a photo of me with a Black friend.