With green eyes and fair skin, people often see me as whiter than the white strips resting on my Puerto Rican flag. However unwanted, this assumption has brought me the inside scoop on a prominent issue within the Latino realm. On the battleground of dark-skinned Latinos versus light-skinned Latinos, I end up leader of the latter when I really want to be the mediator. Stripping the issue of any fancy lip service, dark-skinned Latinos hold an infamous resemblance to African Americans and this is where it all begins.
‘But he’s too black looking,’ a friend says to me as she multi-tasks. Her own feelings hold no weight to her, as she is able to drink coffee, organize paperwork, tweet and be prejudice all at the same time. Two thoughts ran through my head. First, I thought of my Panamanian friend who was just labeled ‘too black’ to my face and probably hundreds of times behind my back. Secondly, I thought of the inspiration for this blog…why the beef? Our conversation staggered after that. I cut our meeting and friendship short.
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A minority within the minority starts to evolve, as Generation Y’s Latinos put dark-skinned Latinos down. It is a prime example of the oppressed turned oppressor, at the slightest opportunity. The hostility is passed down within families, as many youth often cannot even explain why they feel this way. It becomes a feeling that just is. A separation that just must be. What they seem to be unaware of is the disservice it does for the Hispanic culture. We are a people of color, falling along the entire shade spectrum. The issues between the two groups cannot be addressed until the issues between blacks and Latinos are. The racism African Americans are (unrightfully) subjected to, some dark-skinned Latinos take on as well. For me, this translates as ignorance and self-hatred. All Latinos are a representation of the immigrants and migrants before them. Diversity within our culture should be respected. Latinos want equality as a people, yet they themselves are promoting inequality and passing it on like good advice.
In my attempt to relate, those who judge are doing so out of fear. Fear of bringing shame to the family, fear of losing culture, fear of moving farther and farther away from the acceptable norm. It almost turns into a protection mechanism. Some see dark skin like an anchor on the foot, and skin color becomes part of who a person is and what they can become. Ignorance become
