A Puerto Rican Finds Her Black Identity

Real Latinos come in all colors, including black. However, there are many Latinos of African ancestry who, despite being descendants of African slaves and experiencing home-grown racism in their respective countries, deny their black skin, and some their African heritage. 

They confuse their race with their nationalities. For example, a Puerto Rican woman of my complexion stated to me bluntly, “African Americans are black—I'm not black, I'm Puerto Rican.” She got very upset and began hurling insults at me when I pointed out that her nationality is Puerto Rican, but her skin is black.

In the video below, Rosa Clemente, a self-identified black Puerto Rican activist and Ph.D candidate in Black Studies, explains the confusion among so many Afro-Latinos, and discusses the black awakening that she herself achieved through education. She is being interviewed by Afro-Panamanian filmmaker Dash Harris who produced multiple documentaries on the Afro-Latino identity and experience.

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