Black history month is a token tribute, but Afro-Latinos don’t even have thatPosted in Articles, Latino Studies, Media Archive, United States on 2014-03-03 16:14Z by Steven |
Black history month is a token tribute, but Afro-Latinos don’t even have that
The Guardian
2014-02-26
The US has a designated celebration for about every group, but if you’re of mixed heritage, you’re on your own
I cringe every time February rolls around. For me, black history month has become predictable. First, it’s the arguments against it: “What about white history month?” Then up come the defenses: “How come black history month is the shortest month of the year?” Then, when we eventually get around to honoring the heroes and heroines of the hour, we dust off the biographies, documentaries, and frankly, Wikipedia entries, of the following: Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and that guy who invented peanut butter. By the time it’s the end of the month, we’ve in fact forgotten what in fact we were meant to be celebrating and move on, confident that we’ve done our duty.
Yes, February is cringe-worthy for me. But the above reasons, although valid, aren’t why I recoil at the calendar. February is the month when everyone forgets that I’m black, too.
If you’re Afro-Latino, February isn’t the month for you because it simply doesn’t celebrate the diversity of your heritage. It doesn’t even try. If you’re Afro-Latino, you’re expected to lump your experience of being a person of African descent into the predictability of the month’s celebration…
Read the entire article here.