Black In Latin America Analysis

The documentary Black in Latin America Haiti and the Dominican Republic: The Roots of Division talks about the same issues as the article The Dominican Republic 's mass Haitian deportation reflects its racist history. In the Dominican Republic, most residents are in denial of being black while in Haiti their black ancestry is embraced. The film says, at around 14:57, that once Dominicans were freed from Haitian rule that they rejected Haitian culture. They no longer wanted anything to do with Haitians, as they believed they were different. This anti-Haitian belief was even taught in schools until the 1960’s. There was even a massacre in 1937 ordered by former Dominican president Rafael Trujillo, where 15,000 Haitian immigrants, Dominicans of

Prieto? Moreno? A Question of Identity for Black Mexicans. The film talks about how a multitude of African slaves were brought over to Mexico, but there is a lack of Afro-Mexicans. As the film shows Mexicans are being interviewed, majority identify as being Mestizo. The film discusses how over time blackness has been diluted due to intermarriage, which led to present day Mexicans not being aware of their African ancestry. While some Mexicans are not aware, many are and avoid discussing their black heritage. The article talks about how Mexican politicians who have black ancestry deny their family roots, similar to Mexicans in the film. The film shows Sagrario Cruz Carretero, professor in the University of Veracruz, talk about how she discovered that she actually has African roots since her family rejected their roots. She says, “families do hide the black grandma in the closet”, Mexicans deny their black ancestry. Mexicans who cannot hide their “black grandma in the closet” and openly identify as being black, are targets of discrimination. Both the film and the documentary talk about how Afro-Mexicans are often mistaken for not actually being Mexican. The article says, “they are stopped routinely by the police and accused of being illegal immigrants from Cuba or Central America”, Afro-Mexicans are stopped simply for being black. In the film, after being stopped by the police Afro-Mexicans have to show their I.Ds as proof of being Mexican. This usually happens when Afro-Mexicans travel outside their community, as both the film and article say, since they live in secluded areas. They live in these secluded areas in order to avoid being discriminated